No matter what anyone says about McDonald's, it’s undeniable that it has become one of the most recognized names in the world. In the United States alone, there are 14,000 McDonald's spread all over the country. But since its humble beginnings, the franchise has changed, evolved, and adapted to different times, leaving devoted fans with familiar throwbacks that reflect each decade of the franchise’s existence. From the addition of a female McDonald’s character to special birthday parties at McDonald's, here are some images of the franchise’s past couple of years to bring us some nostalgia.
1. The Famous Hamburger Seats
Let’s be honest, something about sitting on these nostalgic hamburger stools just made everything taste better back in the days. The stools made the whole experience at Mcdonald's more welcoming, while also allowing customers to spin on them while waiting in anticipation for the food to be ready. And while some of these types of stools can be pretty uncomfortable, something about these hamburger seats was very enjoyable.
2. McDonald's Cookies
McDonald’s’ creative team is pretty good at creating accompanying desserts, and these McDonald’s cookies used to be super yummy and perfect for the ride home. Only those who were around for them will be lucky enough to remember the time that McDonald’s used to give their customers a bag of cookies in the shape of McDonald’s characters. Though one could eat anytime throughout the meal, people would usually give it to their kids to eat on the ride home.
3. Fun Halloween Happy Meals
Though McDonald's continues to innovate by bringing different themed meals to their customers, nothing really beats the concept of their festive Happy Meals. Something about getting their colorful Halloween Happy Meals throughout the fall season made Halloween a whole lot better. The concept was so cool that kids would be able to use the little bucket for trick or treating. Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if some people still had one of these laying around in their storage or garages today.
4. Nothing Better Than Hanging Out With The Man
A couple of years ago, finding a bench like this one was the most common thing ever. Branches all over the country usually had a bench with the one and only Ronald McDonald chilling on them, though today these benches have become a rare sight. The reason why the themed benches slowly began to disappear is a mystery, especially since customers absolutely loved to sit on them and take silly and family pictures.
5. When The McDonald’s Sign Used To Be Simple
The “keeping it simple trend” has slowly started coming back, though the advertisement industry has made it increasingly hard for a simple menu like this one to remain appealing to the eyes of the public. But some decades ago, instead of flashy and large LED screens on McDonald’s drive-thrus, the most common thing to see would be a simple board with single letters and numbers describing the whole menu. Today, it’s almost impossible to find a menu like this one anywhere.
6. The Twist Cones
These Swirl Cones were so popular that someone actually came up with a Change.org petition recently with the hope of bringing them back. The moment the twist cones were introduced to McDonald’s customers they were an instant hit! But for some reason the franchise discontinued the cones in most branches, only having the regular vanilla cones nowadays. Either way, it seems like people are most definitely ready to get them back, so hopefully, McDonald’s will be kind enough to at least give it some thought.
7. The Coolest Birthday Parties
Coming up with a birthday party theme can be really hard for parents, especially with the thematic game is becoming increasingly hard to top. Parents go to great lengths and spend tons of money creating a birthday party theme for their children, but McDonald’s used to make this experience much easier back in the days. For some time, choosing McDonald’s to hold a birthday party was perfect, and everything that a child and their friends wanted.
8. The Transformers Era
Fans were introduced to the Transformers cartoon sometime between 1985 and 1987, with children from all over loving them! So McDonald’s was quick to develop a creative plan that allowed them to get in on the action, by releasing their own collection of Happy Meal toys that included a collection of parts that could be transformed into cool action figures. The toys were a success, especially due to their potential to become collectables.
9. Another Successful Partnership
Transformers' toys weren’t the only collectibles introduced by McDonald’s. The franchise was constantly on the lookout for a new and successful partnership, and these Disney figures were certainly one of them. McDonald’s and Disney have had a long-lasting and thriving relationship over the years, which allows both companies to profit from each other's releases. In the 1990s for example, McDonald's came up with these incredible Disney figurines that were loved by children from all over the country.
10. Classic Disney Plates
In addition to cool figurines and action figures, McDonald's also had a phase of Disney themed plates. Whoever was a child back then probably looks at these with tons of nostalgia, since they defined such a fun period. In fact, the plates were so popular that many people still hold them today in their kitchens, passing them down to the next generations. Whenever one of these classic movies were released, McDonald’s would include a new design.
11. Styrofoam Was Their Thing
Before environmental activists shed light on to how styrofoam was detrimental to the planet, the product was extremely common at McDonald’s and other fast-food franchises. Whenever someone ordered a burger to go, this is what their yummy meals would come in. Although the product worked great in terms of keeping the sauces from leaking and the food from getting cold, these packaging methods proved to be extremely wasteful and so not worth it for the environment.
12. The Female McDonald’s Character Addition
Some decades ago, McDonald’s figured that it was about time to include a female character to their McDonald’s crew. That’s when Birdie the Early Bird came through, becoming the face of the yummy Egg McMuffin and several other foods served mostly in the morning for breakfast. Sadly though, only the old fans will remember Bridie, since so many young people have no idea that Birdie ever existed or the significance she had in the franchise’s advertising history.