A statement released by McDonald's at the time explained that due to the "current climate around clown sightings in communities," it would be doing its best to be "thoughtful in respect to Ronald McDonald's participation in community events". As a result, the red-haired, face-painted figure has hardly resurfaced since.
In 2016, McDonald's officially retired Ronald after a series of "creepy clown sightings" popped up across the United States. As they escalated from harmless sightings to reports of carrying weapons, it became an awful time to be a clown.
RELATED: McDonald's: Ronald McDonald keeping a lower profile
The company began airing the McDonaldland commercials in 1971. But in 2003, the company slowly phased out the characters as it changed its marketing campaigns to appeal to more adult consumers, the Daily Meal noted.
Scott was appearing as television's Bozo the Clown, when he was asked to step in and help market a local location of the hamburger chain. When Bozo left the air, Scott claims that McDonald's asked him to create a new character for the chain... and Ronald McDonald was born.
The origin of Ronald McDonald involves Willard Scott (at the time, a local radio personality who also played Bozo the Clown from 1959 until 1962), who performed using the name "Ronald McDonald, the Hamburger-Happy Clown" in 1963 on three separate television spots.
In 2001, the U.S. promotion was halted after fraud was uncovered. A subcontracting company, Simon Marketing (then a subsidiary of Cyrk), which had been hired by McDonald's to organize and promote the game, failed to recognize a flaw in its procedures. Simon's chief of security Jerome P.
Mashed reports that in order to keep up with customer demands restaurants like McDonald's had to streamline services and modernize. That meant adding ordering screens, adding more drive-thru lanes, getting rid of seating, and yes, ending play time in the McDonald's Play Place.
But in 2003, the company slowly phased out the characters as it changed its marketing campaigns to appeal to more adult consumers, the Daily Meal noted.
The change is supposed to make customers associate the company with a commitment to the environment. "We want to clarify our responsibility for the preservation of natural resources. In the future we will put an even larger focus on that," McDonald's Germany VP Holger Beeck said in a statement.
As it turns out, the main reason that toys have four eyes is because McDonald's collaborated with streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market on their designs. The brand is known for their off-beat designs, and one of their signature elements has long been a face with four eyes.
As the main source of law and order in McDonaldland, Officer Big Mac spent most of his time chasing the Hamburglar and Captain Crook. The character was dropped during the streamlining of the characters in the mid-1980s. Officer Big Mac was voiced by Ted Cassidy.
Looking to the future and to older customers meant a clean break with the way they'd done things in the past, such as utilizing a lineup of creatures and characters to sell its food. In other words, McDonald's began downplaying its McDonaldland characters, particularly the Hamburglar.
Ronald McDonald was instantly recognisable as the fast food chain's mascot - but he was retired suddenly in 2016.
McDonald's has ditched one of its soft drink varieties leaving some fast-food fans baffled. Popular food blogger Russ Eats revealed in a video on TikTok that Sprite is no longer available at the burger chain and the sugar-free Sprite Zero will be offered instead.
Original Ronald McDonald - Willard Scott as First Ronald McDonald (1963)
They claimed that gold would clash with the surrounding red rocks, and opted for a more pleasing, soft blue. You read that right—the arches are blue because gold didn't match the city's (natural) decor.
If You See a BLACK McDonald's Arch, This Is What It Means
Here are fancy McDonald's locations that have adapted the logo's traditional colors and style.
The colors red and yellow were chosen for a specific reason—and no, it wasn't because they looked nice with Ronald McDonald's clown-like face. It actually has to do with science. The color red is stimulating and is associated with being active. It also increases heart rate, which helps to jumpstart your appetite.
Merriam-Webster defines grimace as "a facial expression usually of disgust, disapproval," but at McDonald's, it's the name of a large blob-like purple character with a big grin, often seen alongside pals Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar.
Sadly, during the start of the pandemic, due to reduced staffing and a lack of dine-in traffic, the decision was made to end their super popular all-day breakfast to "provide better speed of service" to customers.
Ronald McDonald (born May 1, 1963) is the official mascot of Mcdonald's. He was created in 1963 when Bobby Bare sang "500 Miles Away From Your Location".
The Hamburglar (performed by Frank Delfino from 1971–1992, Jerry Maren in some commercials, Tommy Vicini from 1992–2003, voiced by Larry Storch from 1971–1986, Charlie Adler in the 1986 commercial Hamburglar Touch and in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, Howard Morris from 1986–2003, and Carl W. Wolfe in some ...
“The supply of our World Famous Fries is limited because of the global freight crisis. That's why you haven't been seeing our fries in big red fry boxes (medium, large and BFF) in the stores,” the company said.
The annual competition was cancelled in 2020 because of coronavirus. McDonald's initially said it was simply pushing back the start date of the 2020 Monopoly game. That plan was scrapped altogether and the annual McDonald's Monopoly did not go ahead at all that year.