03/06/2017
Birthday for an American Classic
2017 represents the 50th anniversary of the Big Mac sandwich and following are some excerpts from a piece by Robert Klara of Adweek.
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“Jim Delligatti was frustrated. It was 1967, and Delligatti had been running a McDonald’s franchise for eight years. His market was Pittsburgh [Ed. Uniontown, Pa.], and his bread-and-butter customers – men trudging to and from the steel mills – brought huge appetites in the door. But all Delligatti had for them was a regular cheeseburger. That’s when he decided to experiment a little. He put two beef patties into a new burger, adding lettuce, pickles and onions, plus a center bun to stabilize the thing. Finally, he added a “special sauce” – Thousand Island dressing, some have chided, though the recipe remains a secret. Delligatti was going to call his creation the “Big Mc,” but that didn’t sound right, so he opted for “Big Mac” instead.
“Despite his mania for following the rule book, McDonald’s boss Ray Kroc gave his blessing to the Big Mac. The franchisee received no bonus or royalties from the sandwich, though he did turn one of his restaurants into the Big Mac Museum. [Ed. It initially sold for 45 cents.]
“It may sound hyperbolic to say that Delligatti made history that day – except that he did. After Ray Kroc gave his blessing from headquarters, the Big Mac rolled out systemwide in 1968, introduced as “a meal disguised as a sandwich.” By 1969, the burger was generating 19 percent of McDonald’s revenue. Today, Americans consume 550 million Big Macs annually – a little more than one every second....
“It’s hard to think of any other single menu item that’s so utterly changed the restaurant business, even as it simultaneously became an icon of American culture. The Big Mac, says Charlie Hopper, principal with ad and marketing agency Young & Laramore, embodied McDonald’s core tenets of standardization – quick service, low prices and tasty (if not quite healthy) food was consistent at all locations. By these means, the Big Mac “is like a metaphor for America,” Hopper said. “It lacks sophistication and is not particularly adventurous. It’s [just] a well-meaning, beefy thing.”
“Improbably, it’s also continued to dominate the menu board for five decades mostly unchanged, even as consumer tastes have changed dramatically around it....
“Footnote for critics of the 540-calorie Big Mac: Delligatti continued to eat one each day until his death last year. He was 98.”
Wall Street History will return in two weeks.
Brian Trumbore
