Day 10: Lace up your ice skates for a look at 3 classic holiday commercials starring McDonald’s clown in charge.
On This Episode
Mike Westfall (@fallwestmike), a hand-animated woodland owl delighted to see a fast food mascot in my front yard.
Joey O. (@ImGonnaDJ24) from Y-Not Radio and Words with Nerds.
Topics and Tangents
Grape jelly is good on Sausage McMuffins. Don’t @ me.
McDonald’s Wiki, which of course exists, runs down all 7 versions of the “Happy Holidays” ice-skating commercial.
Yes, there are seven edits of this one classic commercial, and they’re all on YouTube:
1982 - the original, with King Moody as Ronald and the “You Deserve a Break Today” jingle variant.
1983 - with the “McDonald’s and You” jingle variant.
1984 - with the “It’s a Good Time for the Great Taste” jingle variant.
1986 - with Squire Fridell as Ronald, the version I remember most.
1988 - with Fridell and the original jingle.
1990 - with Fridell and the “Food, Folks and Fun” jingle variant.
1991 - with Jack Doepke as Ronald, bad lighting, and “The Wish that Changed Christmas.”
Star Wish commercial.
Runaway commercial.
King Booker, in example.
Squire Fridell as Ronald McDonald in “Mac and Me.”
Paul Rudd’s ongoing “Mac and Me” prank on Conan O’Brien.
Grimace’s last appearance was at Dodger Stadium, though as we know, nothing can kill the Grimace.
The self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Entertainment McDonald’s,” now known as “Epic McD,” in Orlando, Florida, is home to an animatronic Mac Tonight that hangs from the ceiling.
You can visit the Advent Calendar House on the web at adventcalendar.house, on Twitter @adventcalhouse, and on the Christmas Podcast Network.