McDonald's (found "New Slang" commercial from fast food restaurant; 2002)
New Slang is a song made by the band, The Shins on their 2001 debut album, Oh, Inverted World. New Slang was the band’s breakout hit, garnering wide acclaim as well as its use in various media like The Sopranos, Scrubs, and Garden State. However, during the Winter Olympics of 2002, the song was reportedly aired in a McDonald’s commercial which was faced with negative reception.
Background
In 2002, McDonald’s aired a commercial during the Winter Olympics using the song. The Shins was an up-and-coming indie band at the time, so licensing McDonald’s song was seen as a sellout move. In the commercial, it was about a man playing with a baby, while the song was playing in the background.[1] Apparently, the people who watched it didn’t know it was a commercial from McDonald’s until the logo appeared at the end. One user who saw the commercial claims that it was “bizarre” and “kind of disturbing”.
The commercial received negative attention and thus wasn’t aired again. The leader of the band, James Mercer regrets his decision to let McDonald’s use the song, quote:
"I mean, really honestly, I regret it now. I’m willing to admit I regret it." The McDonald’s commercial in question aired in 2002 around the Winter Olympics, which were hosted in Utah.[2]
Availability
The commercial was seemingly lost to time, even though countless articles, posts, and threads talked about this commercial existing. One user does claim that it aired every night on NBC during the coverage of the Winter Olympics.
On January 17th, 2023, YouTuber Junkie’s Tape Bin posts a commercial compilation that includes the whole commercial. This will not be known until u/sorryabtlastnight finds it in the video.
Gallery
See Also
- McDonald's "Archy Dancing" advertisement (lost commercial from fast food franchise; early 1960s)
- The Incredibles (found full version of McDonald's Happy Meal commercial for Pixar animated film; 2004)
- McDonald's (partially lost early Japanese TV commercials for fast food chain; 1973-1976)
- Mcjuniorclub TV (partially found Nickelodeon Netherlands/McDonald's live-action short series; 2008)
- Ronald McDonald and the Adventure Machine (found McDonald's animated video; 1987)
- YumChums (partially lost British McDonald's TV commercials; 2004)
- Valerie's Family Fire Prevention (partially found McDonald's sponsored TV ads; 1987)