News

Nordic Region McDonald's gets a taste of nostalgia

April 20, 2011

McDonald's celebrated its 56th birthday earlier this week and, in celebration, Europe's Nordic region has rolled out the 1955 burger, named for the year McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Des Plaines, Ill. The burger is being introduced via three documentary-style commercials created by DDB Oslo.

The campaign, also called "1955," pays tribute to the iconic brand's beginnings through the recollections of original customers and employees. DDB Oslo, which conducted the search in the U.S. for the chain's first customers and employees, found Glen Volkman, officially recognized as one of McDonald's first customers on opening day, April 15, 1955, with the help of Facebook.

The agency then located Lester Stein, Jr., who worked for founder Ray Kroc throughout the summer of 1955, and two of the chain's first regulars: Debra Arnolds and Shirley Wigodner.

"The Nordic 1955 product launch initiative was a rich and moving experience for all involved that has resulted in some exceptional work. The involvement of original customers and crew helped recreate the reality of 1950s Americana where our brand was born, and reveals a side of McDonald's we don't often show," said Shaun Russell, senior marketing director for McDonald's, Nordic Region.

The campaign goes live in Denmark and Sweden this week. It will begin running in Norway this May and in Finland in June.

"Finding these original customers and employees was the best way we could pay tribute to McDonald's. These are real people telling genuine stories about their connection with the brand," said Hans Petter Stub, account director, DDB Oslo.

The campaign is also supported by the individual countries' Facebook pages, where unseen footage from the documentary and images from the original restaurant can be found.

SoCal rolls out two new McChicken sandwiches

After taking them for a test drive, McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties in California officially launched two new McChicken sandwiches this week.

The Jalapeno Cheddar McChicken blends a combination of spicy jalapeno peppers and white cheddar cheese, while the Cheddar Onion McChicken features caramelized onions and white cheddar cheese both on a toasted bun.

The new Jalapeno Cheddar and Cheddar Onion McChicken sandwiches are part of the Extra Value Menu and are available at participating McDonald's restaurants in Southern California for a suggested retail price of $1.49 each. Price and participation may vary.

MOASC is comprised of nearly 600 franchised and company-owned McDonald's restaurants in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.

World's largest McDonald's franchisee goes public

Buenos Aires, Argentina-based Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc., the world's largest McDonald's franchisee with units throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, has officially announced the closing of its underwritten initial public offering of 84,506,788 class A shares at a price to the public of $17.00 per share.

The underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in full, thereby increasing the number of shares sold by 11,022,624 class A shares. The shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ARCO."

Arcos Dorados received approximately $152.3 million in net proceeds from the offering, and intends to use the net proceeds for capital expenditures such as opening and reimaging restaurants.

BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Itau BBA and Citi acted as joint bookrunners for the offering.