Oprah to Promote McDonald's in Australia During Coming Trip

Oprah is causing a new uproar over her coming trip to Australia, during which she will treat 300 of her fans to a tour of the land "down under" -- including McDonald's as a stop on this great adventure. But would you call McDonald's an authentic part of Australian culture? Or is this brand-specific shout out just a case of blatant product placement gone horrible wrong for a fat fee? These questions and more are being discussed on popular women's site, Jezebel:

In a preview program for Oprah's upcoming Australia trip, she was told by that country's TV personality, "While you have your diners, we have McCafes. Guys come for business meetings, girls come for a catch-up over coffee. It's all just a little bit fancy."

You can thank a McDonald's corporate sponsorship for that seamless reference, in which apparently only guys have business meetings.

The entire Australia trip is, of course, a giant act of sponsorship, in which Oprah takes 300 U.S. viewers to Australia courtesy of the Australian tourism board. So far, the $3 million they're spending for the privilege has been at least partly repaid in boatloads of publicity. But that's apparently not enough to buy authenticity. And actual, local proprietors of "fancy" coffee shops are pissed.

It would be an embarrassment for McDonald's to be called a central part of American culture, and we are the country that invented the cheap and cheesy franchise. But, if Australia is footing the bill for Oprah's trip then their tourism leaders have the right to have that trip positioned in the best way possible to stimulate their local economy. So if the Australian tourism board wants to make McDonald's a center piece of how they promote Australia to Americans, it's their choice.

Plus in truth, this move to make McDonald's seem authentically Australian is a lot more tasteful than Oprah giving out free chicken. In both cases, product sponsorship won out over good taste. And that is certainly the American way.

Perhaps it is now the Australian way as well.

Question:

-Do you think it was in poor taste for Oprah to plug an American company like McDonald's as part of "authentic" Australian culture?

Leave your comments below!