Ronald McDonald's colorful costume and joyful demeanor brings joy to millions — just don't
try to hug him!
From a strict rule about touching to his slim, trim physique, these are the things that only
adults notice about the iconic red-haired clown.
Back in the 1960s, Barry Klein was doing advertising for both McDonald's and the Bozo the Clown
show at the same time when he had the idea.
What if he combined the two and got 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 hat made out of a cardboard serving tray.
Ronald's eyebrows were also shaped like the chain's iconic golden arches, which is something
you may not have noticed as a kid.
So, the look hit all the selling points — but it was also a bit too much.
After Washington D.C.'s WRC-TV canceled Bozo the Clown in 1962, Klein kept the show's Bozo,
played by Willard Scott, and made him the McDonald's mascot.
And yes, this was the same Willard Scott who later went on to become the weatherman for
the The Today Show.
Klein also 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.
They also replaced his shag-carpet hair with a bright-red wig to modernize and complete
the look.
"McDonald's!
Remember when you see my face, think of your kind of place."
McDonald's eventually dumped the first Ronald McDonald because of his size.
The chain worried that if it kept a bigger mascot on staff, it would need to continue
hiring large Ronalds to keep the image consistent.
Is there really a shortage of big men who want to be a clown?
With Willard Scott being 6 feet and 3 inches tall and 290 pounds, maybe so.
Regardless, Scott was heartbroken to learn his size was an issue when it came to continuing
his mascot gig.
While the U.S. has laws against employment discrimination based on things such as race,
gender, or religion, only Michigan has laws these days prohibiting employment discrimination
based on weight.
Despite being the mascot for a fast food chain later notorious for supersizing its meals,
McDonald's didn't want a larger Ronald McDonald.
Instead, it wanted a mascot who could be spry and energetic in its television ads.
In fact, in 2004, McDonald's started calling him a "balanced, active lifestyles ambassador,"
dressing Ronald in workout clothes and turning him into a soccer and basketball player, according
to CNBC.
"Besides regular exercise, like playing sports, can help you stay healthy.
It'll be a kick."
Ronald McDonald started out as the sole mascot for McDonald's.
However, from 1971 to 2009, other characters joined him in commercials for the fast food chain.
If you missed the comic book series from the early 1970s, you probably felt like you were
missing a backstory and wondered why the storyline included food thieves Captain Crook and Hamburglar.
McDonald's got rid of Captain Crook in 1987 after 15 years of the pirate stealing Filet-o-Fish
sandwiches.
However, the despicable Hamburgler continued nabbing burgers until about 2002 — although
he briefly returned for a 2015 ad campaign.
"Rubble, rubble, America.
I am back."
Most of us never had any idea what Ronald McDonald's purple bell-shaped sidekick Grimace
even was.
But it turns out he was supposed to be a gigantic taste bud whose sole purpose was to remind
us how delicious McDonald's food is.
However, even goofy, lovable Grimace had a dark side.
After all, the character was initially called Evil Grimace, and was known for stealing milkshakes
and scaring children.
Obviously, having a character that would give children nightmares didn't work out too well,
so his persona had to change.
Sadly, even nice Grimace abandoned Ronald by 2003.
Roy Bergold and Aye Jaye wrote a book in 1972 called Ronald and How to help standardize
everything about the McDonald's brand mascot.
They offered instructions on dress and makeup as well as sanctioned behavior.
Anyone who has a less-than-savory image of clowns can rest assured that Ronald is going
to remain in character and be the type of happy-go-lucky clown that puts a smile on
most kids' faces.
However, one thing that Ronald will never do is hug you or your child.
A brief pat on the back is the most you'll ever experience from the red-wigged clown.
While hugs certainly have their advantages, we don't necessarily want them from strangers
— even one as well-known as Ronald McDonald.
The same handbook that keeps Ronald McDonald from hugging your kids also stipulates what
he can and can't say.
For example, if your children want to know where hamburgers come from, he's absolutely
not allowed to tell them that the meat comes from a cow.
After all, this could be devastating news to a child who loves animals.
Sure, it's the truth, but there are lines he won't cross — especially if it could
result in a child becoming a vegetarian and never wanting to eat a McDonald's burger again.
In fact, Ronald McDonald has his own type of fast food manual that provides exact answers
to questions that customers might have.
For example, if you ask him how much he makes playing the chain's mascot, he's directed
to say that what he's doing isn't work — he's just having a good time.
Additionally, if Ronald McDonald doesn't have a scripted answer for a tough question, he's
supposed to tell you to "ask someone wearing normal shoes," according to Yahoo.
Have you ever noticed that 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 needed 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.
However, you would need to know the location of the top-secret McDonald's convention the
chain puts on every other year.
Sadly, nobody is leaking that information.
There have been times when Ronald McDonald 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 will merely
insist that perhaps his magical ability is similar to that of Santa Claus.
Because in the eyes of McDonald's, there's only one Ronald McDonald.
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, the boy assumes he must
be safe.
"But you're no stranger, you really are Ronald McDonald."
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.
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?
McDonald's 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.
"I don't have much hair.
Ronald's got great hair."
Unfortunately for Ronald's reputation, sinister clowns started appearing in random locations
worldwide in 2016.
The first reports came from South Carolina in August, and before long, disturbing clowns
were popping up everywhere.
People were seeing them walk down deserted stretches of road, into the countryside, or
through city lots both day and night.
While many were just dressing up for fun, others tried to lure kids into the woods,
ran at people, or brandished real weapons to incite terror.
As a result, there were several clown arrests in 2016.
However, the only Ronald McDonald believed to have been arrested that year was a statue
version that was blocking foot traffic in Guangzhou, China.
If you started to notice Ronald McDonald disappearing from sight in 2016, it's because of all the
rampaging clowns.
Terri Hickey, a spokeswoman for McDonald's, told CNN:
“McDonald’s and franchisees in local markets are mindful of the current climate around
clown sightings in communities and as such are being thoughtful with respect to Ronald
McDonald’s participation in community events for the time being."
However, Hickey also went on to assure fans that Ronald McDonald wasn't going anywhere,
telling CNN:
“This does not mean that there will be no appearances by Ronald McDonald, but that we
are being thoughtful as to Ronald McDonald’s participation in various community events at this time."
"This is great.
Good times."
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 the sinister clown debacle of 2016 or the
simple fact that many people think clowns are creepy.
However, people have been protesting against Ronald McDonald 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.
1974 marks the year when McDonald's first joined forces with a children's hospital in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to provide a place for families to stay while their sick children
received medical care.
Today, Ronald McDonald Houses are in 60 countries and regions worldwide to help relieve some
of the emotional and financial stress for the worried parents of ill children.
Even though Ronald McDonald hasn't shown up in McDonald's commercials since 2016, he still
remains the face of Ronald McDonald House.
Representatives for Ronald McDonald House call him:
"The CEO of Happiness."
In this role, Ronald McDonald still visits ailing children in hospitals to try to bring
brightness and cheer to them as they undergo treatment.
Plus, many of the fundraising efforts the charity uses to raise money each year — like
Red Shoe Day — continue to use Ronald McDonald mascots.
So, if you see a Ronald on a street corner asking for money for Ronald McDonald House,
you know he's there for a good cause.