McDonald's Subway Ad Deeply Offends Far Rockaway
The Far Rockaways are most certainly not lovin' it after McDonald's ran an ad on the A train touting the energizing powers of their iced coffee, implying that those who drink it will not suffer the indignity of falling asleep on the train and waking up at the end of the line.
"(Unless, of course, you live there)" reads the small-text caveat on the ad, which McDonald's reps pulled after complaints from City Councilman James Sanders. “I can assure the marketing boys over at McDonald’s that most people don’t wind up in the Rockaways by accident,” said Sanders, before going on to tout the area's "beautiful," "serene" beaches. He also banned Ronald McDonald from the peninsula "unless he decides to ride the A train and stop off in Far Rockaway."
McDonald's apologized for the ads, saying “The goal was to position McDonald’s iced coffee as a solution to instead stay awake. We never meant to disparage Far Rockaway or those who live there," and pulling the 1,000 posters from the trains. For what it's worth, the chain does have two locations on the peninsula, including one in Far Rockaway.