In honor of my probably never eating at one again, here's a 1971 commercial for McDonald's that almost everyone who was around at the time will remember. Apparently, the chain did some sort of marketing survey to determine why people who weren't going to McDonald's restaurants weren't going to McDonald's restaurants. They discovered that a lot of people who'd never been in one had the idea that they were just "roadside hamburger stands" and as such were rather grungy and unhealthy.
This reportedly outraged the company head, Ray Kroc, who was obsessive about cleanliness at "his" establishments. Kroc had been a travelling salesguy for restaurant supplies and in that capacity, had visited hundreds of little eateries and been appalled at the condition of their restrooms and kitchens. When he began franchising McDonald's, he went all Felix Unger on everyone and demanded a new level of hygiene. He was known to walk into a McDonald's unannounced, go directly to the restrooms to inspect and if he found anything amiss, he made the manager go in and tidy it up himself.
So the ad boys went to work and came up with this commercial to tell the world that McDonald's were cleaned and recleaned constantly. I believe my old pal Howie Morris directed this. At least, he directed a couple of the commercials in this series, then went on to become the director (sometimes) and a voice (often) in the early McDonaldland commercials. (And hey, is that Vern Rowe as the manager?) Here we go…
