McDonald's 1984 Olympics Promotion
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The McDonald's 1984 Olympics promotion was a food giveaway blunder that ended up costing the fast-food restaurant chain much more than expected, when the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and their
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countries
boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict ...
the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
in
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,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States.


History

With a history of using athletic prowess to sell
fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...
products, American restaurant chain
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
purchased major sponsor status for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, in addition to sponsoring several American teams competing at the event. McDonald's also invested in a major advertising campaign around the event. In addition to the sponsorships and advertising, McDonald's prepared to repeat a successful giveaway promotion they deployed during the
1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...
in
Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
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,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, where customers were offered a chance to win products when the American team won a medal. In preparation for the promotion, McDonald's had
scratch-off A scratchcard (also called a scratch off, scratch ticket, scratcher, scratchum, scratch-it, scratch game, scratch-and-win, instant game, instant lottery, scratchie, lot scrots, or scritchies) is a card designed for competitions, often made of t ...
cards printed with different Olympic events. The cards were handed to customers at concessions in the United States and they could be redeemed for a specific food item if the American Olympic Team won a medal at that specific event. A gold medal was worth a
Big Mac The Big Mac is a brand of hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced by a Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area Franchising, franchisee in 1967 and expanded nationwide in 1968, and ...
, silver an order of
french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...
, and bronze a
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
. The slogan "When the U.S. Wins, You Win." was adopted for the campaign. McDonald's had made their cost estimates for the promotion based on the American medal count at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, which was 94 medals, this included 34 gold medals. McDonald's promotion campaign was given an unexpected boost when the Soviet Union, along with the thirteen Eastern Bloc countries, boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in retaliation for the United States'
boycotting A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict s ...
of the
1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...
in
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,
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as a protest against the
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...
.
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and
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also declined to participate for other reasons. With several of the Olympic powerhouse teams absent, the U.S. easily dominated the Olympic Games and walked away with 174 medals, 83 of them gold. As the Games started and the American teams conquered podiums, customers were enthusiastic about exchanging their cards for free food. More cards were being handed out with each new order, offering more giveaway opportunities. Some 6,600 outlets reportedly faced shortages of the promoted items, especially the Big Macs. McDonald's have been discreet about the cost of the promotion, saying only it was the most expensive promotion in the franchise's history to date. Marketing experts estimate it in the millions of dollars, especially since the chain normally makes a generous profit on each of the Big Macs it was now handing out for free. Despite the financial costs incurred in 1984, McDonald's repeated the "When the U.S. Wins, You Win" food prize promotion using the same game-piece format in both 1988 and
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
. McDonald's would continue its partnership with the Olympic Games until 2017.


Cultural references

''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' parodied the McDonald's campaign in the 1992 episode "
Lisa's First Word "Lisa's First Word" is the tenth episode of the The Simpsons season 4, fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was first broadcast on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox in the United States on December 3, 1992. ...
". In the episode, which involves a flashback to 1984,
Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ), better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the List of animated television series, animated television series ''The S ...
's Krusty Burger chain holds a promotion for the 1984 Olympic Games. The promotion involves "scratch-and-win" cards which reveal an event. Like the McDonald's game, if the U.S. Olympic Team won gold in that event, the card could be redeemed for a free Krusty Burger. But unknown to the public, the cards were rigged on events that athletes from Communist countries are most likely to win. However, when Krusty receives word of the Soviet boycott, his promotional scheme backfires and he ended up losing $44 million (equivalent to about $134.5 million in 2025) from all the free Krusty Burgers given to the citizens of Springfield. On the final day of the Olympic Games, a furious Krusty appears on live TV, smoking and crying, calling his customers "pigs" and vows to personally spit in every fiftieth burger, to which
Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...
replies, "I like those odds!".


References

{{McDonald's 1984 in the United States 1984 Summer Olympics Marketing in the United States History of McDonald's