McDonald’s Corp. is bringing back the Hamburglar to help promote minor changes it’s made to the recipes for some of its burger offerings.
The Hamburglar, a classic mascot of the fast-food chain second only to Ronald McDonald, returned in the company’s newest TV commercial, the fast-food chain said Monday.
The character is being used to promote improvements to the Big Mac, McDouble, and the classic Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger and Hamburger. In addition to extra Big Mac sauce on Big Macs and softer buns, the company said it tweaked its cooking process to “get hotter, meltier cheese,” and changed its grill settings in order to achieve a better sear.
It’s not the first time McDonald’s has revived the Hamburglar to promote certain menu items. In 2015 it remade the character into a bearded hipster with a trench coat who had a craving for a new sirloin burger. McDonald’s restaurants phased out the limited-time menu item when it expired later that year.
The new changes were initially tested in Australia, Canada, and Belgium and have been introduced in certain western US cities. They will be rolled out to the entire US by 2024, McDonald’s said.
McDonald’s recently found itself in the center of controversy for its menu changes, particularly surrounding meals promoted by rappers Cardi B and Offset. Some franchisees argued that the partnership violated the company’s marketing code and would hurt their brand due to the nature of the rappers’ music, which features profanities and sexual content. In response, McDonald’s said it was focused on placing the company at the “center of culture.”