The McRib: Chalk it up to Good Marketing

Recently, my friend e-mailed me a link to an article at NY Daily News regarding the beloved return of the McRib nationwide in the States. The reason? They quoted Jenny Wu, a fan of the McRib, who apparently sounds a lot like me when I rant about food. In the article, she is quoted, "I'm going to eat as many as I can until I throw up. It's so tasty! We don't know what animals McDonald's killed to make the McRib, but we don't care because it tastes so good. The McRib is so elusive. It comes out sporadically and then it's gone again, like a unicorn." Well said! But I do disagree with the comment about throwing up. While it emphasizes her point about how delicious the McRib is, it does not do the sandwich justice to expel its contents. Instead, it must be kept down. Only in that manner can the McRib become part of your soul!

I would also like to point out that the article wrongly claims that the McRib returns after 16 years. That would place the last McRib release during the summer of 1994 when it was co-released with the Flintstones live action movie. But don't we remember the McRib Farewell tour in 2005? And subsequently, there have been numerous farewell tours. In Canada, I remember picking it up at the Eaton Centre in Toronto during the spring of 2008. Perhaps we can attribute this forgetfulness to good marketing on McDonald’s part.

But alas, I don’t see what the fascination is about the McRib. To me, it doesn’t have that certain “it” factor or the “je ne sais quoi” that I find even with the regular McDonald’s line-up. Or perhaps, I don’t like how it masquerades as a rib sandwich. More like rib shaped pork if you ask me. If I wanted rib shaped pork, I’d nuke up a Hungry-Man Backyard Barbeque.

Now that I have alienated all McRib lovers, I’d like to apologize. Really, my opinion doesn’t count. Rejoice why you still can!!! You have about 6 weeks! GO NOW!

P.S. It seems that this offer only stands nationwide in the States. For my Canadian McRib lovers, you got some driving south of the border to do to get your fix.