Bloody Sundae

cDonald’s has issued an apology over a Halloween marketing campaign for its ice cream desserts using the words “Sundae Bloody Sundae”. On the day known as Bloody Sunday, 30 January 1972, British soldiers shot dead 13 people on the streets of Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The wording of the campaign appears to have been inspired by the song by Irish rock band U2 ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, which is about the shootings.

The appearance of the phrase on posters for a two-for-one offer on strawberry sundaes sparked a storm of outrage on social media. A tweet by Twitter user MyLimes Na gCopaleen with a photograph of the “Sundae Bloody Sundae” poster and the words “Portugal is cancelled” went viral after being posted on Wednesday evening.

McDonald’s Portugal was quick to apologise and cancel the marketing campaign. “The campaign was meant to celebrate Halloween and the brand never intended to make any connection to historical events or to insult anyone in any way. We sincerely regret any offense this activation may have caused,” McDonald’s Portugal said in a media statement on Thursday, adding that the posters had “already been removed from the restaurants”.