The video: Ever wonder why your McDonald's cheeseburger looks flatter, sadder, and uglier than the juicy delicacy you've seen advertised on TV? A customer asked McDonald's Canada about the discrepancy, and the company graciously revealed how they prep their food for TV in a video posted on its website. (Watch the fascinating exposé below.) In the clip, a McDonald's spokesperson buys a Quarter Pounder with Cheese at a restaurant that was whipped up in a minute, then takes it to a photo studio to compare it to a burger that's been "styled" for a commercial shoot over the course of hours. The edges of pickles are deliberately exposed. Cheese is custom-melted to drape the burger just so. Condiments are dotted into place with a syringe. The risks of bun deflation are skirted. Then the digital photo touch-ups begin...
The reaction: At last we know why that burger on TV "looks so good, so piping hot and yummy, so perfect," says Kim Muraro at LimeLife. A lot of smoke and mirrors goes into creating "the Platonic ideal of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese," says Laura Northrup at The Consumerist. At least the company is coming clean "clearly and honestly." This "under-the-hood" demo isn't as candid as we're led to believe, says Neetzan Zimmerman at Gawker. The flak "conveniently neglects to mention that only carefully selected [examples of the standard pickles, tomatoes, and so on] are employed in the preparation of the model sandwich," while restaurant customers get whatever random bits the prep cooks grab. And the company didn't allow comments under the clip on its website — apparently its love of "honesty is limited to the kind it can control." Take a look for yourself:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks groundSpeed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resignsSpeed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
