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Business & Money

McDonald's advert fakes 'Swedish' farmland

Published: 23 Aug 11 16:40 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/35722/20110823/

Burger giant McDonald’s chose to fake the Swedish countryside in their latest commercial, in which the company highlights Swedish agriculture, and their own cooperation with Swedish farmers.

“McDonald’s in collaboration with 1,000 Swedish farmers,” concludes the commercial, which was produced by ad agency DDB.

It now turns out that the commercial was actually filmed in the Czech Republic, as the Swedish landscape didn’t work, reports Swedish magazine Land’s supplement Lantbruk och Skogland.

“It’s very simple,” McDonald’s Sweden’s press director Frida Berg told the Resumé newspaper.

“We recorded the film during the winter, and Sweden was covered in snow. We wanted to show a spring landscape, and that wasn’t possible to film in Sweden.”

“Obviously we would’ve preferred to record it here, but it simply wasn’t an option. We had to record it this winter, in order to get it finished in time, so we didn’t really have another option.”

According to Berg, the important thing is the commercial’s message:

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback and comments for raising awareness and showing the importance of Swedish agriculture.”

The tractor-driving farmer appearing in the commercial seems to be the only real Swedish element. He is reported to be a Swedish milk farmer.

Clara Guibourg (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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21:32 August 23, 2011 by conboy
He he he caught again!
23:43 August 23, 2011 by johan rebel
Who cares? It is a commercial, for crying out loud! Does any sane person take commercial for real?
13:00 August 24, 2011 by Kstock
...and the burger you get never looks like the one in the ad. Oh...did you know that some American TV programs are actually filmed in Canada and made to look like they take place in America. AND that Neil Armstrong never landed on the moon...it was done in a studio in Hollywood. It's not about reality its about feelings and emotions. Now go buy a family meal and be happy!
00:49 August 25, 2011 by skumdum
This is outrageous! I'm never going to McDonald's again.
12:34 August 25, 2011 by spy
Who on earth gives a s+@%
00:40 August 26, 2011 by wxman
So what? It's a commercial for Pete's sake! Sheesh!
04:54 August 26, 2011 by Marc the Texan
Well I have to admit. The Czech countryside is actually more scenic than the Swedish countryside when you go there and see it.
08:42 August 26, 2011 by churchofpickle
This story is kind of incomplete - what about the actors? where are they from? and that tobacco voice you hear? is it a man, woman or other? do the actors even eat McDonalds?
16:17 August 26, 2011 by tadchem
McDonald's has a long history of making substitutions for critical components of their products, from food to ads.

Where's the beef?
16:45 August 26, 2011 by Svensksmith
Just like they fake the food.
20:12 August 26, 2011 by tonylaz
Did the ad say "filmed in Sweden", and does the photography really matter?
10:26 August 30, 2011 by jacquelinee
who cares really.
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