I'm surely not the only one who can remember Saturday morning cartoons, getting up before your siblings to get control of the TV before them, and of course commercials like this one.
It wasn't controversial from a public point of view. But I did some research on the McDonaldland characters. Seems that McDonald's originally wanted the Kroffts to do the puppets for the ads. For whatever reasons-I'm guessing probably because of creative control-The Kroffts said, "No!" But McDonald's said, "Well, too bad! We're going to use your puppets anyway!" So they hired several former Krofft puppeteers to do the designs. Naturally, the Kroffts weren't happy! They sued and won!
That’s not true, the McDonald ad agency approached the Kroffts and asked them to create the characters of McDonaldland inspired by Pufnstuf. The Kroffts originally agreed and were working on designs for the characters when they were later told the campaign was scrapped by McDonalds, it wasn’t until they weren’t able to license anything H.R. Pufnstuf related when they realized McDonalds went ahead with said idea of McDonaldland hence why the Kroffts sued McDonalds
They hired the Kroffts to do an ad campaign. After showing McDonalds their concept art McDonalds passed, then a year later they came out with this anyway! Kroffts were right to sue, they ripped them off...
Ray Kroc's whole business model was stealing someone else's ideas. The Big Mac is a direct copy of the Big Boy Hamburger right down to the thousand island dressing. I guess it's legal to copy a hamburger as long as the name is different.
This is why the San Diego Padres, whom Ray Kroc owned and is credited for keeping in that city rather than moving to DC, have never won the World Series. The Curse of Pufnstuf.
I was four years old and while I don't recall this particular commercial, this entire "style" of television just brings it all back. Man, good times. Thank you!
I'm a child of the 70's. This was how things looked back in the day. Course, my neighbourhood was rough. The trees used to beat me up. And the clowns were always chasing me! As for the McCrappy Meals? All we were given were a burnt piece of ground beef (?) and a stale French fry--without ketchup. To drink we'd be given old coffee. And the "toy" was something dumb like a rubber band or a piece of lint. Ah, the seventies. :-/
I'm less convinced there was copyright infringement in this commercial. The biggest factor against the challenge by the owners of H R Pufnstuff is that, absent knowledge of H R Pufnstuff, it looks like a ripoff of the Wizard of Oz, with apple pie trees (the apple trees), hamburger patches (poppy field), and a yellow brick road. Mayor McCheese in other commercials does look like Pufnstuff though.
I took a trip to McDonaldland as a child. Now I'm taking a trip to the hospital to have a triple bypass from lifelong junkfood addiction. Tripping the scales fantastic.
These McDonald commercials were a big part of Saturday morning cartoons. Even today, I'll tease my kids by chasing them around saying "Robble robble". And we've come a long way?
I somewhat recall these psychedelic McDonaldland commercialsw/ all the weird characters from when I was a kid, and very well remember the simpler ones of the '80s. They should bring these back.
now, what kid wouldn't wanna go to this mcdonalds fantasy-land? also, one thing's for sure about the 70's, they knew how to capture the imagination!! in closing, does anyone remember the mcdonalds commercial; where they were at an amusement-park, and the were riding the rides? that's the reason why i like amusement parks now!!! such a magical-place!!
Reporter: "Mayor McCheese, what do you say to gov. Shwarzeneggers comments that he is better qualified to run as presiedent, whereas you have a cheeseburger for a head? Mayor McCheese: "It's a birth defect!! I've had it since I was a child!!!"
When your tripping on Acid one of the scarier things to have happen is to suddenly "land" if you will, in a place you don't know, nor know how you got there. but McD's is one of the places that cares least about who the hell comes in there.
Wow. This was my time, but I don't remember this commercial at all. You can see the HR Pufnstuff rip-off--and that some writer was doing wayyyyyy too much acid. Fun ad, but why don't I remember this one?
I had no idea about the law suit but as soon as I revisited these old TV commercials I though that Sid & Marty had to come up with the concept for McDonald Land and the characters so I looked it up and thats when I saw the lawsuit.. They had such a unique style about their characters and set design that it was so easy to identify McDonald Land as another one of their creations!!!
Do they even have any of the McDonaldland characters in their advertising anymore? Their restaurants where I live have really cut back on Ronald's presence. No more "statue" of that iconic harlequin.
i pulled an all nighter thanks to weird arse old commercials. but now because of this one im not sure if im asleep or someone stuck drugs into my bubble gum. halp.
What copyright infringement? I didn't see anyone in this commercial who even came close to resembling Jack Wild. Nor did I see any talking flutes. And dragons? Nary a won, unless you count Mayor McCheese draggin' his buns. I loved H.R.P. as a kid. But the producers weren't exactly original with all their characters, either. For example, those talking trees were inspired by the talking trees from "Wizard of Oz". Sid and Marty owed credit for a lot of their creative whimsy to L. Frank Baum.
No, you're right, too. NBC approach Sid and Marty to create H.R. Puffnstuff in 1968. Then, in 1970 "Needham, Harper, and Steers" (an advertising agency hired by McDonald's) told Marty Krofft the project was cancelled. Needman still used former Krofft employees for the commerical and Sid and Marty sued stating "Mayor McCheese" and "McDonaldland" resembled H.R. Puffnstuff.
Goddamned 70's Weird TV Commercials turnin' my brain into moosh! 30 years later I see this, and I almost went off on everyone in the office like River did in Firefly with the Fruity Oatey Bars Commercial!
This is a really cool video and it came out around 1972. I was 10 yrs old and enjoyed it. Look at how much things have changed---no McNuggets, Quarter Pounders, McFlurries, McChicken strips, McChicken Sandwiches, etc. I believe the Big Mac was introduced in 1968 for 69 cents, as I remember there was a special 10 yrs ago celebrating it's "anniversary" and one day back then you could buy a Big Mac for 69 cents!!!! Bring back the promo for the 40 yr anniversary!!!!!
I had forgotten about that! Once the song started playing, I knew all the words. Who says advertising doesnt' work. I watched way too much TV as a child.
NBC and McDonald's approached the Kroffts and they said yes. But McDonald's decided not to use the Kroffts and produced the commercial without them. Sid and Marty Krofft were originally awarded $50,000 in damages and then recieved over $1,000,000 on appeal.
I don't remember this... must've been before my time. Like this is REEEEALLY trippy, man. Shame about the lawsuit... I think this beats all the other current commercials hands down.
@joshjhutton at the time this was filmed, these kids would go outside and play to burn it off. Not sit in front of the computer or tv playing video games I'm guessing
And whatsmore, this McDonaldland just looks terrifying. Those Apple Pie trees haunt me in my sleep. (0_0) "Can't sleep. Tree will eat me" *Curls into a ball and cries*
@dredandmrbears Good. I'm glad they ripped off puff n' stuff to create, possibly their best ad in 50 years (minus the Super Mario 3 one) As you can see though, they still put a lot of effort into building an entire set of Mcdonalds land. Nowadays, it'd be CGI, or two guys sitting in a car talking about a bruger, and then at the end they go into the store, and get the burger.
God we loved this commercial when I was a kid. We used to draw pictures of McDonald land. How many of these commercials were there? I know there was more than one, because we had to adjust our McDonald land pictures when the new one came out.
There was an actual McDonalds that had this theme in Chula Vista, Ca on Third Ave and Naples back in the 70's. I remeber a train, (non working of course) and a couple of slides, one was the pirate and the other was Mayor McCheese I beleive. a merry go round, and a Grimmace cage which you would get in and rock back and fourth. And at the Imperial Beach location there was a Pirate Ship inside McDonalds.
McDonald's burgers, fries, shakes, and drinks were smaller in those days. And there were fewer of them around. In the 1980's I remember kids going there on special occasions. Nowadays kids go there 4 or 5 times a week.
Holy shit... thats... thats... I'm 27, whats the word I'm looking for... GROOVY! Man I'm almost sorry I wasn't born early enough to enjoy this kind of stuff! Why cant they bring back old commercials like this and air them again? I seriously doubt HR Puffnstuff or whatever would care anymore, and this shit really is mellow. Or groovy. Or whatever you old timers call it.
That's right, I am English! I've been up to Orlando twice now, And I love it! I'm so glad that you think that we're such nice people. I must say, the facilities and attractions at Orlando and the surrounding area are world class! I plan on going next in 2009 =D
I'm surely not the only one who can remember Saturday morning cartoons, getting up before your siblings to get control of the TV before them, and of course commercials like this one.
It wasn't controversial from a public point of view. But I did some research on the McDonaldland characters. Seems that McDonald's originally wanted the Kroffts to do the puppets for the ads. For whatever reasons-I'm guessing probably because of creative control-The Kroffts said, "No!" But McDonald's said, "Well, too bad! We're going to use your puppets anyway!" So they hired several former Krofft puppeteers to do the designs. Naturally, the Kroffts weren't happy! They sued and won!
That’s not true, the McDonald ad agency approached the Kroffts and asked them to create the characters of McDonaldland inspired by Pufnstuf. The Kroffts originally agreed and were working on designs for the characters when they were later told the campaign was scrapped by McDonalds, it wasn’t until they weren’t able to license anything H.R. Pufnstuf related when they realized McDonalds went ahead with said idea of McDonaldland hence why the Kroffts sued McDonalds
They hired the Kroffts to do an ad campaign. After showing McDonalds their concept art McDonalds passed, then a year later they came out with this anyway! Kroffts were right to sue, they ripped them off...
No they didn't .... a middle man hired some of their art staff ...then told Sid and Marty that the deal had fallen through ...They sued over this .
Ray Kroc's whole business model was stealing someone else's ideas. The Big Mac is a direct copy of the Big Boy Hamburger right down to the thousand island dressing. I guess it's legal to copy a hamburger as long as the name is different.
This is why the San Diego Padres, whom Ray Kroc owned and is credited for keeping in that city rather than moving to DC, have never won the World Series. The Curse of Pufnstuf.
I was four years old and while I don't recall this particular commercial, this entire "style" of television just brings it all back.
Man, good times.
Thank you!
I'm a child of the 70's. This was how things looked back in the day. Course, my neighbourhood was rough. The trees used to beat me up. And the clowns were always chasing me! As for the McCrappy Meals? All we were given were a burnt piece of ground beef (?) and a stale French fry--without ketchup. To drink we'd be given old coffee. And the "toy" was something dumb like a rubber band or a piece of lint. Ah, the seventies. :-/
It's sad, all of these characters have faded
away even Ronald McDonald who is always mentioned but never seen.
I'm less convinced there was copyright infringement in this commercial. The biggest factor against the challenge by the owners of H R Pufnstuff is that, absent knowledge of H R Pufnstuff, it looks like a ripoff of the Wizard of Oz, with apple pie trees (the apple trees), hamburger patches (poppy field), and a yellow brick road. Mayor McCheese in other commercials does look like Pufnstuff though.
I took a trip to McDonaldland as a child. Now I'm taking a trip to the hospital to have a triple bypass from lifelong junkfood addiction. Tripping the scales fantastic.
These McDonald commercials were a big part of Saturday morning cartoons. Even today, I'll tease my kids by chasing them around saying "Robble robble". And we've come a long way?
Its brilliant how they rhymed french fry patch with hamburger patch
I remember this....every Saturday morning while watching Motor Mouse
I miss ads like this. Talk about low budget ads. No computerized crap. Just foam rocks and guys in rubber costumes. These were the days ....
Lol
Whoa, flashbacks! Especially the fries plants and burger patches. And Mayor McCheese was pretty much their H.R. Pufnstuff.
I somewhat recall these psychedelic McDonaldland commercialsw/ all the weird characters from when I was a kid, and very well remember the simpler ones of the '80s. They should bring these back.
now, what kid wouldn't wanna go to this mcdonalds fantasy-land? also, one thing's for sure about the 70's, they knew how to capture the imagination!! in closing, does anyone remember the mcdonalds commercial; where they were at an amusement-park, and the were riding the rides? that's the reason why i like amusement parks now!!! such a magical-place!!
Reporter: "Mayor McCheese, what do you say to gov. Shwarzeneggers comments that he is better qualified to run as presiedent, whereas you have a cheeseburger for a head?
Mayor McCheese: "It's a birth defect!! I've had it since I was a child!!!"
When your tripping on Acid one of the scarier things to have happen is to suddenly "land" if you will, in a place you don't know, nor know how you got there. but McD's is one of the places that cares least about who the hell comes in there.
The cowbell makes it EXTRA funky!!!
this is scary and cute at the same time
Whoa! I vivdly remember that commercial when I was a kid! Man, that song was like 60s groovy, man!
Wow. This was my time, but I don't remember this commercial at all. You can see the HR Pufnstuff rip-off--and that some writer was doing wayyyyyy too much acid. Fun ad, but why don't I remember this one?
Why do I get the urge to smoke pot while watching this?
Way more groovy than "I'm lovin' it".
I had no idea about the law suit but as soon as I revisited these old TV commercials I though that Sid & Marty had to come up with the concept for McDonald Land and the characters so I looked it up and thats when I saw the lawsuit.. They had such a unique style about their characters and set design that it was so easy to identify McDonald Land as another one of their creations!!!
Wow, even ad men were on drugs in the '60s. This commercial is really psychedelic.
With commercials like this, it's amazing I survived my youth with minimal trauma, lol.
Keep on walking into the world of make believe. You'll find Mister Rogers just beyond the trolley.
Do they even have any of the McDonaldland characters in their advertising anymore? Their restaurants where I live have really cut back on Ronald's presence. No more "statue" of that iconic harlequin.
i pulled an all nighter thanks to weird arse old commercials. but now because of this one im not sure if im asleep or someone stuck drugs into my bubble gum. halp.
Wow! That's a blast from the past.
What copyright infringement? I didn't see anyone in this commercial who even came close to resembling Jack Wild. Nor did I see any talking flutes. And dragons? Nary a won, unless you count Mayor McCheese draggin' his buns.
I loved H.R.P. as a kid. But the producers weren't exactly original with all their characters, either. For example, those talking trees were inspired by the talking trees from "Wizard of Oz". Sid and Marty owed credit for a lot of their creative whimsy to L. Frank Baum.
I think it was the Pufnstuf-like puppetry and character costumes that got Mickey D's in legal trouble at the time.
I love this song.
Being high + this commercial = marketing genius
Ronald had too much mcdonals. Look at the size of his thighs.
Bridal gs back memories. As a kid I never saw the relationship with weed. Kinda funny now
No, you're right, too. NBC approach Sid and Marty to create H.R. Puffnstuff in 1968. Then, in 1970 "Needham, Harper, and Steers" (an advertising agency hired by McDonald's) told Marty Krofft the project was cancelled. Needman still used former Krofft employees for the commerical and Sid and Marty sued stating "Mayor McCheese" and "McDonaldland" resembled H.R. Puffnstuff.
And you can't miss the resemblance either. Every time I saw the commercial,I thought of pufnstuf
does anyone know when this video aired? I can't remember ever seeing this on tv.
thanx
I oddly enough can't stop watching this video...
Goddamned 70's Weird TV Commercials turnin' my brain into moosh!
30 years later I see this, and I almost went off on everyone in the office like River did in Firefly with the Fruity Oatey Bars Commercial!
And, what's so controversial about this commercial? This is what they were all like in the 70's.
Yep. I just went last summer. That McDonald's is insanely huge.
getting a salad from McDonalds is like paying a prostitute for a hug
ronalds legs shows kids why not to eat at mcdonals
This song is just so damn funky....I can't stop playing it!
This is a really cool video and it came out around 1972. I was 10 yrs old and enjoyed it. Look at how much things have changed---no McNuggets, Quarter Pounders, McFlurries, McChicken strips, McChicken Sandwiches, etc. I believe the Big Mac was introduced in 1968 for 69 cents, as I remember there was a special 10 yrs ago celebrating it's "anniversary" and one day back then you could buy a Big Mac for 69 cents!!!! Bring back the promo for the 40 yr anniversary!!!!!
this is one of my personal favorite burger king ads
I had forgotten about that! Once the song started playing, I knew all the words. Who says advertising doesnt' work. I watched way too much TV as a child.
NBC and McDonald's approached the Kroffts and they said yes. But McDonald's decided not to use the Kroffts and produced the commercial without them. Sid and Marty Krofft were originally awarded $50,000 in damages and then recieved over $1,000,000 on appeal.
I don't remember this... must've been before my time. Like this is REEEEALLY trippy, man. Shame about the lawsuit... I think this beats all the other current commercials hands down.
0:14 "Stranger Danger! Stranger Danger!" Brand Sins
the oddity of 70's pop culture, course guess the same can be said for stuff from the 80's to a person who was born a decade or two later
thE tree with the big nose looks like Don Frick...LOL
Brilliant. Any suggestion where to find a better quality version of this vid or the song?
"Trip" to Mcdonald's land is right. I want what they are smokin
Best McDonald's commercial ever! The music.....
I can't seem to stop watching......very mezmerizing music.......
I for one think this was the hippest commercial McDonalds ever had. The jingle is cool. Sure beats today's ultra lame "I'm lovin' it"!
Man, I forgot how hip, some of the McDonalds commercials used to be back in the day.
i'm impressed with your knowledge mcy d's!
First, it's in the brownies. Then Mickey D's puts it in the apple pies.
there's a "show more" button in the description box for a reason
Who did the song in this commercial?
The Who! :D
Grateful dead?
@joshjhutton at the time this was filmed, these kids would go outside and play to burn it off. Not sit in front of the computer or tv playing video games I'm guessing
How to get to McDonaldland:
1) Go into a McDonald's playground
2) Smoke just the right amount of Marijuana
3) Welcome to McDonaldland!
Play this backwards to receive instructions to smoke weed and eat Big Macs.
And whatsmore, this McDonaldland just looks terrifying. Those Apple Pie trees haunt me in my sleep. (0_0)
"Can't sleep. Tree will eat me"
*Curls into a ball and cries*
I loved this commercial as a kid.
Big scary clown and trees, burgers growing from the ground, Im sure to have a nightmare tonight
The music is awesome . . .
what year did this commercial come out?
It actually came out in 1971, the Kroffts sued Mcdonalds a couple years later for copyright infringement
How come they waited that long to sue them?
@@alanrobledo1573 because the money builded up to the point where it was time to sue.
@dredandmrbears Good. I'm glad they ripped off puff n' stuff to create, possibly their best ad in 50 years (minus the Super Mario 3 one) As you can see though, they still put a lot of effort into building an entire set of Mcdonalds land. Nowadays, it'd be CGI, or two guys sitting in a car talking about a bruger, and then at the end they go into the store, and get the burger.
i atched this a few days ago, and i couldnt get the tune out of my head
God we loved this commercial when I was a kid. We used to draw pictures of McDonald land. How many of these commercials were there? I know there was more than one, because we had to adjust our McDonald land pictures when the new one came out.
So, this is how kids from long ago used to eat. Everyone used to be thin, too.
Is this...sung by the beatles?
I think the idea for Rocky Horror came from watching this commercial. Truth is, I remember this commercial.
So this is where Big Mac and Mayor McCheese were exiled to. Now the world knows. I love these groovy old commercials.
There was an actual McDonalds that had this theme in Chula Vista, Ca on Third Ave and Naples back in the 70's. I remeber a train, (non working of course) and a couple of slides, one was the pirate and the other was Mayor McCheese I beleive. a merry go round, and a Grimmace cage which you would get in and rock back and fourth.
And at the Imperial Beach location there was a Pirate Ship inside McDonalds.
Man that's some groovy bubble gum psyche music I want it on record!
Awesome psych-rock pastiche.
Boy I want a mcdonalds a french fries bush in my backyard but i guess it would only produce french fries in mcdonald land
this creeped me out, as if something was supposed to pop out at the ebd O.O
it looks like a dream someone had after doing too much acid
nah... they weren't on acid.....
McDonald's burgers, fries, shakes, and drinks were smaller in those days. And there were fewer of them around. In the 1980's I remember kids going there on special occasions. Nowadays kids go there 4 or 5 times a week.
This explains soooo much about Generation X...
Our minds were completely warped by 70's TV.
Someone pass me the roach, please.
I'm diggin' on the groovy music.
Yes, I remember this commercial when it aired!!! I guess that dates me.
perhaps my favorite commercial of all time.
Ronald MacDonald is one very sinister character.
H.r. pufnstuff comes to mind with this commercial 🤗
Holy shit... thats... thats... I'm 27, whats the word I'm looking for... GROOVY! Man I'm almost sorry I wasn't born early enough to enjoy this kind of stuff! Why cant they bring back old commercials like this and air them again? I seriously doubt HR Puffnstuff or whatever would care anymore, and this shit really is mellow. Or groovy. Or whatever you old timers call it.
lol "I know what stuff he was puffing" that was nice.
That's right, I am English! I've been up to Orlando twice now, And I love it! I'm so glad that you think that we're such nice people. I must say, the facilities and attractions at Orlando and the surrounding area are world class! I plan on going next in 2009 =D
Waoh I am having a retro flashback with Mcdonalds groovey!
This is actually my favourite McDonalds commercial. Better then their recent 'Dave' one, now THAT is awful.
Holy Hallucinogenics Batman!
You said it. Their burgers suck like a black hole. False advertisement for sub-par food. EPIC FAIL.