Classic(ally Bad) TV Commercials: Ronald McDonald– the Salad Years
Of course I mean the early years, as McDonald’s didn’t get around to really selling salads until a few years ago. In 1963, McDonald’s had to sell itself to kids, and what better way than with a creepy clown!
It’s hard to say the first Ronald McDonald commercial is “classic(ally bad)”, but it is. Ronald McDonald has become a global icon in the 45 years he’s existed, but like any other icon the first few years of his existence were rough at best. What has become a very polished icon started as the brainchild of TV weather man Willard Scott. Before Scott himself became famous for his appearances on NBC’s Today Show, he was a disc jockey in the Washington D.C. area. Asked to come up with a kid-friendly character to help sell hamburgers to young’ ens, Scott based his character on Bozo the Clown, whom he also played the role of on a Washington-area TV station. What evolved was a creative, yet odd character.
The Ronald McDonald we see here reminds me of the “creepy clown factor” referred to in the background of a current E-Trade commercial. I know 1963 was a much simpler time in television production, but how many trash cans did Scott dig through to come up with this costume? The red and yellow-striped uniform makes sense because he is a clown. But the TV dinner tray on his head? And a dinner tray wrapped around his belt? And a paper cup on his nose? Come on now… this clown has suddenly turned himself into a masquerading homeless guy.
The “magical tray” was no big deal, simply because it’s old-fashioned special effects. But the most disturbing part of Ronald’s getup is how he has fun… by pulling his own finger several times. Now our masquerading homeless guy has turned into every family’s overweight drunk uncle playing with the kids. He even dances like that uncle when “Cha-Cha Slide” comes on the radio, further embarrassing the family members. “Oh there goes Uncle Milton again, making an ass out of himself! When will he ever grow up?”
Ronald is all nice and clean and perfect nowadays thanks to corporate oversight. It’s amazing how he has changed so much, and it’s even more amazing to see the old Ronald didn’t somehow end up running the bumper cars at local county fairs.
