May 07--McDonald's has brought back the Hamburglar. Twitter is not in love.
The famed '70s-era burger mascot has been reincarnated as a real person -- this time as a suburban dad in a new commercial for the Oak Brook-based burger chain's new Sirloin Third Pound Burgers.
Within minutes of the reintroduction, with McDonald's posting a new commercial on Twitter and a story on Mashable.com, social media was abuzz. An hour later, #hamburglar was a trending topic on Twitter.
Some say he looks like DJ Calvin Harris. Or the wrestler Repo Man. Several called him "hot." Many have pointed out that he's just creepy.
Here are some reactions:
@AaronHM: "Is this really supposed to be the new McDonald's Hamburglar? He looks more like the Hamburapist."
@todd_coleman: "Hiya Kids! I hope you like nightmares!"
@verge: "The new McDonald's Hamburglar looks like a dad who picked the lamest costume at Party City."
Also displeased by the new Hamburglar is Corporate Accountability International, which has criticized the company for its marketing to children.
"Nothing screams desperation for McDonald's like bringing back the Hamburglar -- a creepy cartoon character that everyone remembers as a relic of the past. Instead of heeding the growing call to end its predatory marketing to kids, McDonald's is instead digging in on the very strategies that have necessitated a turnaround in the first place," said Sriram Madhusoodanan, director of the group's Value (the) Meal campaign.
In an email, McDonald's said the Hamburglar was last seen on national television in 2002 and has been "lying low" since then, until the release of the Sirloin Third Pound Burgers. A spokeswoman brushed off the Twitterverse's reaction: "I would caution from drawing any conclusions based upon a random sampling of tweets."
crshropshire@tribpub.com
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