McDonald's HK feels the heat for unfortunate chicken wing promo

McDonald's Hong Kong apologised for a notification on its app which some deemed as disrespecting the death of a Hong Kong police officer. The fast food giant released a pop up promotion for its crispy chicken wings which were back in stock with the song lyrics which in English translated to "it's normal to lose something" and "it will appear if you don't look for it".

In the promotional collateral, four pieces of the fried chicken wings were seen “arriving” on a boat and some people associated it with the death of a senior police officer who disappeared after an anti-smuggling operation recently after the vessel with four officers was hit by a smuggler's boat and then capsized, said local media reports.

https://www.facebook.com/mcdonaldshongkong/videos/279521613796487/

This led to McDonald’s being slammed by some for using an unfortunate incident to promote its product, said a report on The Global Times.

However, McDonald's has issues a local statement to some media such as HK01 and clarified along with an apology stating that there were no negative implications or disrespect intended. It simply meant to say its crispy chicken wings supply had resumed and regretted the inconvenience their advertisement caused.

McWings are a very popular item on the McDonald’s menu in Hong Kong, and several weeks ago, the company said on social media that it was experiencing a shortage in supply due to disruptions in the global supply chain. Using an image of a ship, its social post from about three weeks ago said “ Sorry, fans! My ship is delayed. I can’t come to Hong Kong at the moment.”

In recent times, McDonald's Hong Kong has been heavily promoting its app which hands out frequent promotions. It recently partnered with three members of MIRROR in the latest short movie to celebrate its relaunch anniversary in Hong Kong.

Currently, more than 2.5 million users have downloaded McDonald's Hong Kong's app after its relaunch last year. To celebrate the relaunch, McDonald’s Hong Kong has also launched a 15-day value campaign, which is aimed at emphasising various features of the app, such as how to beat the queues, value deals, or other exclusive offers, including a wide variety of offers exclusive to app users which will be announced through a series of daily TVCs featuring Keung To, Anson Lo and Edan Lui.

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Photo courtesy: 123rf

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