Is McDonald’s New Hamburglar Creepy Or Hot?

“Robble, Robble!” McDonald’s new Hamburglar has been the talk of the town for the last few days, and the reviews are mixed. As you might recall, Ronald McDonald and friends were all the rage in the 80s, including the lovable, chubby Hamburglar. The silly commercials were a popular, albeit silly, form of advertisement for the favorite fast food franchise, and the Hamburglar was the favorite as a strange, but somehow cute, little man who couldn’t get his hands on enough Big Macs.

The new Hamburglar is a mix of a fit, suburban dad and a hipster. Though the overall appearance of the new mascot is fairly similar to the old one with a banded fedora, red gloves, iconic Zorro mask, and jail bird shirt, there are a few additions, including a dark trench coat, updated burger tie, and dark skinnies tucked into red, high-top velcro shoes. To top it all off, the Hamburglar seems to have gotten some work done, since he looks about 50 pounds lighter than before and is now sporting a scruffy, unshaven look.

Ad Week rounded up some fans’ responses to the change, and it appears that reviews for the newest form of the lovable mascot are mixed. Some say he’s hot.

McDonald’s seems to be marketing it that way with their tweet.

“The Legend. The Lore. The good looks? Hamburglar is back, America.”

Others tweeted a similar response:

“McDonald’s going for the Twilight Moms demo with hot new Hamburglar antihero.”

“Aaron Eckhart looks great as the new Hamburglar.”

“Gonna be weird to tell my kids that the Hamburglar wasn’t always hot.”

Then there were those who thought he looked downright creepy:

“Ew, why did McDonald’s bring back the Hamburglar and why is he a creepy suburban hipster?”

“The new Hamburglar looks like the creepy guy at your high school reunion that makes you wonder what went wrong.”

“There’s no way the new Hamburglar is more creepy than this.”

Some are also questioning whether or not he is kid-friendly. This article posted previously on Inquisitr argues that the demographics of the Hamburglar may have changed. Perhaps the franchise is no longer targeting children so much as young adults or young parents.

In the new commercial, shown here, the Hamburglar is a young, hip dad with an affinity for flipping burgers, indicating that perhaps the demographic has changed slightly to encompass “cool parents” with young children.

This isn’t the first time that McDonald’s has changed their team of mascots. Last year, around the same time, they also introduced a more “modern” Ronald McDonald, though the change wasn’t nearly as drastic as this. Ronald today is still a lovable clown like the old version, but with a wardrobe that matches the more modern fashion standards.

Despite mixed reviews, the company is still optimistic that the Hamburglar will be a very effective part of their marketing plan. The new Hamburglar may have a different look, but he is still an entertaining part of the Ronald McDonald team.

[Image via Zap2Fit.com]