The McDonald's CEO/Big Arch fiasco

So this has been all over the internets lately, popping up repeatedly on my social media and I finally have to offer up my two cents.

 

First up let me say that I don't know who in the CEO's office or Golden Arches marketing watched this video and thought it would be a good idea to send it out into the world, but they did and the backlash has been pretty much universal. Some of the observations I keep seeing (and agree with): 1) The guy doesn't look like he's eaten red meat in his life, 2) He takes the tiniest bite ever, and that plus his unconvincing enthusiasm gives the impression that he can't stomach the burger, 3) He refers to it as a "product" instead of food. Overall, it's a disaster.

 

 

 

A few more of my own observations:

• The burger looks like it's been roughed up. It's lopsided and flat. How do you as a McDonald's employee serve this sorry-looking thing to your CEO? And how, as CEO, do you put in on camera? I know that's probably how it would realistically look by the time you get it home from the drive-thru, but you'd think for this video they would make sure it looked pristine. I mean, check out how they present it on the website - quite a difference:

Now THAT'S a big burger!

• How to "attack" it? It doesn't appear to be any bigger than a Big Mac, which has been around for decades. Plus, they already sell a double-quarter pounder, so having two of those patties isn't anything new. If they're trying to pass this off as massive compared to those two, it isn't working, especially when you compare the burger in the video to the image from the website. And him saying he took a big bite when he barely made a dent in it is just too obviously false.
• The fry carton is only partially filled. Again, is this what we can expect our large fry order to look like when we get home? Staging, people.
• Overall, he does a terrible job of describing what's on the burger that makes it unique, like he's seeing it for the first time. The Big Mac was famously launched with an ad campaign jingle that was simply a list of it's unique ingredients, so earwormy that people of a certain age (me) can to this day tell you exactly what makes up the Big Mac: 🎵 Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun 🎵 Couldn't they have just given him the list from the website?

The guy is just not persuasive in terms of selling the Big Arch as a heavenly burger experience. He may be good behind a desk, but not on camera. I don't for one minute believe this guy enthusiastically tucks into McDonald's food on a regular basis. Like many other people who watched this video, I don't think he eats this stuff at all. He honestly looks repulsed at having to consume his "product". 

 

I also notice they're promoting it as a limited time item, but given this anemic launch (more attention being paid to the flawed video than the burger itself) I don't think this is going to be the next McRib. I also wonder why it's limited time. Do they not have enough faith in it to launch it simply as a new addition to the menu? Is it a ploy to cover their butts if it's not successful and has to go away without admitting it flopped? Sure seems that way. 

 

Bottom line, I have more questions than appetite about this launch, which is the exact opposite of the effect it should have on me, the consumer.