McDonald's is trying to make its food look 'ugly'

Hayley Peterson

Fast-food chains are notorious for using tools like glue and blow torches to make food appear perfect in ads.

But McDonald’s is now trying a different tactic: it’s embracing messy, imperfect ingredients.

A new video ad posted Tuesday shows an egg cracking over a hot griddle, with the yolk streaming out of the egg ring.

Another recent ad shows an egg and sausage McMuffin dropping onto a table, with crumbs flying everywhere.

The ads are among the most recent in a series of similar videos posted over the last couple weeks showing McDonald’s food being cooked and prepared.

Other videos show bacon sizzling and butter melting into an McMuffin.

Advertising firm JWT preficted in 2014 that food advertising would take a turn for the “ugly.”

“Imperfection and even outright ugliness — the quirky, the messy, and the flawed — are taking on new appeal in a world that’s become neatly polished and curated,” the firm said in a report.

The intimate shots of McDonald’s food being prepared are likely intended to fight the perceptions that its food its overly processed or that it’s not freshly prepared.

The company has battled rumours over the last couple years that it uses “pink slime” in its beef, as well as questions about why it’s food doesn’t rot.

The videos give consumers a behind-the-scenes look at the real (and not always perfect) ingredients behind some of of McDonald’s most popular menu items.

So far, the advertising is getting a positive reaction from consumers.

NOW WATCH: We tried the new value menus at McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s — and the winner is clear

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