In the wake of McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski becoming a “laughing stock” online following a viral promotional video for the new Big Arch burger, social media has been flooded with hilarious and pointed memes as users react to the situation.
As the fast-food chain launched the new burger in the U.S. on March 3, 2026, Kempczinski struck many viewers as “forcefully promoting” the item, repeatedly referring to it as a “product” rather than food.
Highlights
- Social media exploded with memes after the viral promotional video featuring Chris Kempczinski tasting the Big Arch burger.
- The CEO’s visibly hesitant bite of the new McDonald burger sparked jokes about “forced” corporate enthusiasm.
- Netizens flooded the internet with wild comparisons ranging from ‘The Simpsons’ to ‘SpongeBob,’ calling the moment peak “cringe marketing” energy that backfired.
Chris said in the video, “I love this product. It is so good. I’m going to do a tasting right now, but I’m going to eat this for my lunch, just so you know.”
The CEO then described the burger’s ingredients, which include “two quarter-pound patties, a delicious Big Arch sauce, and, of course, some lettuce, along with crispy onions and pickles,” before taking a bite.
While Chris described the taste by saying, “That is so good, that’s a big bite for a Big Arch,” social media users pointed out that he appeared to take a visibly tiny, hesitant nibble that barely made an indentation in the burger.
Image credits: chrisk_mcd
Critics noted he looked “scared to bite it” and “seemed like he was going to hurl,” prompting jokes that his “aura screams kale salad” and that he had never actually eaten McDonald’s before, despite being its CEO.
“He took the same size bite that my 7-year-old takes when he wants to claim he tried something but actually didn’t, lol,” quipped one netizen.
Another added, “He definitely was giving it the ‘I have a g*n pointed at me so I have to perform’ approach.”
“Make him do a video of him taking a bite of everything on the McDonald’s menu,” joked a third user.
“He spit that burger out in that cut, lol,” one commenter claimed, while others wrote, “I was on my way to McDonald’s when I saw the video of him trying ‘the product.’ I decided to go home and make spaghetti.”
“Of course there’s no video of him finishing it. I bet the rest went into the garbage and he ate a salad.”
As for the new burger, it has been marketed as one of McDonald’s largest ever, designed to compete with other premium offerings.
The item reportedly contains approximately 1,020 calories, nearly equivalent to an entire Big Mac meal, which includes fries, a medium Coke, and a double-decker burger.
While it is a newly launched, limited-time item in the U.S., the Big Arch burger is already a permanent menu offering in the UK and Ireland.
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