There are iconic symbols and then there are iconic symbols. News today from Ronald McDonald reveals that company hanging one of their icons, the Big Mac, out on a limb. From a PR perspective, some of the things fast food chains are doing of late seem to be pushing the limit. Today’s example, the Big Mac as a wrap no less. This writer thinks the company would be better off making a “mini me” version, than cramming special sauce inside a tortilla.
The Big Mac Snack Wrap was just unwrapped in Chicago, and according to the news the company plans a nation wide campaign to add the snack all over. McDonald’s will also reportedly be adding a dollar menu which will include; a sausage burrito, a sausage biscuit, a sausage McMuffin, a 12-ounce coffee and hash browns. For some this may be good news, but in a fast food world turned ever more slow, one would hope the quality and service of old favorites like the egg McMuffin would reign supreme as a priority. I remember the time when these menus had 12 items and all were great. Now, looking at a McDonald’s (or any other fast food variant) menu is like ordering from Sears.
The Big Mac is on a par with being McDonalds’ best branding image along with the golden arches themselves and the goofy clown kids love so much. I always thought Ronald was more like Chucky than the lovable character children cling to, even before the movie. As for the golden arches, that was shear brilliance.
The Big Mac, at least for me, has been more than something one finds wrappers to in the back seat of their Chevy, it was and sort of is, a great sandwich. Special sauce oozing from both ends of a wrap? McDonald’s may have forgotten fast food’s ultimate motto; “Make sandwiches a driver can eat while driving, eating, smoking, rolling down windows, and carrying on two conversations at once.” Driving off these days is like grocery shopping.
The Big Mac, nor any of McDonald’s products actually taste like they once did, so this may not matter to most. The PR risk for the food chain may be minimal, at least they are not running peeping Tom shower ads like some. But then, wraps do going along with towels? If Burger King is successful, look to see Halle Berry inside a breakfast sandwich.
External PR consultants for Mcdonalds are Golin-Harris, Todd Defren’s Shift Communications and Omnicom owned Porter Novelli.