When a company like McDonald’s in Germany decides to ban the depiction of food in its daytime advertising during Ramadan, there are a few ways to look at it. The woke would want you to see it as a brilliant and sensitive advertising campaign. Others would see it differently.
First off, last I checked, Germany is not a Muslim nation — yet. Muslims make up roughly 5.5% of the total German population. So, why would the iconic American fast-food chain remove food images from its outdoor advertising during the daylight hours?
Let’s start with Ramadan itself and then get some perspective on the woke decision-making by an American brand.
Ramadan is considered the holiest month in Islam. Westerners would better understand it as a season, not as a single holiday. It commemorates the time when Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to their prophet Muhammad. Part of how Muslims mark the month is through fasting, prayer, and charity.
Elsewhere in Germany, this man was upset that non-Muslims continue to eat food during Ramadan.
An Afghan refugee in Germany damaged food supplies in a store because it was Ramadan and people were not fasting. pic.twitter.com/GjjcWuGrE0
— MAryan (@Mason_Aryan) February 22, 2026
I didn’t include that clip gratuitously. It speaks to the current cultural climate in Germany and other places where Muslim immigrants have become a very “vocal” part of their host communities. In other words, this is the environment in which McDonald’s operates in Germany.
If you’re a devout Muslim, you are not to eat pork or pork products, which include bacon, ham, sausage, and that mystery pork-based gelatin in processed foods.
Given these sensitivities, McDonald’s launched an outdoor advertising campaign that uses electronic billboards to depict food in the ads after sunset, which is when Muslims end their daily fast during Ramadan. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset at this time. The billboards use a technology that can detect when the sun goes down at night, triggering the platform to reintroduce the depiction of food in the ads.
🇩🇪 In Germany, McDonald’s has removed food images from its billboards during daylight hours for Ramadan
McDonald’s Germany launched a new outdoor campaign in which digital billboards sync with the sun, revealing food only after dark throughout the month of Ramadan. pic.twitter.com/iG3lcXdafj
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) February 25, 2026
Advertising geeks think this is the height of cleverness. They have framed the ad strategy as emphasizing “thoughtfulness” over “temptation” in how to treat the concept of Muslim fasting.
Other major advertisers in places where there is a significant Muslim population tend to feature Islam’s crescent moon in their ads, but not much more than that.
McDonald’s, rather than decide to take that approach, or to stop all advertising during the day, chose to feature product packaging without food during the day, in a very high-end way by ad standards. So, as you walk by a digital billboard during daytime, the ad shows you an empty red fries container. Come back at night, and the container is filled with McDonald’s French fries.
McDonald’s in Germany is hiding food from ads during Ramadan to prevent “arousing” Muslim hunger (daytime) pic.twitter.com/uKvFEYDPzX
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 25, 2026
The fast-food chain also featured a localized menu that includes fried chicken with seasoning, along with certain Indonesian items.
Still, McDonald’s does continue to offer its very popular items that Islam considers “halal,” or prohibited. These include the chain’s rib sandwich, its bacon burger, and its breakfast options that feature bacon or sausage with eggs on muffins.
In advertising, there is sometimes a debate whether culture is downstream of politics or politics is downstream of culture. Both tend to be very sensitive to what’s going on around them and try to exploit it. In this case, it appears to me that culture is downstream of politics, and McDonald’s is trying to exploit that for profit, for brand loyalty, and to pander to their new culture gods.
Muslims may be a minority in Germany, but politically, they have power, and they are more than vocal. Get on the wrong side of Islam, and a violent response is a very real possibility. By working to become Islam’s favorite fast-food chain in Germany, McDonald’s could be hoping to buy a certain amount of goodwill with the demographic so that it not only makes money but also gets a pass at some point down the road when Muslims are upset about something else.
This marketing strategy is no different than when a lot of major brands went all “Black Lives Matter” in 2020. They wanted to buy special dispensation. That could be a possibility here.
Regardless, the one thing this ad campaign does indicate is where the power resides in Germany right now. It’s not the government, and it’s not the native German people. It’s their invaders, who have had no trouble making it clear that they’ve come to conquer, not coexist.
“Don’t disturb me, I want to pray to Allah!” Muslim cultural enricher in Germany blocks motorway to pray to Allah. Does this seem normal to you? pic.twitter.com/9HdsO16SwF
— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) January 27, 2024
In Germany everyone has to listen to chants of Islamic prayers on streets. Merkel will be proud and happy about this. pic.twitter.com/b1CRkJK4QI
— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) March 20, 2024
Exclusively for our VIPs: The Midterms: Scott Baio’s Reminder of What’s Always at Stake When You Vote
Find out what you’re missing behind the members-only wall. It’s time for you to take advantage of the full catalogue of common sense thinking that comes with a PJ Media VIP membership. You’ll get access to content you didn’t even know you wanted, and you’ll be hooked. The good news is, PJ Media VIP memberships are on sale! Get 60% off of an annual VIP, VIP Gold, or VIP Platinum membership! Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off a VIP membership!
