McDonald's changed its burger recipe. That's a really risky move that even the company tried to couch in language designed to not scare off its long-time fans.
The fast-food giant shared the news of the changes in a way that was very different from the typical boastful press release. McDonald's (MCD) certainly knows that changing its most iconic product comes with risks, and it tried to both tell customers that its iconic core product was getting better, while also reassuring people that the changes are small.
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"Our chefs have been cooking up small but tasty improvements to the Big Mac sandwich, McDouble burger, and our classic Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger and Hamburger -- and we can’t wait for fans across the U.S. to get a taste," the company shared.
The actual changes are both small and gigantic, depending upon how emotionally tied you are to the classic recipe. McDonald's has added a new "softer, pillowy bun," and what it's calling "perfectly melted cheese." The biggest change might be how McDonald's is now promising "juicier, caramelized flavor from adding white onions to the patties while they’re still on the grill."
A new bun and melting the cheese rather than just placing it on top of the burger for it to sort of melt might slip under the radar as they're fairly subtle moves. Adding the onions to the burger while it cooks seems like a bolder change as that will decidedly change the taste of these iconic burgers which are familiar to millions of people.
The changes have led to endless debate on social media -- and it's hard to know if the company made the move to improve its product or to get people talking about it. Wendy's (WEN), however, had a three-word response that puts everything McDonald's did into question.
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Wendy's Trolls McDonald's 80's Style
Wendy's has displaced Restaurant Brands International's (QSR) Burger King as the number two burger chain in the United States. It has built its business on its square, fresh, never frozen" burger patties which were created essentially to offer a better product than what McDonald's and Burger King sold.
In the 1980s, Wendy's ran an ad campaign that in today's terms would have been considered "viral." It was a commercial that broke into pop culture becoming something that every person knew. Now, the company has brought back its famed tagline on Twitter, and it remains as effective as it was when Clara Peller first uttered it in an ad in 1984.
"Where's the Beef?"
Peller, who died in 1987, became an oddball celebrity as her deep voice did not fit her diminutive 4-foot-9 height, asked her famous question to express outrage at the small hamburgers McDonald's and Burger King sold.
And, despite its new buns and meltier cheese, along with its curious onions decision, McDonald's still sells the same burger patties it did in the 1980s. Wendy's trolled its long-time rival in answer to a radio station asking how people feel about the new McDonald's burgers.
The line was effective in the 80s when it raised Wendy's sales dramatically and was credited with helping Walter Mondale win the Democratic nod for president when he used it to question the substance of rival Gary Hart's ideas. It was simple and to the point back then, and it remains a fair question now.
McDonald's can fiddle with its recipes, but when you look at its sandwiches you can almost hear Peller in your head asking, "Where's the Beef?"
