The McRib

About a month ago, I came across an interesting McDonald's special that I had never heard of before: the McRib. This sandwich, consisting of a boneless pork patty shaped like ribs, barbecue sauce, pickles, and onions is unique in that it is rarely available to consumers. McDonald's purposefully sells the sandwich on a limited basis, and has only sold it nationally twice before; in 1982 after a test market run, and in 1994, in relation with the Flintstone movie. The sandwich has received pretty good reviews, but it is the scarcity that contributes to its popularity. Since it is only available on rare occasions, people rush to local McDonald's retailers to eat the sandwich, as they do not know when they will have the opportunity again. McDonald's USA President Jan Fields even mentioned that the sandwich does not sell well on a consistent basis because people get tired of it. The McRib was released on November 2nd and will be discontinued December 5th, after about a month long appearance. 

I find both the marketing strategy and consumer reaction intriguing and when reflecting on my own reaction to the marketing ploy, I realize how brilliant it truly is. Although I have not tried the sandwich, I already have decided to track down the rare McRib this weekend with my roommate, before it is no longer available. I believe this truly represents and helps identify the problems characterizing the food industry today. People hear that McDonald's, a globally recognized fast food chain, is selling a sandwich for a limited time, and do not think twice about what they are about to consume. Well, on this blog, I am about to do that. You cannot simply break down the  sandwich into the pork patty, bun, sauce, pickles, and onions, as there are over 50 ingredients that compose these parts listed here: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/itemDetailInfo.do?itemID=10031. The sandwich 500 calories, 10 g of saturated fat, and 980 mg of sodium (which is already 41% of your recommended daily value!). On another website (http://www.foodfacts.info/mcrib/), the sandwich is literally deconstructed and the pictures are absolutely disgusting. The most disturbing part of it all is that I now know all of this information and will most likely still try to get my hands on this sandwich. It says a lot about the current generation of consumers; we are not cognizant of what we are eating, but even if we are, most will not change their eating habits.
After reading this post, would you still eat the McRib?