McDonald’s Brings Back The Hamburglar And We Aren’t Sure How To Feel

http://ift.tt/1KiEJqB

Is he telling us to be quiet or the burger?!?

Upon hearing buzz that McDonald’s has brought back that scamp the Hamburglar to network TV after a 13-year hiatus, ostensibly in Burger Thief Jail, the image of the chubby-cheeked, one-toothed masked beef marauder might come to mind. But lo — the scamp is gone, replaced by a suburban dad with a full set of teeth, a five o’clock shadow on his chiseled jaw and a penchant for red leather high tops and trench coats.

“We felt it was time to debut a new look for the Hamburglar after he’s been out of the public eye all these years,” Joel Yashinsky, McDonald’s’ Vice President of U.S. Marketing said in a statement to Mashable. “He’s had some time to grow up a bit and has been busy raising a family in the suburbs and his look has evolved over time.”

Indeed, a teaser video posted today by McDonald’s on Twitter shows a guy expertly flipping burgers on a grill before apparently being unable to resist the lure of a fast food version of the thing he’s already making at home:

Wait, is this who we think it is??! https://t.co/rc9xhQrAUi

— McDonald's (@McDonalds) May 6, 2015

He’ll be showing up in spots for McDonald’s new Sirloin Third Pound Burger and online videos, among other things like live appearances, and is likely part of McDonald’s plan to turn business around in the face of struggling sales by creating “brand excitement.”

Fresh update to an old favorite or mildly horrifying? We can’t begin to process our feelings on this one.

Here’s more on Hamburglar’s origin story:

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist