Chris Kempczinski, CEO of global fast-food giant McDonald’s, has been the subject of much online mockery after a video to promote the brand’s newest “product”, the ‘Big Arch’ burger, backfired massively.
What was supposed to be an authentic and appealing portrayal of the CEO trying the new burger left an odd taste in many viewers’ mouths.
Online comments noted Kempczinski’s awkward demeanour throughout the video and questioned his use of the word “product” to refer to the burger.
“This made me not want to eat one of these ever,” writes one user.
“You can tell he didn’t want to do this,” adds another.
Kempczinski takes a timid bite of the Big Arch burger, which he then refers to as a “delicious ‘product’”.
“If the CEO can’t stomach one bite, that should tell us something,” remarks one commenter, stating that “this is ironically the best anti-McDonald’s ad I’ve ever seen”.
Viewers have also drawn comparisons to depictions of parody burger joints, such as ‘Krusty Burger’, the satirical parallel of McDonald’s featured in The Simpsons.
“Exactly like Krusty advertising for the Krusty Burger,” jokes one YouTube commenter.
“That’s the bite Squidward took of his first Krabby Patty,” adds another, referring to a scene about SpongeBob Squarepants’ similarly named restaurant the ‘Krusty Krab’.
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Roasted by rivals
Rival fast-food chains have leapt on the PR blunder, releasing videos of their own CEOs happily eating their chain’s burgers.
Archnemesis Burger King quickly hopped on the trend, as well as third-in-line Wendy’s.
For now, McDonald’s remains the world’s largest food-food chain, buoyed in recent times by promotions featuring the ‘Grinch’ and ‘Minecraft’ after price hikes had eaten into the corporation’s sales.
The Golden Arches are, however, facing a new threat in the form of the widespread adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
The company has signalled it will reorganise its current menu items to highlight protein-rich options for increasingly health-conscious consumers.
McDonald’s latest PR challenge, inflicted by its own CEO, is just another the burger chain must face if it wishes to remain in the top spot – if it has the stomach for it, that is.
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Anna Ferraz