Often, there are companies that have grown so large that advertising is not used to increase sales or raise awareness–rather, their ads are used as PR damage control or to ensure that they don’t sink under the public radar. At some point, you made a choice to drink either Pepsi or Coke–is a great ad going to change your opinion on the matter one way or another? Similarly, you already have an opinion about McDonald’s, and no ad is going to convince you that the company is anything other than what it is.

Which is why their latest ad is so interesting, from both an industry and social standpoint. McDonald’s is very much promoting a message of both tolerance and acceptance for sexual orientations that veer from the hetero-normative standard. And while the ad itself is only running in France, we should note that it was originally released with English subtitles–perhaps so that the commercial could reach out without incurring the firestorm it would produce in the States. But what do they gain from this? Will this increase sales? Help them enter new markets? Help assuage their popular conception as obesity-mongers?

The answer, of course, is no on all accounts. All things considered, this is a rather risky move, where the potential downsides far outweigh any positive outcomes. But the fact that one of the largest companies in the world feels comfortable promoting this message is a useful social barometer. The times, they are a changin’.

As for the ad itself? It’s a beautiful bit of short-form fiction, all show and no tell. It requires the viewer to place the pieces together, with a payoff that somehow manages to not take sides. It tells a simple and rather sweet familial story in under a minute, and is one of my favorite ads of the year thus far. But what do you think? Ballsy, brilliant or stupid? Or is it only what it is, with no overarching implication? Do tell.