Well, it wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day if we weren’t enraged about something now, would it? It appears that this year McDonald’s in the US are to be the focus of our Irish wrath for failing to include any Irish landmarks in their latest Shamrock Shake ad and instead opting for bagpipes and Stonehenge, which are Scottish and English respectively.
In a ten-second clip (now deleted) that was posted to the fast food giant's US Twitter page in the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, we see a man holding a Shamrock Shake decked out in quaint tartan garb (which also looks distinctly Scottish) with a nice bit of greenery in the background accompanied by sheep and a nice rainbow.
So far so good? While we can forgive the obvious Scottish dress of the man in question, it’s the next portion of the clip that has really riled up Twitter users as he proceeds to play his mint and chocolate Shamrock Shake as if it were bagpipes.
While the bagpipes are, again, a Scottish instrument, they are also all too common at many Irish events and St. Patrick’s Day parades and so they, too, could be forgiven if it had not been for the sudden appearance of Stonehenge—an English historic site most definitely not in Ireland.
Read more: A warning to Irish bagpipe players: your instrument could kill you
Maybe the video's creators were confused between Stonehenge and Newgrange. Maybe they just don’t understand the difference between England and Ireland. Whatever the reason, the use of Stonehenge as an Irish landmark has caused plenty of facepalms among those who saw the video and realized McDonald’s fatal error.
@mgvanwormer @McDonalds I'm sure those sheep aren't Irish either
— Derval Fitzsimons (@DervalFitzsimo1) March 9, 2017
When you’re talking about a country like Ireland that has the likeS of the Giant’s Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher to chose from, to use Stonehenge—which in itself is an incredible monument of history, just not Irish—is really bemusing. I suppose it does make a nice change, however, for Ireland to be claiming something English for a change, a reverse of the way in which they claim all our talented actors and musicians are theirs!
@Langkard Research is hard. Sorry to be mean, @McDonalds, but literally the whole thing is Scottish and English. The rainbow might be Irish.
— Laura Terrell (@Terrelli9) March 8, 2017
"#epicfail and an insult to us Irish quite frankly," wrote one Twitter user, while another wrote, “The music is Scottish pipes & the scene is Stonehenge in England. Maybe try again with Irish Uilleann pipes & an Irish setting?"
Another Twitter user also asked, "Are the sheep Irish? Because nothing else in this picture is."
@McDonalds what kind of abomination is that advert? It's an insult to Irish people everywhere
— Irish Wanderer (@sarahogrady86) March 9, 2017
We may be unhappy with you, McDonald’s, but we’ll still take your Shamrock Shakes. If you don’t feel like buying one after this small disaster on their part, however, you can alway try out our great alcoholic take on the St. Patrick’s Day treat.
Are you unhappy with McDonald’s for including Stonehenge and a bagpipes in their Shamrock Shake ad? Let us know in the comments section.
H/T: Irish Mirror
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