Ronald McDonald was fired by McDonald’s as a result of frightening clown sightings in 2016 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere across the world. Ronald McDonald looks to have been retired by McDonald’s, but Coco the Clown’s creative reinvention of the image made him the most recognizable food mascot in the world.
In 2016, McDonald’s officially retired Ronald after a series of “creepy clown sightings” popped up across the United States. As they escalated from random harmless sightings to seeing clowns carrying weapons, it seemed like a really bad time to be a clown.
RONALD McDonald was the face of the fast-food chain before disappearing from the spotlight. Why did McDonald’s ditch the colourful figure and will he ever make a return? Why did McDonald’s get rid of Ronald McDonald? McDonald’s announced its mascot Ronald McDonald would be taking a hiatus in 2016.
Although the clown sightings were the main reason behind Ronald’s fall from the spotlight, people have been campaigning for McDonald’s to lose its mascot for years. Critics claimed he was encouraging children to eat unhealthy foods, and in 2011, a group of 550 doctors placed newspaper adverts insisting he retire.
When did McDonald’s start?
McDonald’s has certainly changed quite a bit since its humble California beginnings in the 1950s, and a great deal of that change has happened just in the last decade or so.
McDonald’s has been going through a makeover to make its restaurants more appealing to adults — and less like kiddie burger joints — for years. According to The Motley Fool, the company started this makeover in 2012, and they’re still in the process of updating its 5,000-plus locations. This means self-order kiosks, refreshed exteriors, and what CNBC described as modernized dining rooms that feel like “barista-style cafes.” Does any of that sound like it would gel with cardboard cutouts of a red-haired clown in a yellow jumpsuit?
McDonald’s could always bring Ronald McDonald back whenever it likes, but these days, if you look through its Facebook or Instagram accounts you’ll see that they’re totally Ronald-free. This doesn’t mean that Ronald McDon ald has been 100 percent erased from the brand.
It was pretty clear that the creepy clowns were more trouble than McDonald’s wanted to deal with and it was time Ronald McDonald to take an extended leave of absence. While it might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, it was hardly the only reason McDonald’s parted ways with their clown.
Why was Ronald McDonald created?
Although the specific of his origin are somewhat contested, Ronald McDonald was created to help McDonald’s sell hamburgers in the early 1960s. In the early 1970s, Ronald briefly starred in his own comic book series from Charlton Comics, and he was joined by early versions of familiar characters like Mayor McCheese on TV ads in the following years.
By the early 2010s, the connection between fast food like McDonald’s and high rates of obesity throughout the United States was widely publicized, and there was no way to plausibly deny that Ronald McDonald wasn’t intended to advertise at children. Ronald quickly became the most controversial advertising mascot since Joe Camel.
With bad publicity against clowns and fast food, McDonald’s quietly kept Ronald McDonald out of the spotlight for years now.
While Ronald was once one of the most recognizable corporate mascots in the world, he and his fellow McDonald’s mascots like Grimace and the Hamburglar have faded from view in recent years. While Burger King has only further embraced its (also creepy) mascot in recent years, Ronald and his friends only live on in faded memories of Happy Meals today.
While Ronald survived the McDonaldland purge, the fast-food icon had some baggage attached to him. For example, he’s a clown, and people’s opinions of clowns haven’t exactly improved over …
Why did McDonald’s get rid of Ronald McDonald?
McDonald’s announced its mascot Ronald McDonald would be taking a hiatus in 2016.
Ronald McDonald has made a steady return to public life since the 2016 “killer clown” craze.
Ronald is the face of Ronald McDonald House Charities UK whose mission is to keep families close together.
Sharing is caring, don’t forget to share this post with friends !
