Core77

Frork You, McDonald's

Today in 'Death knells of late capitalism'

By Kat Bauman - May 8, 2017

in Food | Product Design

I know it's a joke and I don't care. The McDonald's "Frork" promotion can go frork itself and take the entirety of global mega meta "humor" and internet-baiting product design with it. The Frork, for those underprivileged consumers without ready access to a particularly jokey Micky D's franchise, is a rubber fork with fries for tines. That's it. That's literally it.

Its supposed purpose is to help you swipe up sandwich detritus more neatly, ignoring the greasy fact of having to squish greasy fries into the rubbery handle, which will soon also be greasy once you chew through your first tines and have to repeat the greasy process. It invents a need, delivers on the need poorly, and requires shifted user behavior for no reason.

Shoutout to all the lazy-hip logo designers of the last 8 years. Time to retire the -X- for good.

I know it's a joke and I don't care because for fuck's sake if you need schtick and gimmick to get people pumped about adding "crafted" "food" to the standard garbage menu of the largest food chain on the planet maybe there are other problems afoot.

The design of this thing supposes that it makes more sense to use your hands to cram greasy things into tight places to create a tool than to use the same greasy things as the tool they already are. OBESITY AND STARVATION AND FULL LANDFILLS ARE REAL ISSUES EXACERBATED BY YOUR GOD AWFUL COMPANY AND THIS IS HOW YOU USE YOUR DESIGN AND MARKETING TEAMS? I hate this thing like it kicked my dog, and got it greasy.

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As food gimmicks go, this feels like an April Fool's leftover that they should have just saved for next year. Why are you marketing your processed version of gourmet food with an As-Seen-On-TV style ad? WHY? I'll concede that a five year old would probably enjoy using this, and for that I'd rank it just below the impossible to clean color-changing curly straws I got in my cereal box before I was ready for Chex Quest. Are you happy, soulless McDesigner? I'm not. Now stop it forever.

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Comments

Jason Pokines

7 years ago

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On one hand: yeah, calm down Kat.
On the other hand: yeah, f*** you McDonald's!

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Noodle Time

7 years ago

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sounded like kat was really trying to come off as smooth and witty as Rain does, but instead just came across as some sort of smug activist.

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- Kat Bauman
  
  Noodle Time
  
  7 years ago
  
  Z
  
  4Z
  
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  No no, I am a smug activist.
  
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zeebleoop .

7 years ago

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you need to relax more; you'll live longer. it's a joke "for fuck's sake".

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Joshua Terrell

7 years ago

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Great Chex Quest reference. That was actually a great piece of marketing but I played that game way more than I ate Chex thats for sure.

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Net Ong

7 years ago

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The irony of one bastard of capitalism making fun its brother from another mother of capitalism.
I think this hits a nerve pointing to a truth we have to realize
- we are (designing/producing) as much (trash/junk) as we are (feeding/eating).

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Juan Cano

7 years ago

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Wow!!! Loved the rant.

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