Here’s why you haven’t seen Ronald McDonald for a few years

Virgin Radio

8 Nov 2021, 15:51

There was a time when Ronald McDonald was the iconic face of the fast food chain. Whenever you went to a McDonald’s, you couldn’t help but see him, with his painted face, red hair, colourful outfit and massive shoes. But recently, you probably haven’t spotted him, have you? 

You possibly hadn’t even noticed his disappearance, as it happened quietly and with no fuss, but in fact Ronald McDonald was ditched by the company five years ago.  

If you ever found Ronald to be somewhat terrifying, then that’s kind of the reason that he was taken away from McDonald’s advertising. His appearance became affiliated with the trend that started in America in 2016 and also started to take place in Australia, Canada, and in the UK: namely that people were dressing like clowns with the intention of scaring the living daylights of folk on the street. 

Apparently the whole thing may have started as a campaign to promote the release of Steven King’s It, which of course is about a killer clown, but was soon being mimicked by members of the public. You may recall the reports of a clown in Newcastle apparently carrying a blade. Meanwhile in Florida, a family was attacked by a group of 20 people in clown masks. Terrifying stuff.

So, McDonald’s sensibly decided that having a clown as their frontman probably wasn’t the best thing. A statement on the McDonald’s website reads: “We're afraid that Ronald McDonald no longer appears in McDonald’s UK advertising, but he is still very busy working for us.

"He often travels up and down the country to help promote some of our exciting new activities and visits our restaurants to make sure everyone is enjoying their meals.”

So, there you have it. Now we know why we never see Ronald McDonald anymore when we pay a visit to the Golden Arches!