Things About Ronald McDonald You Only Notice As An Adult
His Outfit And Makeup Are A Walking Advertisement
Back in the 1960s, Barry Klein was doing the advertising for both McDonald's and the "Bozo the Clown" television show at the same time. So, he had the brilliant idea of combining the two and getting McDonald's to run ads during the children's show. The first McDonald's clown was a bit awkward looking, with a McDonald's cup for his nose and a cardboard serving tray hat filled with toys and Styrofoam McDonald's food items. He also sometimes had a tray attached to his waistband that could hold a fake drink and fries and could magically produce hamburgers from his costume. Something you may not have noticed as a kid is that Ronald's eyebrows are arch-shaped to resemble McDonald's golden arches. So, the look hit all the selling points it should, but it was a bit too much.
After the "Bozo the Clown" show ended in 1963, Klein kept one of the Bozos, Willard Scott (yes, the "Today" show weatherman), as the McDonald's mascot and hired a previous Bozo, Michael "Coco" Polakovs, as a wardrobe consultant. The resulting costume kept the big red smile, arched eyebrows, and gloves. It also continued to feature the restaurant's main colors, red and yellow, while adding the iconic arch emblems to the ensemble. Switching from white to yellow gloves now makes Ronald McDonald's fingers remind us of french fries. Luckily, they also replaced his shag-carpet wig with a lady's bright-red wig to modernize and complete the look.
There Can Be Only One
Have you ever noticed that, even though there might be hundreds of Ronalds out there, you never see multiple Ronalds together unless they're cosplayers? You might see 10 Elvises at a time, but you'll never see 10 real Ronalds together. That's because there are strict rules explaining that only one Ronald can appear at a time.
Being a local Ronald McDonald is actually not a bad gig, and it's far more complicated than you'd imagine. Once recruited through CW & Co. Productions, they had to be willing to relocate to an area that needs a mascot. They often had a chauffeur drive them from gig to gig and even had their own bodyguard to help avoid rock-throwing kids and protesters. Local Ronalds once earned from $40,000 to $100,000 a year, depending on how many appearances they scheduled.
It might be possible to find multiple Ronalds together to photograph -- if only you knew the location of the top-secret McDonald's convention the chain puts on every other year. But, alas, nobody is leaking that information. And there have been times when he has appeared in multiple countries on the same day for special events. But if ever asked how he could be in so many places in one day, the company insists there's only one Ronald and that perhaps his magical ability to appear across the globe in a single day is similar to that of Santa Claus.
Surveys Found He's Most Often Referred To As Creepy
Back in 1963, when Ronald McDonald was still in need of a makeover, a disturbing commercial appeared on television screens across the U.S. In it, Ronald convinces a little boy to go with him to McDonald's even though the boy knows he shouldn't talk to strangers or accept gifts from them. However, since Ronald could produce hamburgers from his magic belt, he must be safe.
A commercial where Ronald McDonald kidnaps a kid certainly wouldn't go over very well today. Plus, more people have started to view clowns as creepy rather than as characters to cheer us up.When McDonald's surveyed test audiences in 2011 about commercials it was thinking of airing on television, more and more reviewers used the word "creepy" to describe their feelings toward Ronald McDonald. It certainly made McDonald's rethink its clown-based marketing.
But is Ronald really creepy? The chain has been extremely strict about who could represent the chain. While the company vets each Ronald with a comprehensive background check, at least one creep has slipped through the cracks and into the role. In 1998, Joe Maggard (a substitute Ronald for one of the chain's commercials) turned out to be a bad hiring choice. Maggard was arrested on a weapons charge and went to court again the next year for making prank calls as Ronald McDonald. While Maggard certainly falls under the creepy category, he's definitely not the norm.
You Don't Really See Him Much Anymore
We often don't notice what's missing when it's not there anymore. However, if you try to remember the last time you saw Ronald McDonald, most of us have to reach back quite a few years in our memories.
The McDonald's website in the U.K. confirms his intentional disappearance from ads but says he still makes special appearances in the community and restaurants. Plus, he continues to visit his namesake Ronald McDonald Houses to cheer up sick children.
You could blame the shift in viewpoint on clowns as being creepy or the sinister clown debacle of 2016. However, people have been protesting against the Ronald McDonald mascot for years since advertising campaigns featuring him all target children. In 2011, 550 doctors came together to insist that McDonald's remove him from its marketing efforts, pointing out how many kids were becoming unhealthy from eating so much junk food. When Ace Matrix studied McDonald's ads in 2013, it found that Ronald had become less of an asset for the company. So, it was definitely time for the McDonald's chain to reconsider having a clown represent its restaurant brand in such a big way.
The Official Face Beneath The Clown Makeup Has Always Been A Man's
While McDonald's once had over 250 Ronalds it could call upon for marketing and appearances at any one time, there was always an official Ronald in the U.S., and it was always a man. Those are the ones who once raked in over $300,000 a year as the company's official mascot.
The earliest official Ronald McDonald was Willard Scott, who landed the role in 1963. He only played Ronald for two years before being replaced by a string of clown actors who tended to keep the job for only a couple of years. Bob Brandon was the first actor to hold onto the part for five years, starting in 1970. When Brandon announced he was gay in 1977, McDonald's took Brandon to court to protect the image of its mascot, whom they didn't want to be seen as being gay.
Most Ronald McDonalds since 1975 have been able to stay in the role for a significant amount of time. King Moody still holds the record for reigning as Ronald for 16 years, from 1969 to 1985. David Hussey also did an impressive 14-year stint as Ronald from 2000-2014. However, the last Ronald we saw in commercials was Brad Lennon, who began the role in 2014.
His Insta, Albeit Somewhat Neglected, Is Everything
While we haven't seen Ronald McDonald and his McDonaldland friends for a while on television, he was quite active on Instagram for a time. However, after getting packed for a road trip in 2021, he hasn't returned. Should we send out a search party?
Ronald McDonald's Instagram was extremely active during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you were among his 59,900 followers, you would have been treated to entertaining videos showcasing some of his many talents. He displayed his juggling skills and performed magic tricks, like throwing one Christmas ornament at the fireplace to magically decorate his entire living room. In fact, we learn that he is absolutely obsessed with the winter holiday season. His Insta has everything from jokes to trivia and a late-night talkshow to keep fans entertained. Some of his old McDonaldland friends, like Birdie, Grimace, and the Hamburgler, even make occasional appearances on the Instagram account. This Ronald McDonald reminds us why clowns were once so popular as entertaining diversions.
