There’s this perfect moment in an old McDonald’s Christmas commercial that’s stayed with me for 40 years. A group of kids are skating on a frozen lake when Ronald McDonald shows up and joins in. One of the kids falls behind and ends up alone on the ice. Ronald notices, breaks away from the group, skates over, picks him up, spins him once, and brings him back to the others.
Nothing is ever said.
When my son looks at me the way that kid looks at Ronald, I know I’m doing something right.
For some of us growing up in that era, that kind of recognition was rare. The commercial didn’t seem interested in selling anything, it was offering latchkey kids the ultimate wish fulfilment. Time.
Ronald saw you. He was there for you when no one else was paying attention. Our parents might be out working or doing whatever it is that parents did back then, but Ronald always makes time for you.
At ten years old, this felt like the best moment in advertising history.
The original version was filmed in 1982. They added new closeups in 1986 and again in 1991 to match the then-current actor in the Ronald getup, but it didn’t air in 1987 or 1988 for some reason. I had a tape of every Christmas TV special from 1984 which I dusted off every year, so I didn’t actually notice its absence. And obviously, the music changed a few times depending on the jingle.
The 1984 version ends with a few soft chimes from “It’s a good time for the great taste of McDonald’s.”
That still feels like a warm hug.
-Pop