McDonald’s CEO Wanted to Sell a Burger. Instead, He Sparked a Viral Lesson in Executive Self‑Awareness

The failure of one CEO’s video, paired with a rival’s sparkling success, provides attention-seeking bosses a tough reminder.

BY BRUCE CRUMLEY @BRUCEC_INC

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski. Illustration: Inc; Photo: Getty Images, McDonald’s

Most business leaders receive some degree of deference from employees and their professional entourages simply by virtue of being the boss. Meanwhile, CEOs of major corporations enjoy additional celebrity treatment for being easily identifiable public figures—not to mention multi-millionaires. But that habitual reverence shouldn’t allow top executives to forget the limits of their power and appeal, as McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski just learned in an achingly public manner.

This week, an Instagram video initially posted in February of the boyish-looking Kempczinski went viral. In it, the smiling but stiff, squeaky-clean executive introduces himself as “Chris K.” as he presents the chain’s new, oversized Big Arch hamburger in a simulated influencer review. Just about everyone at McDonald’s must be wishing it hadn’t gained the enormous attention it now has.

Never mind that Kempczinski’s natural look and vibe are far closer to a life-long Boy Scout troop master than an eye-catching, fast-talking digital native content creator. And forget the mismatch of the lithe 57-year-old CEO looking far more like a Mediterranean diet fanatic than someone keen on inhaling the half pound of beef in McDonald’s new burger. And even leave aside his awkwardly delivered, World War II vintage “Holy cow!” shout of surprise at seeing the sandwich — an innovation he’d spent long months getting ready to unleash on the world beforehand.

Instead, the biggest problem was that in a world where some chief executives are clearly dweebs (Mark Zuckerberg), others are detested (Elon Musk), and the rare few manage to be both deft and debonair (Mark Cuban), Kempczinski is a complete and utter dad. As in “dad joke” kind of dad.

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That meant any hope of being hip in a social media post was virtually doomed from the outset, and likely to generate exactly the kind of derision that buried his Big Arch review. Sharp-tongued viewers first took aim at the single, timid nibble Kempczinski took from the XXL burger during the entire 81-second video.

“That was the smallest first bite I’ve ever seen,” said one of the over 18,000 Instagram commentators who took a swipe at Kempczinski’s stint as the face of McDonald’s marketing.

“Why is he so repulsed by his own food bruh,” asked another.

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