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Founded
May 15, 1940
The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by siblings Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee." Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald in 1968.
One Billion Hamburgers Sold
January 1, 1963
One billion hamburgers sold.
500th Restaurant
January 1, 1963
The 500th restaurant opened.
Big Mac Introduced
January 1, 1968
The Big Mac was introduced.
McDonald's In Every State
January 1, 1970
McDonald's restaurant in every US state.
Breakfast Introduced
January 1, 1971
Originally, McDonald's did not serve breakfast. The breakfast foods were introduced to McDonald's in 1971.
First Drive-Thru
January 1, 1975
The company's first Drive-Thru opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
5,000th Restaurant
January 1, 1978
The 5,000th restaurant opened in Kanagawa, Japan and it made US $1 million in its first year.
Happy Meal Introduced
June 1, 1979
A "Happy Meal" is a meal specially tailored for children, sold at the fast-food chain McDonald's since June 1979. A toy is typically included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a small box or paper bag with the McDonald's logo.
McSleep Case
January 1, 1988 - January 1, 1989
In 1988 Quality Inns was planning to open a new chain of economy hotels under the name "McSleep." After McDonald's demanded that Quality Inns not use the name because it infringed, the hotel company filed a suit in federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that "McSleep" did not infringe. McDonald's counterclaimed, alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. Eventually, McDonald's prevailed. The court's opinion noted that the prefix "Mc" added to a generic word has acquired secondary meaning, so that in the eyes of the public it means McDonalds, and therefore the name "McSleep" would infringe on McDonald's trademarks.
McLibel Case
January 1, 1990 - June 19, 1997
In 1990, McDonald's took environmental campaigners Helen Steel and Dave Morris to court after they distributed leaflets entitled "What's Wrong with McDonald's?" on the streets of London. The high-profile trial, which came to be known as the McLibel Case, lasted seven and a half years, the longest in English legal history.
McDonald's Coffee Case
January 1, 1992 - January 1, 1993
In 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, sued McDonald's after she suffered third-degree burns after she spilled hot coffee that she ordered at one of the company's drive-thrus. a.k.a. the "McDonald's coffee case", is a well-known product liability lawsuit that became a flashpoint in the debate in the U.S. over tort reform after a jury awarded $2.9 million to a woman who burned herself with hot coffee. The trial judge reduced the total award to $640,000, and the parties settled for a confidential amount before an appeal was decided. The case entered popular understanding as an example of frivolous litigation; ABC News calls the case "the poster child of excessive lawsuits." Trial-lawyer groups such as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and other opponents of tort reform sometimes argue that the suit was justified because of the extent of Liebeck's injuries.
McCoffee Case
January 1, 1994 - January 1, 1995
In 1994, McDonald's successfully forced Elizabeth McCaughey of the San Francisco Bay Area to change the trading name of her coffee shop McCoffee, which had operated under that name for 17 years. "This is the moment I surrendered the little 'c' to corporate America," said Elizabeth McCaughey, who had named it as an adaptation of her surname.
McMunchies
January 1, 1996 - January 1, 1997
In 1996, McDonald's forced Scottish sandwich shop owner Mary Blair of Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire to drop McMunchies as her trading name. Mrs. Blair did not sell burgers or chips. She said she chose the name because she liked the word munchies and wanted the cafe to have a Scottish feel. The cafe's sign reflected this, featuring a Scottish thistle and a St Andrew's flag. But in a statement to Mrs. Blair's solicitors, McDonald's said if someone used the Mc prefix, even unintentionally, they were using something that does not belong to them.
Fast Food Nation
January 17, 2001
In 2001, Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation included criticism of McDonald's' business practices. Among the critiques were allegations that McDonald's (along with other companies within the fast-food industry) uses its political influence to increase their own profits at the expense of people's health and the social conditions of its workers. The book also brought into question McDonald's advertisement techniques in which it targets children. While the book did mention other fast-food chains, it focused primarily on McDonald's.
Fries Advertisement Controversy
January 1, 2003 - January 1, 2004
In 2003, a ruling by the UK Advertising Standards Authority determined that the corporation had acted in breach of the codes of practice in describing how its French fries were prepared.[3] A McDonald's print ad stated that "after selecting certain potatoes" "we peel them, slice them, fry them and that's it." It showed a picture of a potato in a McDonald's fries box. In fact the product was sliced, pre-fried, sometimes had dextrose added, was then frozen, shipped, and re-fried and then had salt added.
"I'm Lovin' It" Campaign
September 2, 2003
I'm lovin' it is an international branding campaign by McDonald's Corporation. It was created by Heye & Partner, a longtime McDonald's agency based in Unterhaching, Germany, near Munich, and a member of the DDB Worldwide Communications Group, Inc. It was the company's first global advertising campaign and was launched in Munich, Germany on September 2, 2003, under the German title ich liebe es. The English part of the campaign was launched on September 29, 2003 with the music of Tom Batoy and Franco Tortora (Mona Davis Music) and vocals by Justin Timberlake, in which the slogan appears. In 2007, after a public casting call which received 15,000 submissions, McDonald's selected 24 people to appear as part of the campaign.[5] Images of those chosen, who had submitted a story and digital photograph which "capture[d] ... themes of inspiration, passion and fun," appear on McDonald's paper bags and cups worldwide.
Super Size Me
May 7, 2004
Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary film Super Size Me said that McDonald's food was contributing to the epidemic of obesity in society, and that the company was failing to provide nutritional information about its food for its customers. Six weeks after the film premiered, McDonald's announced that was eliminating the super size option, and was creating the adult happy meal.
"Go Active!" Meal
May 11, 2004 - June 7, 2004
The Go Active! Meal was a promotion introduced in 2004, and lasted from May 11 through to June 7. Due to the criticism of the film Super Size Me, this item replaced the Super Size meals. The Go Active! Meal featured a Dasani water bottle, a salad, a pedometer instead of a toy, and an exercise booklet.
"Forever Young" Redesign
January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2007
In 2006, McDonald's introduced its "Forever Young" brand by redesigning all of their restaurants, the first major redesign since the 1970s.
The new design will include the traditional McDonald's yellow and red colors, but the red will be muted to terra cotta, the yellow will turn golden for a more "sunny" look, and olive and sage green will be added. To warm up their look, the restaurants will have less plastic and more brick and wood, with modern hanging lights to produce a softer glow. Contemporary art or framed photographs will hang on the walls.
The exterior will have golden awnings and a "swish brow" instead of the traditional double-slanted mansard roof.
McCurry Case
January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2007
In 2006, McDonald's won a five year legal battle in Malaysia against a small restaurant named "McCurry". The defendant claimed that McCurry stood for Malaysian Chicken Curry, but a High Court judge ruled that the prefix Mc and the use of colors distinctive of the McDonald's brand could confuse and deceive customers[9].
Cooking Oil Switch
May 22, 2007
The Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's Corporation announced on May 22, 2008 that it is switching to trans fat-free cooking oil for French fries in the U.S. and Canada. The company will use canola-based oil with corn and soy oils by year's end for its baked items, pies and cookies.
