A recent McDonald’s Italia advertisement sparked controversy in the Tuscan town of San Quirico d’Orcia.
Mayor Roberto Rappuoli protested the image used to advertise the Gran Chianina burger, which was available for only three weeks, made from Chianina meat coming from Tuscan cattle.
The burger was portrayed against a backdrop of rolling Tuscan hills and cypress trees. However, a law passed in 2011 requires that any use of pictures or video footage displaying cypress trees for commercial purposes must first be approved by local authorities, a step in the process that McDonald’s Italia failed to take.
Mayor Rappuoli explained that the law does not impose an absolute ban on the image, but ‘implements correct guidelines to avoid images of our town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from being misused.’
McDonald’s Italia’s response, via Facebook, states that its ‘objective was, indeed, to pay respect to the region and its valleys where Chianina cattle are reared through a product that represents the area’s excellence’.
Representatives from McDonald’s Italia are expected to meet with Rappuoli to discuss a solution and resolve the matter.
