McDonald’s has long since become culturally ubiquitous, so much so that its new “As Featured In Meal” advertising campaign serves us a reminder of all the times that the fast food goliath has had a cinematic cameo. But let’s be honest, if 1994’s Richie Rich remains the Golden Arches’ biggest IMDB credit, then it’s probably something to hide rather than celebrate.
This is no dig at Richie Rich (arguably Macaulay Culkin’s best work), but McDonald’s has dominated the low-cost, high volume, global food landscape for almost 70 years, so it trying to celebrate its illustrious show reel by having bit parts in one episode of Seinfeld and a John Travolta film you’ve never heard of [From Paris with Love (2010)], we’re not sure that we’re getting the same the message it thinks it is giving out.
Honestly, how has the fast-food giant not been in more television and film? Let’s be honest, any film claiming to be grounded in “reality” should be dripping in McFlurry juice.
Let’s chew on the facts:
McDonald’s is fast food. It’s in the name. It’s quick. Think of all those movies with a ticking clock: impending doom from robots, terrorists, viruses, or – heaven forbid – human-monkey-alien hybrids. What are our heroes munching on while they strategize? A quinoa salad? Please. Wolfing down a quick Big Mac before the final showdown is not only totally doable, but it is also hugely relatable.
Also, it’s practically everywhere. You can’t swing a royale with cheese near the Eiffel Tower without hitting a McDonald’s. So, are we to believe that Tom Cruise, in all his sprinting glory, doesn’t whizz past a McDonald’s while doing his best “running acting” near global landmarks in the many (many) Mission Impossible films? Come on, Hollywood. His side mission, should he choose to accept it, is to order an additional four-piece nuggets.
McDonalds is also very convenient. Take the film Oppenheimer for instance. The creation of the atom bomb wasn’t a walk in the park. Those scientists, burning the midnight oil, surely they needed sustenance. How many restaurants do you think are open at 11:49 PM in Los Alamos, New Mexico? Nope, but McDelivery is going strong. “Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds… but first, who wants McNuggets?”
And let’s not forget, it’s downright delicious. After James Bond’s spends five hours at a bar necking martinis, he’s not looking for a chicken liver pâté and a strong Emmental. There is no chance he’s turning down a Quarter Pounder with cheese, the fries shaken (not stirred) with salt. You can’t stir salt.
The As Featured In Meal campaign then, while delivered like a delightful trip down memory lane, that ‘memory lane’ is only really relevant to people who lived through the 1990s.
The promo features meals from movies including Coming to America (1988), (the aforementioned masterpiece) Richie Rich (1994), Blankman (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), Reality Bites (1994), Clueless (1995), I’m Not Rappaport (1996), WKW’s Fallen Angels (1995), The Longest Yard (2005), From Paris With Love (2010), Space Jam (1996), Let’s Go! India (2007), and The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). The most recent of them was 13 years ago.
Ultimately, while clever, the execution falls flat on capturing the fact that McDonald’s is everywhere food, available all of the time. But that’s not on Ronald… Hollywood, you dropped the ball!
Yeah, you, Los Angeles and The Big Lebowski might be singing the praises of In-n-Out, but ‘animal style fries’? A travesty. And the fact that it doesn’t serve nuggets? Unforgivable.
So, Hollywood, it’s time to supersize your game. Give McDonald’s its rightful cinematic place. After all, if life imitates art, and what’s more lifelike than a trip to McDonald’s?