The CEO of McDonald’s is getting teased for his taste-test of the restaurant chain’s new Big Arch Burger.
In a 1 minute 21 second video posted to Instagram in early February, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski repeatedly refers to the burger as a “product” while conducting the taste test. As some viewers have pointed out, he appears at least a little unfamiliar with the ingredients or size of the burger before taking a modest bite (albeit a bite he refers to as “a big bite for a Big Arch”). Kempczinski also makes it a point — twice — to note that he would be eating the rest of the burger for lunch.
“It’s a delicious product,” he said.
The post was flooded with comments from viewers and other restaurant chains, many of whom expressed confusion at the CEO’s reaction. Wendy’s wrote, “lots to unpack here,” while Wingstop Canada asked, “Is the big bite in the room with us?” Another user remarked that Kempczinski looked more like a contestant on “Fear Factor” than a fan of fast food.
“What an amazing ad for every other fast food place,” one viewer simply wrote.
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In the days since, two restaurant chains posted their own burger taste-test videos. On Tuesday, Burger King shared a short clip of company president Tom Curtis taking a large big bite of a Whopper, leaving sauce on his face.
“Only one thing missing: a napkin,” he said.
Comments were flooded with sarcastic remarks, such as, “I love this product.” Even Popeyes was in support of the video, commenting, “Wear the crown for a reason.”
Wendy’s soon shared a video of company president Pete Suerken cooking himself a Baconator, finishing it off with a french fry dunked in the restaurant’s signature Frosty desert.
“My goodness, move aside COLA Wars of the ’80s (and ’70’s) — the burger wars of the 2020s are here,” a commenter on LinkedIn wrote.
But it was A&W Canada which posted the most pointed parody video starring Allen Lulu, also known as the “A&W Guy.” The caption read, “@McDonald’s Corporate we loved your taste test video so we made our own.”
In the cheeky clip, Lulu copies much of the phrasing Kempczinski used, adding a few exaggerated ad-libs such as, “We love this burger product, which most people call a burger,” and “It has a unique bread that some people would call a bun.”
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McDonald’s, meanwhile, at least appears to have a decent sense of humor about the controversy. On Tuesday, the company’s social media team posted a photo of its new Big Arch burger with an on-screen message reading, “Take a bite of our new product.”
“Can’t believe this got approved,” they wrote in the caption.
The McDonald’s Big Arch Burger launched Tuesday for a limited-time. The new burger is made with two quarter-pound beef patties, three slices of melted white cheddar cheese, onions, lettuce, pickles and a new Big Arch Sauce on a toasted bun with sesame and poppy seeds.
