​Bereavement charity hits out over dead dad advert

A bereavement charity said it has received countless calls following an insensitive advert for McDonalds.

The fast food giant's latest advert features a boy asking his mum what his dead father was like, in an attempt to find something in common with him.

Eventually the boy is told they enjoy the same items on the McDonald’s menu.

Bereavement charity, Grief Encounter said it had received calls from parents saying their bereaved children had been upset by the advert.

One in 29 children in the UK are bereaved of a parent or sibling by the time they are 16, according to Grief Encounter, which offers support to bereaved children and their families.

Dr Shelley Gilbert, founder and president of the charity, said: "McDonald's have attempted to speak to their audience via an emotionally driven TV campaign.

"However, what they have done is exploit childhood bereavement as a way to connect with young people and surviving parents alike - unsuccessfully.

"We fully support children and surviving parents remembering loved ones with memory boxes, family experiences which remind them of happier times and openly talking about the member of the family that has died.

"But trying to insinuate that a brand can cure all ills with one meal is insensitive and shouldn't be a way to show that a brand recognises 'the big moments in life'."

A McDonald's spokesperson said: "This was by no means an intention of ours."

"We wanted to highlight the role McDonald's has played in our customers' everyday lives - both in good and difficult times," the spokesperson added.

The Advertising Standards Authority said it had received complaints regarding the advert, and would "carefully assess them to see whether there are grounds to investigate."