High Culture Got You Down? McCafe to the Rescue

In the latest TV spots for its McCafe label, McDonalds surrenders the art house crowd to Starbucks -- and liberates the crusty, football-loving Joes that never quite fit in.

This ad starts with two guys in a typical cafe scene, reading books and sipping coffee out of wide cups. One haughtily asks, "Did you hear McDonald's has cappuccinos now?"

"McDonalds?" the other repeats.

"Yeah."

"That's awesome. I can shave this thing off my face!" With that, both guys start shedding their cultured trappings: cultivated goatees, fake eyeglasses (in the case of one, anyway), bleak turtlenecks, even a contrived interest in film. A McD's voiceover sweetens the awakening by offering viewers a free "handcrafted cappuccino, latte or mocha, on us, every Monday until 2pm."

Score one for McDonalds: Steamed milk and espresso has officially been democratized. Some people even go so far as to call this "an outright Sarah Palin moment."