1963: "Gosh I'm hungry for a burger, I'm going to McDonald's. Oh look that must be their new mascoAAAAAAAAAH!"

http://cdn3.retronaut.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Ronald-520x638.jpg

Context. To quote zero of the signified on Twitter, "It's like Wizard of Oz meets Heath Ledger's Joker."

it's a great look.

The movie trailer.

As a series of snapshots fade onto and off the screen a deep-voiced announcer intones:

"Before the playgrounds and ball pits..."

(Visual: shots of a playground and a ball pit filled with happy, playing children.)

"...before the Egg McMuffin..."

(shot of Egg McMuffin being consumed by a happy customer)

"...before the Madison Avenue focus groups and the ad men in crew cuts and shiny suits..."

(shots of same, all with toothy, goofy grins)

"... there was..."

(fade to black and pause dramatically)

"...the terror of..."

(Black screen. Crazed, shreiking violins and pounding tympanis.)

" THE CLOWN."

i'm not one of those people who pretends to be terrified by clowns though so i got no problem with the dementia thing.

i do get freaked out by places that use the animal they cook the most of as their smiling mascot though. smiling fish frying fish. smiling pigs with apples in their mouths. happy chickens at chicken places. seems disrespectful. to put it mildly.

mmmm i love eating me...

http://c0468742.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/johns-roast-pork-and-cheesesteaks-philadelphia-1-600.jpg

Ha, I looooove smiling happy food products.

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/5/4858239_3ee2e376e3.jpg
"PLEASE, come in, take a seat, eat me. I am delicious."

much more frightening without makeup!

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kvgwixkWa71qztknso1_500.jpg

happy cows come from california!

http://www.realcaliforniamilk.com/advertising/happy-cows-spots/

The bag of fries that looks like a bloody severed hand...
The cup on the nose that must contain amyl nitrate...

"At McDonald's it's
hack you to pie-ces
tiiiiiiiiime!!!"

"And Dr. Dre Mayor McCheese said... nothing you idiots!
Dr. Dre's McCheese's dead, he's locked in my basement! (Ha-ha!)"

"THEY ALL FLOAT!!! I'm sorry, er, I mean, would you like fries with that?"

"Now I want you to give me your honest opinion. Do you think this hat makes me look crazy?"

It's a little known fact that the classic Talking Heads' song 'Psycho Killer' is about David Byrne's childhood fear of this early incarnation of Ronald McDonald, as evidenced by these work-in-progress lyrics.

You start a hamburger, you can't even finish it.
You're talkin' a lot, but you're not eatin' anything.
When I have nothing to eat, my lips are sealed.
Eat in a place once, why eat there again?

ha.

also, JESUS GOD AAAAAAAAH.

i'm not one for the 'clowns are scary' thing either but self-evident serial killers, they're pretty scary.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/10852_1166813213045_7598488_n.jpg from the Philippines one of these pigs is shooting up for some reason.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/223915_10151125850414481_2088979084_n.jpg

Jesus feck!

^^ placement of the legs suggests many unpleasant thoughts.

apparently the Ray Kroc movie is not flattering to him