Who's More Famous - the Big Arch or PJB?

This editorial from QSR magazine discusses how a brand's CEO might be a plus or a minus on social media.

The problem at McDonald's is that PJB is not content with being in charge of the world's largest restaurant chain. 

He's not satisfied with being one of the wealthiest people in the restaurant industry.

Nope, he's driven by a desire for "celebrity". 

Will he get his way? Who's going to stop him? 

Will the bobbleheads in the corporate office tell him he's not that funny?

Will the advertising people tell the emperor that he's not entertaining?

In a desperate quest for more and more "celebrity," a bureaucrat often puts aside logic and makes emotional decisions that don't belong in the corporate boardroom.

The real lesson behind McDonald's social media backlash - QSR Mag

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International Franchise Association endorses Kevin Hern for Senate

Are "Clicks" Advertising?

From @McFranchisee on X (formerly Twitter) 

Mar 2

This video will probably get half a billion views, worth millions in free advertising. It’s like getting a Super Bowl commercial for free. I bet @McDonalds will sell at the high end of the range because of this.

It officially drops tomorrow. BTW, can’t wait to see Chris’s next video.

@McFranchisee  Mar 4

Big Arch - Chris K - CEO Video

Love it, hate it, call it cringe, or just scroll past - this thing blew up bigger than the Golden Arches themselves. It went global. Even our competitors had to respond. Probably the most unintentionally viral moment in 

@McDonalds history, out-meming even the Evil Grimace saga.

Yes, most of the hot takes roasting Chris were off-base, but the facts are: we have sold a SERIOUS amount Big Arch Burgers because of it. He’s probably grinning ear to ear with a mouth full of product right now, thanks to the massive free advertising for the burger he actually created. Sometimes the best “marketing” is the kind nobody planned. 

Desperately Seeking Celebrity Status

Some PJBs never learn. He made the same blunders in 2024

RFK Jr Targeting High Sugar Drinks

RFK Jr targeting the nation’s 2 biggest coffee chains over high sugar drinks

Good for the Brand?

 McDonald's marketing people and advertising "experts" would tell you two things:

* Any number of clicks and comments (no matter how negative) on social media is good for the brand.

* If you're over 40 years old, you're too old to understand this new world.

If a McDonald's franchisee created such headlines, they'd be getting nasty letters from the legal department accusing them of damaging the brand.

MCD CEO roasted after his tiny first bite of Big Arch burger goes viral - Fox

A Great Face for the Radio

PJB wants to be a TV personality in the worst way -And he did it - Irish Star

Learns it takes two hands to handle a Big Arch.

Burger King Reinventing the Whopper

BK is making improvements to the - Whopper - RestBusiness

BK elevating Whopper - First time in decades - QSRmag

Cattle Numbers to Remain Low

Beef prices to rise, cattle herd numbers to remain low

The Best at Self-Promotion

When a McDonald's Owner/Operator opens a new store that does under two million in sales and carries a 20% rent factor, they might have this lady to thank. This is a profile of McDonald's SVP Tabassum Zalotrawala, chief development officer for McDonald's USA.

I've seen thousands of executive profiles, but nothing quite like this. If an article is an extensive interview, it's usually about the brand or a new direction for the brand. This article is about her, not much about McDonald's. An executive bio is usually a paragraph or two. This prints to almost nine pages (all about her).

I'm wondering if she commissioned a PR writer to develop a piece about her, and they sent it around, expecting it to get edited and condensed. QSR Mag ran the entire thing.

Casual observers can only conclude that she is already job-shopping and has one foot out the door, maybe before some of her new stores open.

Meet the creative mind powering McDonald's growth