| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1301011990008190500 |
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| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ronald_mcdonald_6_6.gif]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350: [[{{Tagline}} I'm lovin' it.]]]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->''"Billions and billions served."'' [[note]]Also known as [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale "Over 99 billion served."]] on some signs.[[/note]] |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Did somebody say [[https://mcdonalds.com McDonald's?]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | That's probably how you got to this page -- it's probably ''the'' most common "not-a-wiki-word" that appears on Website/TVTropes, since our wiki parser automatically converts CamelCase into article links. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | But since [=McDonald's=] is such a [[PopCulturalOsmosis big part of modern culture]], we may as well make the visit worth your while. (Would you like fries with that?) |
| 14 | |
| 15 | It all started in 1954 when Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman, found out that one of his customers bought many more mixers than usual for a business. He traveled out to San Bernardino, California to find that two brothers, Richard and Maurice [=McDonald=], ran their diner at an amazing rate, serving way more customers than a usual restaurant should by the simple expedient of ''not'' making each burger to order; instead of putting veggies and condiments according to each customer's preference, every burger was made to a more-or-less uniform standard to maximize efficiency while the restaurant had a [[NewerThanTheyThink condiment bar]] where customers could then add ketchup and mustard on their own. He pitched them the idea of creating [=McDonald's=] restaurants all over the U.S. and the [=McDonald's=] Corporation was founded the next year. By 1958, [=McDonald's=] had sold 100 million hamburgers. By 1960, Kroc bought exclusive rights to the [=McDonald's=] name, then went out of his way to drive the [=McDonald=]s' later establishment out of business. The story of Kroc's takeover is dramatized in the film ''Film/TheFounder''. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | 1963 saw the creation of the restaurant chain's most famous mascot, a clown called Ronald [=McDonald=]. The character was later given his own fantasy world for the commercials in the 1970s, Advertising/McDonaldland. The creation of the long running advertising campaign originally involved Creator/SidAndMartyKrofftProductions using their ''Series/HRPufnstuf'' characters, only to be told by [=McDonald's=] advertising company, Needham, Harper and Steers, that the project was cancelled. With them out of the way, the agency blatantly plagiarized the Kroffts' concept using their former crew. The Kroffts noticed, and successfully sued [=McDonald's=]. Amusingly, the results of the lawsuit didn't restrict [=McDonald's=] from using the characters, each of which quickly entered popular culture in spite of the legal trouble surrounding them. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Since then, [=McDonald's=] has added more than the original burgers, fries and sodas to its menu. Breakfast items are sold until 10:30 am on weekdays and 11:00 am on Saturdays and Sundays.[[note]]they used to sell it all day from 2015 to 2020, however they discontinued it in 2020 due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic[[/note]] The Filet-O-Fish was created to cater to the Catholic communities that ate no meat on Fridays during Lent (fish doesn't count). The Happy Meal and corporate {{Mascot}} Ronald [=McDonald=] were created to appeal to children. [=McCafé=] items (after the café section offered in a few countries) were added in the late 2000s to compete with Starbucks and other coffee vendors. And then, of course, there's the chain's flagship burger, the Big Mac. Its ingredients made for a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK2qBbDn5W0 snappy jingle]]: "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun." (That bun is a 3-part bun, making the Big Mac a double-decker burger). The Big Mac is so well known that the number of calories in one is often used [[HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure as a unit of measure]] (as in, "(fatty food X) has as many calories as 3 Big Macs").[[note]]A Big Mac with the default toppings has 540 calories in the US and Canada. In Europe and Oceania, a Big Mac ranges from 490-500 calories.[[/note]] Owing to the company's global scale, the price of a Big Mac is also commonly used as a unit of comparison for purchasing power and living wages worldwide, referred to as [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index the Big Mac Index]]. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | The original San Bernardino restaurant has since been redesigned into a museum dedicated to the company. The oldest [=McDonald's=] [[LongRunners still in operation]] is the 4th location in Downey, California, which sports an image of Speedee the Hamburger-Head Mascot and a sign proudly proclaiming that the chain has sold ''500 million'' hamburgers[[note]]It survived intact for so long because the original owner's franchise agreement was with the [=McDonald=] brothers, prior to Kroc's takeover and the addition of a mandatory modernization clause to the franchise agreement[[/note]]. By the 1970s, the company buildings began including dining rooms and drive-through windows, coinciding with the addition of the now-trademark Mansard roof. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | In 2008, a new "modern" store design was unveiled, dubbed "Forever Young" (or [[FanNickname "Giant Eyebrow of Doom"]]). Near the end of TheNewTens, another new store design was gradually rolled out, with a flat roof, muted colors, and more of a coffeehouse-style interior. They have also invested significant effort into replacing human cashiers with self-service checkout screens. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | The quality and nutritional value of the food served is [[AWeightyAesop debatable]]—if nothing else, it sets the floor that everyone else has to do better than to be in the restaurant business—but no one can deny that the ubiquity of this fast food restaurant (over 30,000 in 119 countries) has a significant impact on human culture. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Until the mid-2000s, [=McDonald's=] also owned Donatos Pizza and Boston Market (a "fast casual" chain specializing in rotisserie chicken), and was at one point the largest investor in Chipotle Mexican Grill, which enabled much of the latter chain's early growth. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | The corporation operates a fully-furnished, constantly updated to the latest store model but [[http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2293 entirely fake restaurant]] in Southern California which is [[ProductPlacement offered to film and TV productions]] as well as used for almost all of their own commercials (worldwide). Chances are, when you see a [=McDonald's=] on TV, it's that one. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | Due to the company's wide scope, it has produced many works (most frequently advertising) with tropes of their own. |
| 32 | ---- |
| 33 | !!You deserve some tropes today!: |
| 34 | |
| 35 | * AnimatedAdaptation: ''WesternAnimation/TheWackyAdventuresOfRonaldMcdonald'' (example [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcyIjYE_wqo here]]) |
| 36 | ** There is also the rare ''Ronald [=McDonald=] and the Adventure Machine'' ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cN1DUgVcjE here]]) along with ''The Adventures Of Ronald [=McDonald=]: [=McTreasure=] Island'' ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dys0aN5NwwQ here]]). |
| 37 | * AnimateInanimateObject: These show up in commercials a lot, and not just food. One commercial from the 70s had talking trash cans, while commercials from the 90s suggested ''everything'' in Ronald's house was alive, including furniture, utensils, and even his big, red clown shoes. (Which he got from the Tooth Fairy for some reason.) |
| 38 | * ArtifactTitle: The [=Mc10:35=], a popular secret menu item, got its name back when establishments stopped serving breakfast each day at 10:30 AM, opening up a brief window where one could buy both breakfast and lunch using a leftover Egg [=McMuffin=] and a [=McDouble=]. The name became an artifact in 2015 when the Egg [=McMuffin=] was added to the all-day breakfast menu, thus meaning it is possible to get a [=Mc10:35=] anytime after 10:30. It stopped becoming this when the menu was discontinued due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. |
| 39 | * BoringButPractical: |
| 40 | ** As mentioned in the description, their entire business model was built on this, making uniform burgers to increase the restaurants' efficiency. |
| 41 | ** Their most popular menu item for a long time has been the Filet-O-Fish sandwich, largely because observant Catholics in the United States couldn't, at the time of the sandwich's introduction, eat meat on Fridays, and still can't during Lenten Fridays. It's little wonder that [=McDonald=]'s advertises the daylights out of the Filet-O-Fish at locations near Catholic churches during Lent. The [[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=filet-o-fish number one definition]] for the Filet-O-Fish on ''Website/UrbanDictionary'' even refers to it as "the Catholic Big Mac".[[note]]NSFW warning -- the ''third'' definition, in true ''Urban Dictionary'' fashion, describes a made-up sex act.[[/note]] It's also become popular among Muslims, because the sandwich's ingredients just so happened to meet halal guidelines (whitefish is basically always halal;[[note]]Certain fish species like catfish are not halal under Shia Jaafari jurisprudence (which basically follows the Jewish rules on seafood permissibility with an arguable exemption for shrimp) and some Sunni jurisprudence, but the species used for the Filet-O-Fish aren't among them so we won't get into that.[[/note]] beef and chicken are technically only halal if slaughtered correctly,[[note]]What defines "correctly" is a tremendous argument, one we won't get into here[[/note]] although plenty of Muslims in the West ignore that). |
| 42 | * BurgerFool: But of course. |
| 43 | ** [=McDonald's=] is the TropeCodifier. In fact, the tell-all book ''Fast Food Nation'' accuses them of trying to make their jobs so simple that a new person could be trained in 15 minutes, making everyone wholly expendable. |
| 44 | ** Needless to say, the company is not exactly a fan of the "[=McJob=]" slang for a badly paid nonunion fast food job with poor working conditions that a trained chimp could do. In the UK (where the term is particularly popular) their recruiting department even ran an advertising campaign with the tagline "Not bad for a [=McJob=]" in an attempt to neutralize the negative image associated with working at [=McDonald's=] has. It didn't work. When the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' added [=McJob=] to the dictionary, the company threatened to ''sue the dictionary'' for trademark infringement and also attempted to start a petition to get the definition changed (it failed, partly because [[EpicFail their own employees wouldn't sign it]]). [[note]]The chain also uses the phrase "[=McJobs=]" for a disabled employment campaign.[[/note]] |
| 45 | ** [[InsultToRocks The suspicion is that companies depending on poorly paid McJobs would not welcome trained chimpanzees, as animals would have better legislation to protect their interests and welfare, and paying in peanuts would, in the long run, cost more than minimum wage.]] |
| 46 | * CaptainErsatz: |
| 47 | ** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MaDonal MaDonal]] in Northern Iraq, as well as Matbax. |
| 48 | ** Ronald [=McDonald=] himself. In the Washington DC area Bozo the Clown made appearances at local [=McDonald's=] bringing in massive crowds. When the show was canceled, the actor who played Bozo, Willard Scott, became the first Ronald [=McDonald=], appearing in three local TV commercials for the local [=McDonald's=] franchisee. Scott would later go on to greater fame as the weather reporter for NBC's ''Today'' show. |
| 49 | * CatchPhrase: "RAN RAN RUU!" for Ronald in Japan. |
| 50 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: |
| 51 | ** The [=McDonaldland=] characters outside of Ronald haven't been seen in years. Even Ronald himself barely appears in new ads. |
| 52 | ** Mac Tonight in America, as a result of an injunction obtained against [=McDonald's=] by the Music/BobbyDarin estate[[labelnote:explanation]]Mac's whole gimmick was singing [=McDonald's=]-themed lyrics to the song "Mack the Knife", Darin's cover of which being the most famous version (and the basis for Mac Tonight as a whole). Darin's son Dodd Mitchell Darin claimed the company was infringing on his father's trademark and sued [=McDonald's=], obtaining an injunction preventing the song from being used in TV and radio ads, and Mac Tonight's concept became TheArtifact without it.[[/labelnote]]. His last commercial appearance altogether, in ads for Singapore and China, was in 2007. |
| 53 | * CityShoutOuts: |
| 54 | ** In 2007 the company aired a commercial featuring Mac Tonight promoting that the restaurant is open for all 24 hours. Near the end, he namedrops whatever city the ad is broadcasted in. In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOlLIP9-vlQ this particular version]], he says, "Chill out, Singapore!" |
| 55 | ** [=McDonald's=] also spoofed this trope when they brought out a line of Indian-themed food in their UK branches. Their commercials were filmed in the style of a 1970s cinema ad for local Indian restaurants. These were [[NoBudget very, very cheaply made]]; they'd film one scene inside a generic Indian restaurant set and then tack on a voiceover --obviously recorded in a different session- and a static image giving the actual name of the place and usually some directions. The [=McDonalds=] ads reproduced the effect faithfully, [[StylisticSuck grainy footage, cheesiness and all.]] |
| 56 | * CoversAlwaysLie: The food never looks as good in real life as it does in ads. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUjz_eiIX8k The reasons]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSd0keSj2W8 why]] boil down to [=McDonald's=] using some techniques that just barely pass as "telling the truth" in order to not run afoul of false advertising laws. They find only the biggest/best examples of the food, the lighting is intentionally made up to make it look better, all of the ingredients are placed on one side (as opposed to placed in the middle, like the employees are trained to do), and several of the flaws are outright removed with digital editing. |
| 57 | * {{Crunchtastic}}: Early ads featuring Ronald [=McDonald=] called him "the world's newest, silliest and hamburger-eatingest clown!". |
| 58 | * DefectorFromDecadence: Canada's first Ronald [=McDonald=], Geoffrey Giuliano, became a vegetarian activist and submitted testimony against the company during the [=McLibel=] case. |
| 59 | * TheDinnermobile: In 1991, [=McDonald's=] released a line of flip cars based on ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' in their Happy Meals. Two of these toys included Buster Bunny driving a car shaped like a [[TrademarkFavoriteFood carrot]] and Hamton J. Pig driving a car shaped like a submarine sandwich (with tomato-shaped wheels). |
| 60 | * DonutMessWithACop: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWHoys_PDfA This McCafe commercial]] consists in a horror movie parody with the RunningGag of every character constantly taking a sip of coffee all the time; the exception being the Sheriff, who is always seen eating a donut. |
| 61 | * DubNameChange: In Japan Ronald [=McDonald=] is called [[RepetitiveName Donald McDonald]], in deference to the lack of a clear "r" sound in Japanese. It’s quite interesting to note that the first English teacher in Japan was an American named [[HilariousInHindsight Ranald MacDonald]]. |
| 62 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: |
| 63 | ** Early locations were walk-up stands with no seating. The signature Mansard roofs didn't come until the early 70s. |
| 64 | ** The very first [=McDonald's=] opened in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant, and sold hamburgers alongside tamales, chili, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and barbecued pork, beef, and chicken sandwiches, all of which were served on china plates and with silverware. However the restaurant was not profitable and so in 1948 it was retooled into a burgers-only restaurant, with potato chips, coffee, pie, and sodas added to the menu. Fries and milkshakes joined the menu a year later. |
| 65 | * FightForTheLastBite: One [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYWtU6nlrsM a commercial]] had Ronald and Hamburglar compete in a video game over the last fry in their meal. |
| 66 | * FlawedPrototype: |
| 67 | ** The company introduced mozzarella sticks in November 2015, likely to compete with Arby's, the only other notable fast food chain on the market to sell mozzarella sticks. In January 2016, the company received customer complaints due to the cheese sticks supposedly missing mozzarella, the key ingredient. In not a long matter of time, the company was sued for allegations over the cheese sticks containing "fake" mozzarella. The item was quickly discontinued, thus being a limited time offer. The problem was that the restaurant didn't properly train the cooks how to prepare them -- mozzarella sticks need to be fried, but for a shorter time and at a lower temperature than french fries. It wasn't that the mozzarella sticks didn't contain any cheese; it's that the cheese inside of them boiled away into the oil because it was too hot. |
| 68 | ** The Filet-O-Fish was test-marketed in 1963 alongside the Hula Burger, an invention of Ray Kroc that had a slice of pineapple instead of meat. Both were targeted towards Roman Catholics who didn't eat meat on Friday during Lent. The best-selling of the two was, unsurprisingly, the Filet-O-Fish, which became a staple of [=McDonald's=] menu; the Hula Burger, which some claimed "tasted like styrofoam", was quietly discontinued and is now an obscure oddity. |
| 69 | ** In an attempt to compete with Burger King's onion rings, [=McDonald's=] introduced [[http://grist.org/list/mcdonalds-tried-to-make-onion-nuggets-happen/ Onion Nuggets]] in the 1970s. They were pulled after poor sales in only four test markets, but [=McDonald's=] would go on to revisit the "nugget" concept in the 1980s with the much more popular Chicken [=McNuggets=]. Since then they've flirted with selling onion rings, but only during limited time offers. |
| 70 | ** For a couple of years, as part of introducing a more fine dining experience, they introduced self serve checkouts where you can build your own gourmet burger with style of bun, number of Angus patties, toppings and sauce, how much, and served tableside (a trend you may still find today.) These were eventually phased out by a more streamlined gourmet range available at drive through. |
| 71 | ** Several concepts have attempted to compete with Burger King's Whopper: |
| 72 | *** The [=McDLT=] (1984), which came in a box that had the hot burger patty on one side and the toppings on the other (the idea being that the toppings would stay cool and fresh while the burger itself was hot). A chicken variation was also available. It was retired in 1990 due to concerns over its styrofoam packaging. |
| 73 | *** The [=McLean=] Deluxe (1991), a low-fat burger which replaced most of the fat with carrageenan but otherwise identical to the [=McDLT=]. Quietly dropped in 1996. |
| 74 | *** Their "adult" menu (1996) included the Arch Deluxe (a "premium" burger with higher-quality toppings), a grilled chicken sandwich, a fried chicken sandwich (replacing the [=McChicken=]) and a larger fish sandwich. This whole line was intentionally targeted at adults, with ads featuring children repulsed over the food. However, this burger line was one of the biggest flops in fast food history; despite spending about $200 million dollars in advertising, [[https://www.eater.com/22584033/mcdonalds-arch-deluxe-burger-discontinued-marketing-flop-andrew-selvaggio the Arch Deluxe was a massive failure]]. The reasons why were largely because [[UncertainAudience there really wasn't that big of an audience for a premium burger from McDonald's]], many of the franchisees weren't interested in buying tons of new ingredients that could only be used on one sandwich, and the aforesaid ads with repulsed children gave off the wrong impression. That said, the Filet-O-Fish permanently adopted the larger size; the grilled and fried chicken sandwiches were simply renamed; and the [=McChicken=] came back. Some of the "adult" menu concepts were {{retool}}ed into the Big N' Tasty (2000-2011), which was also nearly identical to the [=McDLT=], and the Angus line of burgers introduced in 2006 and phased out in 2013.[[invoked]] |
| 75 | *** The phase-out of the Angus Third-Pounder burgers had less to do with lack of market appeal and more to do with [=McDonald's=] need to streamline its production process; the new "Quarter Pounder Burgers" line that replaced the Angus burgers do not require an additional grill dedicated to them, since they're made with the same 1/4-pound (precooked) meat patties used in their regular and Double Quarter Pounders. |
| 76 | ** The [=McAfrika=] (beef, cheese, tomatoes and salad in a pitta-style sandwich) was a product that wasn't exactly ''bad'', but a victim of bad timing and a bad name. It was sold in Norway exclusively, in honor of the 2002 Winter Olympic games. Seeing as Southern Africa was undergoing a famine at the time where starvation was causing a bad death toll, a place promoting fast food sandwiches seemed incredibly poor judgement, especially when you consider that Norway is one of the world's wealthiest countries. They apologized, and tried to make amends with donation boxes in their restaurants, but they didn't learn their lesson; it returned for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and got the same response. |
| 77 | ** They tried pitching the [=McSpaghetti=] ''in Italy'', thinking they'd go for having one of their traditional foods served in some fast food place. America wasn't impressed either, as it took too long to prepare and wasn't all-too good, compared to "spaghetti with ketchup". (A version of it ''is'' [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff fairly popular in the Philippines]], however.) |
| 78 | ** The Filet-O-Fish has always been a hit, but other than that, they've had no luck with seafood. Case in point, the [=McGratin=] Croquette, designed with Japanese markets in mind. It was sort of a combination of chopped shrimp, mashed potatoes, and deep fried macaroni made into a patty and fried hamburger style. Japanese consumers were clearly put off by it. Back in the West, 1993’s [=McLobster=] met a similar fate due to the difficulty of promoting something as expensive as lobster as a casual option (although it briefly re-emerged in Canada in the early ‘10s). |
| 79 | ** Mighty Wings, buffalo wings they pitched in 2014 with the Super Bowl in mind, could well have been a lesson for corporations about the danger of overstocking. While consumers didn't consider them bad as far as chicken wings went, they really didn't stand out against other brands of buffalo wings, and certainly not worth the dollar a wing price tag that was slapped on them. Even after lowering the price to 60 cents a wing in order to liquidate the '' ten tons'' of wings the company had in stock, they never broke even. |
| 80 | ** The Chopped Beefsteak Sandwich (a steak sandwich with onions and tangy steak sauce) was another idea that failed because of the price. Most critics and consumers from the 70s remember it as ''delicious''. Thing is, the $1.29 price tag (at a time when the regular burgers were 40 cents) made it unaffordable to the average customer, and it was discontinued. |
| 81 | ** A similar problem was the Roast Beef Sandwich, introduced in 1968 to compete with Arby's. Though it sold well, the menu item required equipping every location with a meat slicer, an expense that would prevent the sandwich from ever turning a profit. Executives discontinued the sandwich as soon as they realized this, and never brought it back. |
| 82 | ** Another concept that never took off was [=McPizza=], which was tried in only a few markets in the late 80s-early 90s, being discontinued due to a combination of high costs to gain the equipment to serve it properly, and the long preparation times, which was especially troublesome for people ordering through the drive-thru. It was, however, more popular in Canada, being introduced in 1992 and continuing to be served as late as 1999. As of today, you can only get [=McPizza=] at the "World's Largest Entertainment [=McDonald's=]" in Orlando, Florida. |
| 83 | ** Salad Shakers were introduced in 2000 as a fun new way to eat salad (out of a plastic cup with a clear dome lid), Salad Shakers needed to be shaken up after adding in the dressing in order to distribute it. Though the concept worked (plenty of people do the same thing with plastic containers every day for lunch), they were replaced by Premium Salads (served in regular bowls) in 2003. |
| 84 | ** Despite CEO Ray Kroc insisting that [=McDonald's=] ''never'' sell hot dogs (he viewed them as unhygienic), some [=McDonald's=] stores nevertheless have sold hot dogs in the past. One summer during the 2000s, for instance, they briefly sold half-smokes as part of a summer-themed line of foods; they were dropped not long after. Midwest restaurants do sell Johnsonville bratwurst as a seasonal item. |
| 85 | ** They have also tried concept restaurants to varying degrees of success. Among these were: |
| 86 | *** [=McDonald's=] Express (small locations with limited menus, often found in convenience stores, airports, malls, and UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}} stores). A few are still around, mainly Canadian Walmart ones. |
| 87 | *** A few "Mini Mac" locations with drive-thru and walk-up windows akin to Rally's/Checkers[[note]]Arlington, Texas; Bay City, and Redford Township, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; West Los Angeles, California; and Boston, Massachusetts. The location in the food court of Lakeview Square Mall in Battle Creek was also originally branded "Mini Mac", but later upgraded to a normal food court [=McDonald's=] before closing[[/note]] Surprisingly for such a failed concept, three (West Los Angeles, California, Bay City, Michigan, and Pueblo, Colorado) are still open. |
| 88 | *** They tried drive-thru-only locations again in TheNineties with the "[=McDonald's=] Classic" concept, which was similar to "Mini Mac" but built in a more {{retraux}} style that vaguely resembled the walkup stands of old. As with "Mini Mac", a handful are still open. |
| 89 | *** [=McDiner=], which was obviously a diner-style restaurant. These existed in Indiana and Kentucky from 2001 to 2004, when they were converted to standard [=McDonald's=] restaurants. |
| 90 | *** Yet another limited-menu version called [=McSnack=] operated for a few years. One was in Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota; one in Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wisconsin; and one in La Jolla, California. Notably, the St. Cloud store didn't even sell burgers, just nuggets, desserts, and breakfast items. |
| 91 | *** [=McDonald's=] designed the "[=McStop=]", a combination gas station, restaurant, hotel, and strip mall in Lakeville, Minnesota in 1986. While the entire complex is still operational, the [=McStop=] branding has been removed. Coincidentally, the motel on the complex was itself a Flawed Prototype: it was a "no-frills" concept tested by Days Inn and called "Daystop". (The motel has since changed to a Motel 6.) |
| 92 | * FollowTheLeader: |
| 93 | ** If [=McDonald's=] has done it (fish sandwich, chicken nuggets, play places, Happy Meals, salads, Angus burgers, high-end coffees), chances are that many fast food chains have copied. Even if they weren't the first to develop something (for instance, Burger Chef was actually the first chain to have kids' meals), their version is usually the example that every other chain follows. |
| 94 | ** Going the other way, the Big Mac is a clone of Big Boy's "Big Boy" burger (two patties, extra bun in the middle, secret sauce). |
| 95 | ** [=McCafe=] was started to cash in on the success of Starbucks. |
| 96 | ** Burger King actually lampshaded this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lag2vDx2faQ one ad]]. |
| 97 | ** The new Happy Meal mascots' silly, chaotic nature is meant to cash in on the success of the Minions from ''Franchise/DespicableMe''. |
| 98 | * FoodPorn: [=McDonald's=] certainly pushes it hard in the commercials. Fun fact: When you see the burgers on TV, the pickles stick out the side so the viewer can see them. If you're actually ''working'' at [=McDonald's=], the pickle goes in the center of the burger so that it can get bitten into from any direction. In much the same vein, sandwiches prepared to be filmed in a commercial have their sauce ''carefully'' pipetted in so it can be seen in the final footage. |
| 99 | * FreshmanFears: One commercial from the 1980s called "First Day", has a boy encounter all kinds of problems on his first day of high school, including being the shortest person in gym, running afoul of the hall monitors, and attending the wrong class. The accompanying song also discusses this trope in the lyrics. |
| 100 | * FrivolousLawsuit: |
| 101 | ** They're rather infamous for this, frequently taking other businesses to court for trademark infringement, typically for including the prefix "Mc" or "Mac" in their names. They once sued a Scottish café owner called [=McDonald=], even though the place had been in business for over a century. Keep in mind that because of the way trademark laws work (at least in the US), [=McDonald's=] ''must'' take possible infringers to court, or at the very least threaten to do so. |
| 102 | ** There's also the infamous [=McLibel=] trial when the corporation went after two activists distributing pamphlets denouncing what they considered its destructive and harmful business practices. In doing so, the activists chose to fight in court and [=McDonald's=] found itself publicly humiliated in the courtroom attempting to defend claims that were patently ridiculous when put under cross-examination on the stand. This included its marketing claim that everything it sold was nutritious; the opposing lawyer backed the company into a corner forcing to claim that includes the soft drinks, because they have water. Eventually, the court fight was a draw: the judge declared that [=McDonald's=] credibly refuted some of the claims of the activists, but others held up. However the entire debacle was definitely a PyrrhicVictory for the company due to the StreisandEffect. |
| 103 | ** On the other side, the oft-repeated Stella Liebeck case was against [=McDonald's=]. You know, the one where the woman spilled hot coffee over herself while driving, sued, and won millions of dollars? The whole story, though, is a lot more nuanced: the coffee [=McDonald's=] served was at 180-190°F (82.2-87.8°C); Liebeck's attorneys argued is way too high and made the coffee defective because it was just too plain hot to serve, or because it was too hot to serve without a prominent warning about the dangers, or both.[[note]]Liebeck's suit was in strict product liability, one of the main elements of which is that the product has to be defective in order for the plaintiff to win. You can allege that a product was defective in one of three ways: a manufacturing defect (i.e. it wasn't made according to the manufacturer's specifications), a design defect (the product, as designed, was too unsafe to be marketed), and failure to warn (the product, while admittedly not too unsafe to be marketed, needed an adequate warning label to make sure that people didn't misuse it and cause injury to themselves). Since the temperature of the coffee was specified by [=McDonald's=] corporate policy, they couldn't claim a manufacturing defect, so they said either the coffee was just plain too hot to be safe (design defect) or that the warnings weren't prominent enough (failure to warn).[[/note]] Also, Liebeck wasn't even driving the car (it was her grandson's Ford Probe, who had pulled over to let her add cream and sugar) and had the cup between her thighs because the car had no cupholders,[[note]]A fact that may have factored into the increasing placement of cupholders in cars around that time; no doubt some lawyers serving the Big Three realized that had things gone a little differently, [=McDonald=]'s could have pointed the finger at ''Ford'' for forcing Liebeck to hold the cup between her thighs instead of giving her a cupholder. Given the increasing rate at which people were eating and drinking in cars in the 90s, putting cupholders made sense for automakers not only as a creature-comfort selling point but as a shield from liability from drivers and passengers injured by their drinks and car accident victims claiming that the accident might have been avoided if the driver had had their hands on the wheel instead of on their cup.[[/note]] she was wearing cotton sweatpants which absorbed the hot liquid and kept it next to her skin, which caused her to end up with 3rd-degree burns--some of which were in [[GroinAttack some very sensitive areas]] (think: if you spill hot coffee from a cup held between your thighs in a cramped car, where would it go?)--and needed over a week in the hospital (during which time she lost nearly 20% of her weight) and two years of further medical treatment, and they initially tried to settle for $20,000 to cover medical expenses (the company initially responded with just $800). The trial itself saw the jury award Liebeck $200,000 in compensation and $2.7 million in punitive damages, but the judge cut this down to $640,000 and they later settled out of court. |
| 104 | * GoneHorriblyWrong: Some of their advertisement and promotions have ended up backfiring over the years. |
| 105 | ** Their promotion for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984 had Mickey D's run a "If the U.S. wins, you win!" promotion. Customers were given a scratch card with an Olympic event on it; if the U.S. won a medal in that event, the customer would get a free Big Mac (for the athletes winning a gold medal), fries (for silver) or drink (for bronze). [=McDonald's=] mostly offered it for events Russia usually swept up in. However, they did all this before Russia announced they were boycotting the Olympics that year in retaliation for the United States' boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics (in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan). Without the Soviet Union and their allies (America's biggest rivals at the Games), this led to the American team winning a lot more medals than they would have otherwise, including more than twice as many gold medals as the previous Olympics (83 in 1980, compared to 34 in 1976). As a result, [=McDonald's=] had to give away a lot more free food than they expected, and they lost money on the promotion. The whole thing was parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E10LisasFirstWord Lisa's First Word]]", where the same thing happens to Krusty Burger in-universe. Meanwhile, [=McDonald's=] (and the business world in general) learned a very valuable lesson: never run a promotion that relies on factors outside of your control. |
| 106 | ** In Hong Kong, a Snoopy promotion in 1998 proved to be much popular than expected, with lines snaking around blocks because people wanted to own a complete set of Snoopy wearing traditional clothes from around the world, with many purchasing Happy Meals and immediately throwing away the food just to get the toys. This bottlenecked business so badly that stores began designating registers for use by customers who wanted to eat and those who just wanted the toys. |
| 107 | ** The famous annual ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}'' promotional giveaway event [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Monopoly#Fraud was successfully rigged by Jerome P. Jacobson and Jerry Colombo for 6 years]] between 1995 and 2000; the fraud was finally uncovered in 2001, with that year's edition of the game being halted. The story was chronicled in the 2020 Creator/{{HBO}} documentary ''Series/McMillions''. |
| 108 | ** The notorious Franchise/HelloKitty promotion [[http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_458_2005-01-11.html in Singapore in 2000]] was another case of a promotion being a little too popular. Trying to cash in on the Japanese craze, they started giving away the toys with Extra Value meals, only to find ''hundreds'' of people lining up for them before the stores opened. Traffic jams formed leading to the restaurants. Most threw the food away simply to get the toys, and there was even a riot at one Boon Keng outfit with seven customers injured. While [=McDonalds'=] and Sanrio profited excessively from the promotion (2.8 million toys were sold during the promotion), [=McDonald's=] had to apologize to the public, make special reparations, and hire security guards until the promotion ended. The same thing previously happened several times in the US in the late 1990s when the Happy Meals gave away Toys/BeanieBabies, thus leading to massive lines, people throwing away food just to get the toys, and rioting. |
| 109 | ** History repeated when they tried to capitalize on the sudden spike in demand for their long-discontinued Szechuan [=McNugget=] sauce, thanks to it getting a ColbertBump from the show ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''. Again, they vastly underestimated just how much demand there would be; hundreds of fans (many of the [[LoonyFan Loony]] persuasion) lined up for what turned out to be an allocation of only ''20 packs'' per restaurant, and most places didn't even receive that. Again, Mickey D's had to apologize, and promised to reintroduce the sauce again on a bigger scale. |
| 110 | * GrandfatherClause: When Ray Kroc took over, a "mandatory updating" clause was added to the franchise agreement so that the restaurants would always be upgraded to the latest model. Those who signed their franchise agreements with the [=McDonald=] brothers were exempt from this clause, so they kept their 1950s "Golden Arches" design; a few remain standing to this day, including the oldest still-operating [=McDonald's=] in Downey, California (est. 1953). A few nonstandard locations were also grandfathered, such as the 18th century [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denton_House_%28New_York%29 Denton House]] in New Hyde Park, NY that was converted into a [=McDonald's=] in the 1980s (making it a [[VisualPun McMansion]]), and the 19th century [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_House_%28Lewiston,_New_York%29 Frontier House]] in Lewiston, NY which housed a [=McDonald's=] from 1977 to 2004. |
| 111 | * {{Hypocrite}}: [=McDonald=]'s was seen as this when back in 2013 nearing Christmas they advised their employees to avoid eating junk food and lectured them about the consequences of eating foods high in fats mainly because it can make them unproductive and hurt the company's image. |
| 112 | * InsistentTerminology: The infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVcVXTeHTLI 1985 introductory commercial]] for the [=McDLT=] has a young Creator/JasonAlexander using the phrase "lettuce and tomato hamburger" three times over the course of sixty seconds, as though it was a separate special category of hamburger and was a phrase that everybody used. |
| 113 | * ItWillNeverCatchOn: |
| 114 | ** According to the BBC documentary ''The Men Who Made Us Fat'' Ray Kroc thought super-sized meals would fail because no one at the time ate such large portions of food, especially for lunch (he figured either no one buy them or they would skip the next meal due to being full). Incidentally, the idea came from the guy who created different-sized popcorn portions for movie theaters. |
| 115 | ** When Richard [=McDonald=] first came up with the idea for the Golden Arches, he and his brother Maurice had to interview at least four architects before they could find one willing to use them in a building design. The first one objected to the arches, the second one wanted to modify them and the third one told the brothers that if they were to tell him what to do, they may as well do it themselves. |
| 116 | * JapaneseRanguage: [=McDonald's=] was forced to change Ronald [=McDonald=]'s name to Donald [=McDonald=] in Japan for the reason that native Japanese speakers would find "Ronald" almost impossible to pronounce. |
| 117 | * KidsMealToy: The iconic Happy Meals feature toys based on licensed properties, as well as the OriginalGeneration [=McDonaldland=] characters. The restaurant has had so many that it's warranted [[KidsMealToy/McDonalds its own page]]. |
| 118 | * LastOfHisKind: Ronald [=McDonald=] is probably the last genuinely positive example of a clown left in the popular consciousness, but he's subject to a lot of MemeticMutation thanks to being the spokesman for a controversial company, and, well, just because he's a clown. |
| 119 | * LetsMeetTheMeat: Played straight in many ads. Subverted by the singing fish, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bJOIqVAD-s who isn't very happy about being made into a sandwich and the rest of his remains mounted on a wall]]. |
| 120 | * LimitedWardrobe: Ronald [=McDonald=] and the rest of the [=McDonaldland=] characters almost always wear the same outfits. |
| 121 | * LintValue: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyzYI3TV8IQ This]] Dollar Menu commercial. |
| 122 | * LiveActionAdaptation: There was [=McDonald's Family Theater=] in the 90's with Ronald only serving as the host who appears before and after the main story. Fast forward to the mid-2000's with [=McKids Adventures=] where Ronald is the host once again and has little screen-time to make way for the titular [=McKids=] gang. |
| 123 | * MagicalClown: Ronald [=McDonald=] is called "The world famous magical clown". In one commercial, he uses his magic to turn the cloud above a sad girl's head into a ball of sunlight. |
| 124 | * MsFanservice: Japan also has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UKLncvGxQ8&feature=related female mascot]], who has bright red hair and wears basically a dress version of Ronald's outfit. HeadTiltinglyKinky to some... |
| 125 | * NonIronicClown: The lovable Ronald [=McDonald=]. He's even the trope image. |
| 126 | * NotHelpingYourCase: In response to "[=McJob=]" being added to [[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/McJob Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary]], then-CEO Jim Cantalupo tried to claim that [=McDonald's=] is a better career choice than most people assume by claiming that over 1,000 franchise owners had started out in the kitchen. Except that [=McDonald's=] and its franchises had over 400,000 total employees at the time, so the math doesn't exactly work out in their favor. |
| 127 | * NutritionalNightmare: Since the 2000s, [=McDonalds=] has had a long history of trying to combat their image as one of the faces of American obesity, in part due to the documentary Film/SuperSizeMe[[note]]It's worth noting that Morgan Spurlock faked a lot of his findings for the sake of making them seem worse than what they were[[/note]]. They began to offer healthier options in order to try and appeal to the growing health concerns over the years, but for the most part the only thing that ever really stuck was the salads. In modern times, [=McDonalds=] puts a lot more emphasis on their [=McCafee=] line than their burgers, specifically trying to take a chunk of the coffee drinker market due to decreasing burger sales. |
| 128 | * OpenSecret: Like many other fast food chains, [=McDonald's=] has many secret menu items. Most merely consist of mixing existing items, such as the [=Mc10:35=] (an Egg [=McMuffin=] combined with a [=McDouble=]), the "[=McGangbang=]" (a [=McDouble=] and a [=McChicken=]), etc. Others consist of putting other items on an existing sandwich, such as the "Poor Man's Big Mac", which is just a [=McDouble=] with the ketchup and mustard replaced with Big Mac sauce and lettuce added, thus creating a sandwich with all the ingredients of a Big Mac (save for the three-layer sesame seed bun) for less than the price of an actual one. |
| 129 | * OutOfFocus: All of the mascots save for Ronald [=McDonald=]. Grimace appeared in a commercial for the ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' toy promotion in 2009 and the Hamburglar was revived for an ad campaign in 2015, though. |
| 130 | ** Ronald himself became out of focus after the rise of Minion-esque Happy Meals. |
| 131 | ** While Ronald has remained out of focus for the time being, the rest of the mascots are starting to make a comeback in TheNew20s. Grimace, Hamburglar, and Bridie had toys made of them for the "Adult Happy Meal" promotion, while Grimace made a return to the spotlight for his birthday promotion in 2023. The latter led to the infamous Grimace Shake, which quickly spawned a viral Platform/TikTok trend that boosted [=McDonalds'=] sales by 10.3%. |
| 132 | * OvercomplicatedMenuOrder: The Drive Thru Rap from Website/YouTube (made even worse when rapped at full speed): |
| 133 | --> I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce don't be frontin son no seeds on the bun we be up in this dive thru order for two gotta craving for a number nine like my shoe need some chicken up in here in this dizzle for rizzle my nizzle extra salt on the frizzle Dr.Pepper my brother another for your mother double double super size and don't forget the..... FRIES. |
| 134 | ** The 1988-89 "menu song" ad campaign, which featured a customer rattling off every item of the then-current [=McDonald's=] menu to the tune of "Life is a Rock (but the Radio Rolled Me)". A slightly different version was used in Canada, as well as a French version in Quebec. |
| 135 | * ProductPlacement: Sort of - they sponsor many major sports events, such as UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup and the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames. |
| 136 | * RefugeInAudacity: A rumor popped up in the late 1970's that [=McDonald's=] used ground-up earthworms in their hamburgers, a hoax which Ray Kroc deflated just by pointing out that nightcrawlers cost four times as much per pound compared to ground beef. |
| 137 | * RepetitiveName: In Japan, Ronald [=McDonald=] is known as ''Donald'' [=McDonald=]; the reasons for this are discussed in DubNameChange above. |
| 138 | * {{Retraux}}: Many restaurants in the 1980s and 1990s were built in a faux-fifties style. Some of them were even built to have only drive-thru and walk-up service, like the earliest ones. The [=McDonald's=] near Charing Cross Station in London once had a beautiful ArtDeco interior, but is now a bland modern design. |
| 139 | * RepurposedPopSong: |
| 140 | ** The '60s Lovin' Spoonful hit "Do You Believe in Magic?" was used in a few commercials featuring Ronald. |
| 141 | ** Music/DonnaSummer's "She Works Hard for the Money" was remade into "She gets more for her money, 'Cause [=McDonald's=] treats her right." |
| 142 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxqVlmjmguE Mac Tonight]] was created as part of a campaign advertising [=McDonald's=] staying open at later hours in the 1980s. His signature song of the same name was a rewrite of the popular standard "Mack the Knife" -- specifically, the version sung by Music/BobbyDarin (who Mac's image was loosely based on). Unfortunately, this came back to bite the company (see ChuckCunninghamSyndrome above). |
| 143 | ** (Buh-duh bah-bah-bah!) "I'm Lovin' It" (the current slogan) was originally a Music/JustinTimberlake song. |
| 144 | ** Reunion's "Life Is a Rock (but the Radio Rolled Me)" was used as the basis for the "menu song". |
| 145 | ** Another jingle, "Glad You Came", comes from the eponymous song by The Wanted. |
| 146 | * RhymingNames: The chain's primary mascot is named Ronald [=McDonald=]. |
| 147 | %%* ScrewedByTheMerchandise: A famous case, where, arguably, Happy Meal toys became the downfall of the original ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries''. The second film in the series, ''Film/BatmanReturns'' was full of [[DarkerAndEdgier horrific and sexual content]], which caused an outcry from parents, and the action figures didn't sell. So Creator/WarnerBros kicked out Creator/TimBurton and brought in Creator/JoelSchumacher to make the next film ''Film/BatmanForever'' LighterAndSofter with more colorful characters and vehicles which could be translated into more action figures, a strategy which largely succeeded. Unfortunately, there's an argument this contributed to why the next film [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed at the box office]]. Those who worked on ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' said that it was the first time they learned of the word "toyetic", which contributed to decisions like making the batmobile have only a single seat because that was easier to replicate as a toy. |
| 148 | * ScienceWizard: Ronald is a MagicalClown and a GadgeteerGenius, creating a number of inventions such as time machines in some of his commercials. |
| 149 | * ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u-uTVr3PbA I Like to Scare Myself]]" - one of multiple songs that were packed with Happy Meals in the eighties - involves this. |
| 150 | * TooSmartForStrangers: [[http://youtu.be/Jwb9W51j7fo The second commercial]] seemed to be ''trying'' for this, but instead, it just comes off as incredibly creepy. |
| 151 | --> '''Boy''': My mother told me never to talk to strangers. |
| 152 | --> '''Ronald''': Well your mother's right as always, but, I'm Ronald [=McDonald=]! Here, give me a [=McDonald=]'s shake! |
| 153 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Of at least two United States Presidents. UsefulNotes/BillClinton and [=McDonald=]'s were pretty much inseparable in popular culture during his years in power thanks in part to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYt0khR_ej0&ab_channel=SaturdayNightLive a memorable "Saturday Night Live" sketch]].[[note]]Clinton became a vegetarian after leaving office and doesn't eat it anymore.[[/note]] UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump is known to be a fan as well and often posted images of himself enjoying [=McDonald=]'s meals on the campaign trail to social media. Once elected President, the White House cook had to learn how to make a replica Quarter Pounder with cheese because Trump frequently requested it for a meal. Trump also [[https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-appearances/the-pure-american-banality-of-donald-trumps-white-house-fast-food-banquet infamously served a huge McDonald's feast]] to the NCAA Champion Clemson Tigers during their 2019 White House visit. |
| 154 | * UnPerson: The company's official history gives more credit to the [=McDonald=] brothers than it did prior to Ray Kroc's death, but still glosses over things like the fact they had already begun franchising before Kroc entered the picture. |
| 155 | * WeDontSuckAnymore: They seem to be doing this in 2015, though a lot of it is actually more "We never really sucked, it's just you believed a lot of crap and lies about us. Here's why they're not true." |
| 156 | * WritersCannotDoMath: When the UK [=McDonalds=] introduced a "Pound Saver" menu (8 items for £1 each), they promoted it as "40,312 combinations". This was presumably supposed to be the number of ways of ordering from the Pound Saver menu a meal consisting of 2-8 items once each, but for some unfathomable reason they worked it out as 8!-8. The correct calculation is 2[[superscript:8]]-9, the total of all combinations minus 1 for the "combination" consisting of no items and 8 for those consisting of only one -- a much less impressive 247.[[note]]The 40,312 figure would be correct ''if'' the order of the items in each combo mattered -- that is, if 7 fries and one Big Mac was a different combination than six fries, one Big Mac, and one additional fries.[[/note]] |
| 157 | |
| 158 | !!Pop culture references to [=McDonald's=]: |
| 159 | |
| 160 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 163 | * The 1993 ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' Taco Bell commercials featured a jab at [=McDonald's=] by having Boris Badenov running a burger restaurant called [=MicBoris=] and Rocky and Bullwinkle thwarting his schemes by ordering tacos from Taco Bell while claiming that "[[StrawmanProduct burgers are boring]]". |
| 164 | * Australian-based restaurant Grill'd came under fire for an animated 2021 ad where a sketchy Ronald [=McDonald=] lookalike was trying to peddle broken toys to a pair of children, many decrying the ad as inappropriate because of the commercial starting with the Ronald [=McDonald=] expy [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything opening his coat in front of the children while viewed from the back]] and ending with his pants falling down while he's nailed to the wall with Grill'd flags, his privates censored by being obscured by the Grill'd flag on one of the burgers given to the kids by Grill'd's anthropomorphic burger mascot. |
| 165 | [[/folder]] |
| 166 | |
| 167 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 168 | * ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': |
| 169 | ** The restaurant is mentioned indirectly in Chapter 24 while Kurumi explains how her appetite can be easily stimulated. |
| 170 | ** Naddy is shown to frequent a [=McDonald's=] location, inviting Chiyo there on one occasion, and she sets up a stand based on the restaurant in a bonus page. |
| 171 | * ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' briefly mentions [=McDonald's=] just after Osaka is introduced, where she confirms to her classmates that people in the Kansai region call it "Makudo" rather than "Makku"; depending on the localization, this may appear as "Mickey D's" or just "[=McD's=]". The same manga also features a [[BlandNameProduct copycat location]] in the form of Magnetron Burger, which isn't seen in the anime adaptation but is still alluded to. |
| 172 | * ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' has the fomer Demon King, Maou working at [=MgRonalds=], an explict spoof of [=McDonald's=]. It serves as a major recurring location in-story as the workplace for Maou and supporting character Chiho Sasiki. A running gag is how Maou acts like rising up the corporate chain will help him take over Japan, treating his job as SeriousBusiness. |
| 173 | * An [=OVA=] of ''Franchise/{{Tamagotchi}}'' has Mametchi, Memetchi, and Kuchipatchi helping Hamburgertchi at a [=McDonald's=]. |
| 174 | [[/folder]] |
| 175 | |
| 176 | [[folder:Comics]] |
| 177 | * In a story arc of ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'', Fat Freddy finds himself in Scotland. Feeling hungry, he walks into an establishment with the name [=MacDonald's=] over the door to find, to his disgust, it doesn't serve burgers-- only whiskey, beer and stale potato chips. |
| 178 | * ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' had the infamous "Hamburger War" in the "Cursed Earth" story arc. Published during the late TheSeventies, it involved Dredd stumbling across a literal fast food war between the Burger King Creeps from Burgerville and the [=McDonald's=] Marauders from [=McDonald City=]. Surprising no one, the owners of these trademarked characters did not take kindly to their inclusion in this tale.[[note]]But according to the PR department of back then, attorneys from [=McDonald's=] never actually approached the team behind the comic book, but they got spooked anyway over an possible escalating situation.[[/note]] The publisher IPC decided to settle the copyright issue out of court and retract the storyline from later reprinted editions of "The Cursed Earth" before things got out of control. However, the year 2014 brought a change to UK copyright law allowing these comics to be printed again. |
| 179 | [[/folder]] |
| 180 | |
| 181 | [[folder:Documentary]] |
| 182 | * ''Film/SuperSizeMe'' is a documentary where director Morgan Spurlock spends thirty days eating exclusively at [=McDonalds=] to demonstrate the effects of fast food on American diet, interspersed with segments from fans and critics of the company. |
| 183 | * Featured heavily in ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2337202/ The Men Who Made Us Fat]]''. |
| 184 | * ''Series/McMillions'' is an Creator/{{HBO}} series discussing the infamous ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}'' promotional event scam from 1995-2000, in which a disgruntled employee deliberately rigged the event in his circle of friends' favor for half a decade. |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 188 | * The story FanFic/GarfieldInAlongCameASplut has Ronald briefly cameo, now a nihilistic DeathSeeker after falling on hard times (he can't even afford to buy one of his own happy meals). He happily ends his hollow existence of product placement by letting ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} run him over in the [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Delorean.]] |
| 189 | [[/folder]] |
| 190 | |
| 191 | [[folder:Film]] |
| 192 | * In ''Film/PulpFiction'', Jules and Vincent discuss what a Quarter Pounder with cheese is called in France. It's apparently called a "Royale with Cheese" and a Big Mac is called "Le Big Mac". [[note]]In real life, ''Royal Deluxe'' and just plain ''Big Mac'' respectively.[[/note]] |
| 193 | ** This gets [[ActorAllusion referenced]] in ''Film/FromParisWithLove'', where a Royale with Cheese is the TrademarkFavoriteFood of John Travolta's character. |
| 194 | * In ''Film/ComingToAmerica'', Akeem finds work at a fast food restaurant called [=McDowell's=]. Since [=McDonald's=] actually exists in the film's universe, the similarity is heavily {{lampshade|Hanging}}d. Ironically, the [=McDowell's=] building was a dressed-up Wendy's. |
| 195 | * In ''Film/DarkShadows'', Barnabas awakes in 1972 after having been buried for 196 years, and the first thing he sees is a golden arches sign. He thinks the "M" stands for "Mephistopheles". |
| 196 | * In the film ''Film/RichieRich'', the title character has his own operating [=McDonald's=] in his family's gigantic mansion. |
| 197 | * The 1988 film ''Film/MacAndMe'' is an ''Film/{{ET|The Extraterrestrial}}''-[[FollowTheLeader like]] movie that features lots of ProductPlacement for [=McDonald's=]. In fact, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdvO0tmNjGo one big scene]] takes place in one during a birthday party! Guest starring Ronald [=McDonald=] [[CharacterAsHimself As Himself]]. |
| 198 | * One of the kids in ''Film/SpaceCamp'' talks about building a [=McDonald's=] on the moon in case an astronaut gets a "Big Mac Attack". Same kid later mentions a guy he knew who could hold his breath for a long time by thinking about eating french fries. |
| 199 | * Mooby's of Film/TheViewAskewniverse is an obvious parody. ''Film/ClerksII'' is set almost entirely inside one. |
| 200 | * An odd reference in ''Film/ScotlandPA'', a BlackComedy SettingUpdate of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' in a rural fast-food restaurant in the 70s. After Joe and Pat murder Duncan and take over his restaurant, they rename it after themselves: [=McBeth's=]. They even use a giant letter M as their logo. |
| 201 | * The live action film version of ''Film/TheFlintstones'' has [[FlintstoneTheming RockDonald's]], where "dozens and dozens" have been served. Some [=McDonald's=] stores were even redone to [=RockDonald'ses=] to help promote the film., and [=RockDonald's=] featured heavily in TV ads for both [=McDonald's=] and [[ProductPlacement the film itself]]. |
| 202 | * ''Film/{{Sleeper}}'' - in 2173, Creator/WoodyAllen's fugitive character (formerly a health food store owner) has been assimilated into society. He leaves a [=McDonald's=] with the sign reading "Over 795,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Served". |
| 203 | * ''Film/TimeAfterTime'' - time traveler H.G. Wells looks for food at a [=McDonald's=] in current-day San Francisco - unfamiliar with modern food, he parrots the order of the guy in front of him until. to his relief, he sees tea on the menu and finds out fries are 'pommes frites'. Later, on a date, he comments the food is much better than 'that Scottish place'. |
| 204 | * ''Bye Bye Love'', a mid-90s comedy about divorcee fatherhood, starring Paul Reiser, Randy Quaid and Creator/RobReiner, and underwritten by the Golden Arches. As per ''Mac and Me'' above, ProductPlacement abounds, but without the {{Narm}} that makes ''M&M'' SoBadItsGood, this film is [[SoOkayItsAverage completely unmemorable]]. |
| 205 | * ''Film/TheFifthElement'' features two police officers getting their lunch at [=McDonald's=] in the mid-23rd Century. At least until Korben accidentally spills it over them in a sideswipe and they end up crashing into one of [=MickyD's=] garbage trucks. |
| 206 | * ''Film/TheFounder'' is a 2016 film starring Creator/MichaelKeaton and Creator/NickOfferman, among others, which dramatises the story of how Ray Kroc discovered [=McDonald's=] and took it over. Yes, the title is ironic.[[note]]Because Kroc wasn't the founder.[[/note]] |
| 207 | * Has become FutureSlang in ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad''. The idea of a place where you can eat as much as you want seems incomprehensible to the War Boys except as a heavenly afterlife. |
| 208 | -->'''Nux:''' I was awaited in Valhalla. They were calling my name. I should be walking with the Immorta, [=McFeasting=] with the heroes of all time. |
| 209 | * ''Anime/TamagotchiHappiestStoryInTheUniverse'' has cups with the [=McDonald's=] logo at Celebria. |
| 210 | [[/folder]] |
| 211 | |
| 212 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 213 | * ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': When Arthur has to come to terms with the destruction of Earth, he realizes that it's simply [[AMillionIsAStatistic too big for him to comprehend.]] So he tries to think about the destruction of England, then [=McDonald's=], and finally settles for being sad about never getting a Big Mac again. |
| 214 | ** In ''Mostly Harmless'', it is discovered that an alien race has been observing humanity for years, and building up a huge addiction to [=McDonalds=] on the way. |
| 215 | * ''Literature/GoodOmens'' features references to Burger Lord and their mascot, [=McLordy=] the Clown. As well as what happened when Burger Lord agents tried to visit France. |
| 216 | * ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'': Grantville's [=McDonald's=] is taken over by the Committee of Correspondence, who use it as a headquarters for their quest to spread American-style political values across Europe. As the Committees spread across Europe, they take the "Freedom Arches" with them. |
| 217 | [[/folder]] |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 220 | * In an episode of ''Series/RedDwarf'', where the crew answer a distress call turning out to emanate from a long-dead female crew, Rimmer looks down at the skeletal remains and wails that they've got as much meat on them as a Chicken [=McNugget=]. The "Mc", though visible from [[Creator/ChrisBarrie Chris Barrie's]] lip movements is notably muted, due to fears of legal action. It was reinstated for the Remastered version in 1998. |
| 221 | * "[=WacArnold's=]" on a skit from ''Series/ChappellesShow''. |
| 222 | * [=McDoggles=] from ''Series/{{Pizza}}''. |
| 223 | * An episode of ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' had Archie talk about franchising the bar he recently acquired. He compares it to [=McDonald's=], saying he'll have "The Golden Archies" and a sign that says "Over two million boopabloops served". (This was AVerySpecialEpisode where Archie was hopped up on pills.) |
| 224 | * ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': |
| 225 | ** "Three Job, No Income Family" has Al (and later Peg) working at a spoof called "Burger Trek" to make more money. |
| 226 | ** Another episode has Al trying to file a police report with an apathetic operator, and when he tries to go over his head to contact the mayor (who he doesn't even who they are), he is given the name "[=McCheese=]". |
| 227 | -->'''Al:''' Well, you're in trouble now, buddy; [[ComicallyMissingThePoint I voted for]] ''[[ComicallyMissingThePoint him!]]'' |
| 228 | [[/folder]] |
| 229 | |
| 230 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 231 | * American singer-songwriter Dean Friedman released the song [[https://youtu.be/zvwPMUGk6rQ “McDonald’s Girl”]] in 1981, which was banned from airplay on Creator/TheBBC for mentioning a commercial brand name; Friedman claims this led to him being dropped by his record label. Music/BarenakedLadies frequently covered the song in live shows early in their career, and [[https://youtu.be/7AuIcbvMgjI a live recording]] became a local radio hit in their hometown of Toronto in late 1991 and early 1992. [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=k9DLemzc29o Another cover version]] by vocal group The Blenders was a hit in Norway in 1998. In 2011, [=McDonald’s=] licensed The Blenders’ version for [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=EGqQLWqo48c an advertisement]]. |
| 232 | * [[Music/DireStraits Mark Knopfler's]] song "Boom, Like That", is all about Ray Kroc's turning [=McDonald's=] into a franchise, and his less than nice techniques. (After he bought them out, the original [=McDonald=] brothers started a new restaurant. Kroc put a [=McDonald's=] across the street and ran them out of business.) |
| 233 | -->''The competition, send them south; they're gonna drown, put a hose in their mouth.'' |
| 234 | * In one of his songs, Music/DoctorSteel sings that he has a "Ronald [=McRaygun=]". |
| 235 | * Music/MitchBenn, in a song for ''Radio/TheNowShow'', suggests [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A71EYpAJy54 one possible reason]] for a fall in [=McDonald's=] share price. |
| 236 | * In John Conlee's "Common Man", the title character offers to take his date to [=McDonald's=] since he's not a fancy guy. |
| 237 | * Music/WesleyWillis' "Rock & Roll [=McDonald's=]" |
| 238 | * "[[Music/DemiLovato I'm no supermodel/I still eat at [=McDonald=]'s, baby]]/[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmjO1p9Oxrk But that's just me.]]" |
| 239 | * ''Music/{{Massacration}}'' did a song called "Grand Pedido" for a [=McDonald's=] ad. |
| 240 | * Music/ElectricSix have "Down at [=McDonaldz=]" / "Down at [=Down at McDonnelzzz=]" as the song has been seen listed both ways. Either way the song is clearly about [=McDonalds=] |
| 241 | * Music/WeirdAlYankovic mentions he could take a girl out for a "Mickey D's" in his parody of "Whatever You Like" by Music/{{TI}}. |
| 242 | * Music/PearlJam has a "...I make a right after the arches stinking grease and bone" throw in in the song Lukin |
| 243 | [[/folder]] |
| 244 | |
| 245 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 246 | * [=McArnolds=] is the ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean'' equivalent. |
| 247 | * In one ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' strip, Calvin is bored from the length of time it's taking for the coals to cook burgers to heat up. His dad gives him a long LessonOfTheDaySpeech about the importance of waiting and slowing down. Calvin just asks [[ComicallyMissingThePoint if he should just go to [=McDonalds=]]]. |
| 248 | * In the early 2000s ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'' Huey and Caesar spent many panels mocking the [=McDonalds=] hip hop marketing campaign. |
| 249 | * An early ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' strip has Milo and Limekiller less than impressed with the insistent theme-naming of [=McDonald's=] fare: |
| 250 | -->'''[=McDonald's=] counterman:''' Hi folks! Welcome to the home of Ronald [=McDonald=] and Mayor [=McCheese=]! So what kind of [=McMunchies=] would you like? How about an Egg [=McMuffin=]? Or an all-beef [=McFeast=]? Or maybe our newest treat...Chicken [=McNuggets=]! [=McYummy=]! |
| 251 | -->'''Milo:''' ''[turning to leave]'' Let's get a [=McPizza=]. |
| 252 | -->'''Limekiller:''' [=McFine=] with me. |
| 253 | [[/folder]] |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 256 | * One of the main factions in ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'' is the Mak Attax, a magical cabal largely composed of [=McDonalds=] employees. The sourcebook describing them is titled "Break Today" after the advertising jingle. For legal reasons, the name of the company is never mentioned in any Unknown Armies book; where necessary, it is referred to as 'the Scotsman'. |
| 257 | [[/folder]] |
| 258 | |
| 259 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 260 | * ''WebAnimation/McBusters'' is a trilogy of animated web videos that serve as a WholePlotReference to ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'' and ''Film/GhostbustersII'' with the [=McDonaldland=] mascots, depicting Ronald [=McDonald=], Hamburglar, Mayor [=McCheese=] and Mac Tonight as hunters of monsters based on the Fry Guys and [=McNugget=] Buddies, which they fry up and serve as fast food after capturing. |
| 261 | [[/folder]] |
| 262 | |
| 263 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 264 | * ''Website/TheOnion'' |
| 265 | ** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/mcdonalds-drops-hammurderer-character-from-adverti,127/ [=McDonald=]'s Drops 'Hammurderer' Character From Advertising]]. |
| 266 | ---> "Stabble stabble stabble!" |
| 267 | ** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/not-quite-perfect-mcdonalds-opens-in-illinois-outl,1328/ Not Quite Perfect [=McDonald=]'s Opens]]. |
| 268 | * ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' begins with the "[=McBonald's=]" fast food restaurant chain. |
| 269 | ** Originally, it actually was the actual [=McDonald=]'s, with Ronald himself as the villain of the first arc. It and every subsequent reference and reappearance of the clown and restaurant were quietly replaced with Donald [=McBonald=] to prevent any possible legal issues when printing books. |
| 270 | * Creator/BradJones has tried two [=McDonald's=] OpenSecret menu items on his ''WebVideo/BradTries'' segment; the [=Mc10:35=], a combo of the [=McDouble=] and the Egg [=McMuffin=] (which he found kind of bland), and the [=McGangBang=], a combo of the [=McDouble=] and the [=McChicken=] (which he found pretty good, and kicked himself for not trying it sooner). He's since done a video on the [=McRib=] (which he already loves, and mostly did because it was commonly requested and to compare it to the Burger King BBQ Rib Sandwich), and made up his own secret menu item in another video: The [=McRibMac=] (replacing the beef patties in a Big Mac with a split in half [=McRib=]). |
| 271 | ** A different segment of his, ''WebVideo/EightiesDan'', discussed the [=McDLT=]. [[spoiler: Turns out it's a ''bad'' idea to eat a burger that's been in a time capsule for twenty years.]] |
| 272 | * A RunningGag in ''Webcomic/JoeLovesCrappyMovies'' is replacing actors in bad movies with The Grimace to make them better. He also tends to get stabbed a lot. |
| 273 | * Early strips of ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'' had Lindesfarne work at a lawyer friendly version of [=McDonalds=], [=McRoughage=], a fast food join catering to the herbivore members of society. Rudy tried to extort money (and a year's worth of customers for him to eat) from them by cybersquatting on every possible web address [=McRoughage=] could use to force their hand. They responded by changing their name to [=McFiber=] instead. |
| 274 | * The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q16KpquGsIc McRoll]]. A dance mix of the Japanese Ronald commercials set to [[Franchise/TouhouProject Flandre Scarlet's]] popular theme ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyC5eWJhCr8 U.N. Owen Was Her?]]''. For some reason, it has become [[MemeticMutation more popular]] than the original song. In fact, there are quite a lot of variations of the [=McRoll=] that involve songs other than Flan's theme. |
| 275 | * [[Webcomic/Forever16 Joel Maxwell]] starts working at one in this [[http://jbwarner86.deviantart.com/art/F16-McWorld-Politics-P3-440207851 strip.]] He sucks up so well [[spoiler:he gets transferred to Moscow]]. |
| 276 | * During the second part of the Lovers' Arc in ''WebVideo/VaguelyRecallingJoJo'', Jotaro Kujo is ordered by Steely Dan to ask for a smile from the cashier at a [=McDonald's=]. |
| 277 | * The {{Creepypasta}} ''[[https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/Never_Go_into_an_Old_McDonald%27s Don't Go to the Old [=McDonald's=]]]'' attempts to explain their remodeling in the early 2000s to become more adult-oriented, and describes the existence of an Old [=McDonald's=] that miraculously survives in the middle of nowhere. [[spoiler:The old branding was cursed, as all of its stores experienced a supernatural phenomenon one way or another. The surviving site that the protagonist visits has long been abandoned after an unexplained catastrophe struck it, killing off all of its employees and patrons in brutal ways. The culprit is none other than Ronald [=McDonald=] himself, or rather, a demon who bears his likeness.]] |
| 278 | * Joeseppi discusses [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuyZ9VbjRMA the restaurant]] in one of his WebVideo/InANutshell videos. |
| 279 | [[/folder]] |
| 280 | |
| 281 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 282 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Lots with respect to Krusty Burger, the premier fast-food chain in Springfield. It all starts with the restaurant's proprietor-founder, Krusty the Klown. |
| 283 | ** Episodes featuring specific references to [=McDonald's=] -- both at Krusty Burger and elsewhere: |
| 284 | *** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E10LisasFirstWord Lisa's First Word]]": The 1993 episode features the Simpson family flashing back to 1983-1984. With pop culture references abounding (including one for rival chain Wendy's), the major one relating to [=McDonald's=] is a spoof of the chain's "scratch-and-win" promotion for the 1984 Olympics, where customers could win a Big Mac, french fries, a soft drink, or even a cash prize of up to $10,000 if Team USA won a medal in the visitor's listed event. Krusty Burger customers could also win food prizes or cash, but (like [=McDonald's=] in RealLife), the promotion was created and the tickets printed before the Soviet Union announced it was backing out of the Summer Games. Many of the tickets were printed to reflect events in which the [=USSR=] or another Eastern Bloc country was favored to win; with their withdrawal, the United States won many of those events, causing Krusty Burger to lose millions of dollars because they awarded more food than they had budgeted for. |
| 285 | *** "22 Short Films About Springfield": Chief Wiggum and Springfield's "finest" are discussing the merits of Krusty Burger vs. [=McDonald's=], much like the "Royale with Cheese" scene in ''Film/PulpFiction''. The other Springfield officers have never heard of [=McDonald's=], though it's stated to have over 2,000 locations in [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield the state]]. |
| 286 | *** "Missionary: Impossible": Mr. Burns yells at Bart -- thinking him to be Homer -- for "taking the Hamburglar's birthday off as a holiday" in one scene. (Bart had taken Homer's place at the plant when his father went on a last-minute mission trip ... to avoid persecution by angry Creator/{{PBS}} celebrities for making a hasty pledge to get their fundraising campaign off his TV, thinking they wouldn't be able to track him down and actually make him pay it.) |
| 287 | *** "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can": Krusty Burger has a national "Ribwich Tour" to taste-test the Ribwich sandwich (a pork ribette sandwich similar to the [=McRib=]) in different markets. The "Ribwich Tour" drew its inspiration from the same campaign put on by [=McDonald's=], and when Krusty Burger pulled the Ribwich from its menu, it caused the same kind of uproar. |
| 288 | *** "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore": When Bart points out their "thermostat" is just a drawing on a wall, Homer pretends to call the repairman on a similarly-drawn telephone, and brings out a cardboard cutout of Mac Tonight to act as the "repairman". |
| 289 | *** "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer": It is revealed that Krusty pays local mob boss Fat Tony to keep rival restaurants, including [=McDonald's=], out of Springfield. |
| 290 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'', the boys work at Burger World. The establishment's logo is an upside down version of the Golden Arches, a common way to parody the franchise. The restaurant itself is a parody of Whataburger, a regional chain with locations in Creator/MikeJudge's native Texas. |
| 291 | * "[[BlandNameProduct Weenie Burgers]]" in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and countless {{anime}} productions. |
| 292 | * "[=McWuncler's=]" in ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks''. |
| 293 | * In the German version of the ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' episode "Toot Goes Bollywood", Captain Hero convinces Toot to come back to the house by offering her a coupon to [=McDonald's=]. In the original version, it was Quizno's that was referenced. |
| 294 | * "[=MacMeaties=]" from ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim''. |
| 295 | * ''{{WesternAnimation/Hercules}}'' has the "Over X amount of people served" sign placed over the entrance of the River Styx. Currently, over 5,000,000,000 and 1 are "served". |
| 296 | * Episode 3 of ''WesternAnimation/ClerksTheAnimatedSeries'' featured early [=McDonaldland=] characters Mayor [=McCheese=] and Officer Big Mac as public officials briefing the press during an apparent virus outbreak. |
| 297 | * "Burger [=McFlipster's=]" in ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}''. |
| 298 | * In the Season 3 premiere of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', Rick expresses a fondness for the promotional szechuan sauce sold during the release of ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' while the [[TheFederation Galactic Federation]] is probing his mind and Rick has to take them to a certain memory. [[spoiler:It's a subtle hint that Rick was actually lying about said memory.]] |
| 299 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' has Joyful Burger complete with being a widespread fast-food chain in Elmore, their clown mascot, and having its secret menu burger being called the M'Guffin. |
| 300 | * The subject of several ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketches. |
| 301 | ** A season one skit has a press conference where Mayor [=McCheese=] speaks of how he had to deal with prejudice from being born with a cheeseburger for a head. One of the reporters brings up allegations that [=McCheese=] pays women to go to the bathroom on his chest, resulting in the Hamburglar distracting the public with "Robble robble robble" before he and [=McCheese=] run away. |
| 302 | ** A sketch in "Max Caenan in: Why Would He Know if His Mother's a Size Queen" has a brief sketch where the [=McDonaldland=] gang celebrate Ronald's birthday. After Ronald makes his wish blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, Grimace gains bare breasts and Ronald remarks "Yes! Now that's a Happy Meal". |
| 303 | ** "Chipotle Miserables" has a trailer for a spoof of ''Literature/LesMiserables'' using the [=McDonaldland=] characters titled ''Les Miserobble Robble''. Here, the Hamburglar was given his name by Ronald [=McDonald=] as punishment for stealing Big Macs to feed his family, looks after Birdie the Early Bird's egg after she is killed and cooked, and leads a revolt against the [=McDonald=]'s employees. |
| 304 | ** One of the sketches in "Boogie Bardstown in: No Need, I Have Coupons" has Officer Big Mac investigate the murder of Mayor [=McCheese=]. The culprit turns out to be Birdie, who tries to seduce Big Mac so she can kill him, only to be gunned down by the immediately remorseful rookie cop. |
| 305 | ** A brief skit in "Zeb and Kevin Electric Hot Tub Canvas" has [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] meet Ronald [=McDonald=] in a bar and state that while what Ronald does isn't his style, he still appreciates what he's accomplished (an obvious dig at the reputation [=McDonald's=] food has for being unhealthy, considering this is a fast food mascot being praised by a known psychotic murderer). |
| 306 | ** A sketch in "Kramer vs. Showgirls" has a bit where people who have seen ''Film/AmericanPie'' rush over to a [=McDonald's=] for their apple pies and a lot of screaming is heard, implying they burned themselves trying to imitate the scene where Jim tried to pleasure himself with an apple pie. |
| 307 | * The ''WesternAnimation/GravedaleHigh'' episode "Monster on Trial" shows a very brief shot of a [=McDonald's=] ad (not a BlandNameProduct but actually reading "[=McDonald's=]") in a scene where the pages of a phone book are flipped through. |
| 308 | [[/folder]] |
| 309 | ---- |
| 310 | -->''"[[MemeticMutation Come on, make it Mac Tonight!]]"'' |
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