There are obviously bigger stories happening at the moment.
But we could all do with a bit of light relief right now, couldn’t we?
And the story of the latest CEO to become a meme offers some vital media training opportunities, as well as a bit of an unintended laugh.
Have you seen the remarkable video of McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski doing a taste test of his company’s new Big Arch burger?
Ahead of its launch in the US, the boss posted a video of himself tasting the burger on his Instagram account.
It is a video that has got people talking.
Lots of people - there's more than 26,000 comments on the post alone.
The problem is that almost none of the conversation is positive.
The video has been shared extensively on Instagram, X, TikTok and Reddit, and reactions have not been kind. According to Forbes, the top videos mocking the video taste test had received just under 20 million views on TikTok by the middle of last week.
And, as we always stress during our training, what trends tends to be picked up by traditional media.
Here are some of the headlines it created:
Well, firstly, it is an incredibly awkward and wooden performance.
Mr Kempczinski seems scripted and rehearsed – which does make you wonder just how bad the parts were that didn’t make the final Instagram video.
And it makes the video feel insincere.
Everyone knows the video is staged – no one thinks the CEO just happens to be sitting in his office with perfect lighting for a video and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to record himself eating a burger.
But people don’t’ want it to feel inauthentic and forced.
It is why we always stress that media training courses are not just about preparing spokespeople to appear in front of journalists.
At a time when brands are increasingly becoming publishers, effective media training helps spokespeople feel confident and comfortable in front of all cameras, whether they are making a video for social media, recording an internal announcement or hosting a webinar.
Speaking of media skills training, our expert tutors always stress the importance of spokespeople using everyday language, as if they were talking to a friend or family member who doesn’t work in their industry.
The aim is to remove jargon, acronyms and corporate speak – like “product” - and use simple language that helps spokespeople connect.
No one refers to a burger as a “product”. Certainly not customers. It doesn’t happen.
So, when the boss uses that language – “I love this product” – it makes him feel distant and unrelatable.
“Product” is also a bit of a troubling word when it comes to food. At a time of increased focus on Ultra-processed foods, the word doesn’t scream natural ingredients. It makes it sound clinical, like it has been put together in a lab.
The other key point is about optics.
Who thought it was a good idea to let the CEO get away with taking such a small bite of the burger in the video?
It’s probably the smallest ever first bite in taste-testing video history, even if he misleadingly calls it a “big bite”.
And it leaves you with the impression that the boss is pretty reluctant or even scared to try that new burger the fast-food giant is about to launch, which is a bit of a PR headache.
That impression is only added to by his promise to eat the rest of the burger for his lunch.
Well, something else you may have heard us speak about in previous media training blogs is newsjacking.
This is when an organisation gains coverage – on either social or mainstream media – by jumping on something relevant people are already talking about.
And the McDonald’s video provided an opportunity plenty of organisations found too appetising to turn down.
Wendy’s posted a video of its president, Pete Suerken, cooking and eating one of its ‘Baconator’ burgers, with the caption “lots of chatter about burgers this week”.
And Burger King posted a video on its TikTok of its president, Tom Curtis, appearing to take a big bite of its Whopper burger, with the simple caption, “thought we’d replay this.”
Canadian fast food firm A&W also got in on the fun, with its own taste test video. It shows actor Allen Lulu mimicking the McDonald's video, eating something called a Teen burger, which comes with a questionable sounding condiment called 'teen sauce'.
In it, he says: “We love this burger product. Which most people call a burger.”
And he adds: “It has a unique bread, which some people would call a bun.”
Ouch.
However, it is not just burger companies that got in on the newsjacking.
Ryanair, which rarely misses an opportunity on social media, joined in the mocking.
While the CEO’s video has failed to hit the mark, it has not been all bad for McDonald’s.
The company has joined in the “product” mockery, sharing a photo of the new burger with the caption “take a bite of our new product”.
That’s a nice response.
It shows self-awareness and a willingness to make fun of themselves – or at least the boss.
And that feels brave when it would have been much easier to wait for the internet to move on to something else.
It also helps make the brand feel relatable again after the efforts of its boss.
As for Mr Kempczinski, judging by the size of that “big bite”, I imagine he is still trying to tentatively nibble his way through that burger.
Once he’s finally finished, he should get in touch and let us help him look more human in his videos.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 40 years of experience.
We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Find out more about our media training