Modern Major Generalist

You may not want to hear more about the viral McDonald's video, but there is more to say. That’s because it is such a perfect embodiment of the new media versus traditional PR and such a good Harvard case study of the opportunities and risks of posting online for CEOs and companies. There are THREE big takeaways: -TIMELINES DON’T CONTROL NARRATIVES -FRAMING IS EVERYTHING -RAPID RESPONSE WINS To recap: McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski posted the original video in which he famously took what looked like an unenthusiastic nibble out of the burger chain’s new Big Arch sandwich on Feb. 3. It was probably done on that date because it was exactly one month before McDonald’s planned on the actual unveiling of the new burger and companies love that kind of conventional timeline. That video sat quietly unremarked upon for THREE WEEKS! Seriously! It sat there until it was FRAMED by people on social media, including comedian Garron Noone who declared "this man does not eat McDonald's!” That brush fire started raging when @Raindropsmedia1 posted on X:  “McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski goes viral after seeming reluctant to eat his own burgers—he takes a tiny bite, looks uncomfortable, and calls the food ‘product.’ “ That X post has accrued 16 million impressions. I’m assuming McDonalds felt blindsided and besieged. But as they hunkered down, they were hit by the third lesson of the new media landscape, that responding quickly matters. That was when Burger King president Tom Curtis posted a TikTok of himself taking a huge, messy bite of the revamped Whopper, a not-so-subtle trolling of McDonalds. Hard lessons, but worth learning. If you are in PR or comms, here’s a handy timeline to tape to the wall: Feb 3 — Kempczinski posts the Big Arch taste-test video to Instagram and LinkedIn. Minimal engagement; flies under the radar. Feb 26–27 — Comedian Garron Noone stitches the video on TikTok with commentary, declaring "this man does not eat McDonald's." The clip starts gaining traction on TikTok. Mar 1 — @Raindropsmedia1 posts the video on X with the framing that the CEO looked reluctant and uncomfortable eating his own food. The clip jumps from TikTok into the X/Twitter ecosystem and explodes. Mar 1 — Pile-on begins on X. @MikeBeauvais posts the Simpsons/Krusty Burger comparison. @TrungTPhan and other large accounts amplify. Mar 2 — Wall-to-wall media coverage: TMZ, Newsweek, Daily Dot, Fast Company, Adweek, Kotaku, and others all run pieces. Instagram views on the original post pass 3 million. Mar 2–3 — Burger King president Tom Curtis posts a TikTok taking a huge, messy bite of the revamped Whopper. Internet reads it as a direct troll of Kempczinski. Mar 3 — The Big Arch officially launches in U.S. McDonald's locations, arriving into a news cycle completely dominated by memes about the CEO's awkward promo rather than the burger itself.