McDonald’s has just delivered a tidy little lesson in what to do when a campaign face-plants in public.
First, a quick rewind.
Remember this?
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That’s the boss of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski, sharing with the world that time he took his very first bite of the chain’s new Big Arch burger… on camera.
A moment that, in theory, was meant to sell the thing.
Instead, the internet did what the internet does. The clip ricocheted around social media for all the wrong reasons, with viewers dissecting every grimace, pause and politely restrained reaction.
Not exactly the golden marketing moment the Golden Arches had in mind.
Most brands would quietly pretend it never happened. Delete the clip. Move on. Hope the algorithm forgets.
But the very clever creative team at Maccas has done the opposite. They’ve leaned straight into the chaos, turning the whole awkward episode into the setup for their latest campaign.
The comeback
Rather than quietly bury the moment, McDonald’s has now leaned straight into it.
The company has since posted an image of the Big Arch burger to its Instagram page with the words “take a bite of our new product” above the burger, a not-so-subtle nod to the original clip.
The brand even joined in the joke in the comments section, writing: “can’t believe this got approved”.
The post quickly filled with replies, not only from customers but from rival fast-food chains getting in on the fun.
Jack In The Box and Carl’s Jr. both chimed in, with Carl’s Jr. cheekily asking: “u sure you wanna take a bite”.
In other words, what began as a slightly awkward corporate social clip has now morphed into a self-aware social media moment – one the brand appears more than happy to ride.
The industry view
According to Thinkerbell founder Adam Ferrier, the original moment highlights a familiar dynamic that can sometimes play out inside big organisations.
“This is a function of lack of perspective and unhealthy power dynamics,” Ferrier said.
“Basically, if you’re the internal social media manager at Maccas filming the CEO, how do you say ‘Man that was bloody weird’, how do you even see it?”
Adam Ferrier
Ferrier argues that maintaining perspective inside large organisations is crucial, especially when producing content that will inevitably be scrutinised online.
“Maintaining perspective and being able to speak up when something’s not right is important, even when creating this kind of content for your place of work. A bit of perspective always helps.”
Still, he says the brand’s response has largely struck the right tone.
“The response was both ‘meh’ and self-deprecating. Which was really what was needed in the first place.”
And while the original clip may have sparked the moment, Ferrier notes that the scale of the reaction likely caught everyone off guard.
“That said, no one could have predicted how wild the response was.”
If anything, the episode offers a neat case study in modern brand behaviour.
In the old days, a slightly awkward corporate video might have simply faded into obscurity.
Today, however, the internet rarely lets moments like that slip by unnoticed. And increasingly, the smartest brands aren’t trying to fight the tide — they’re surfing it.