The INFAMOUS “Black” McDonald’s commercials
At the tail end of the Civil Rights Movement, brands all over the country started doing something new… and a little strange: they started targeting Black consumers in their ads.
Very few did it quite like McDonald’s — so I wanted to dig into that history and show why I think these ads deserve WAY more attention.
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#videoessay #McDonalds #history #nostalgia #90s #television
@austinmatthew-san4042
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
All y'all do is complain
@idolgray
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
..one day the discussion about global anti blackness needs to be more than just "americas fault" its gives a pass to other countries and cultures.
@randyscott3386
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
It almost seems like any ad that reflects Black Culture is viewed as racist . Where's the video with FAVORITE BLACK COMMERCIALS ?
@ToxicMascGuy
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Whrr er’body at??
https://youtu.be/xdGIJFVRZpE?si=W7nPVFUhVPOvyzO6
@HB-nt8xr
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
now 100% of commercials are black
@Attmay
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Now do malt liquor commercials.
@jakebpau2396
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Mack-Don-O
@hanniballecter4454
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Interesting stuff, Id like to remind people that thia country isnt just whites and blacks and their eternal struggle, in fact its annoying they call themselves that, and every body else colored, oh no, thats offensive, i mean brown which everyone loves, only dummies agree to be lumped into a color category, all the latinos that clap and say " yes, hispanic, or brown pride" stop letting them classify us. Id say Mexican/American, in my case, is cool, Or German/ Mexican/ American in my wifes case is cool. See were not brown, so its annoying to be called that.
@N.Marie682
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
I stopped eating McDonald after high school. It’s been 16 yrs and I’ll never go back 🤮
@DTWave81
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
50 years from now, a YouTuber will be making a video about how every TV commercial in the 2020s only had mixed race couples 🤣🤣🤣
@ianoller6842
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
cooked
@wishingwell5954
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
If you turned on your TV in the 90's and saw a black church choir with all kinds of red yellow and purple colors in the motif there was a 90% chance it was a fast food commercial.
@Yvesdoll
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
This is why I hate diaspora wars and yes I will fo there lol… I'm pretty sure no black person loves eating processed food we always love a good home cooked meal it's literally in our culture think about it we're the only group of people who actually have hangouts where we eat together like a cookout(I realize other poc have one as well but I'm talking about black people here) so if a nice home cooked meal is healthy and we all do it tell me why they are putting us in a commercial where apparently we love processed food 🌚 no hate to this whole process food rabbit hole but you gotta see how sinister,wicked suspicious it all is …
@EzGlad
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
To the YouTube algorithm, I am not black. I grew up very poor. I didn’t have Michael Jordan or Macdonald’s growing up. I didn’t have Cartoon Network or Cereal. I don’t have cable in my country the Lights used to go out.
Please stop recommending me this;
@TheRedAuroch
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
I mean stereotypes are based on truth they are not “the” truth, they’re typically exaggerations of real
World cultural quirks . That’s part of the reason they stick around if they were so outlandishly false no one would by into them…
@scotthutchens1556
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Maybe you should ask why the black community gets to rename McDonald’s? If everything white people do is racist, how’s come it’s ok to call McDonald’s “Mickey D’s” and the rest of us have to put up with it in media?
@michaels4998
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
I didnt watch th video and really dont care, but its likely just another liberal black person blaming white people today for slavery hundreds of years ago who secretly want what white people have.
@swampgumpharpy7977
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
So funny to watch his first two examples of black men in commercials. One was a r* pist of white women and another murdered his white wife.
Ahhhh….. black representation.
@JohnQPublicc
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
🐒🙉♠️💩✊🏿🦍👎🏿🍉🖕🏻
@ofiasdfnosdf
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Now do black rapper videos
@ofiasdfnosdf
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Or maybe ad agencies target ALL their TARGET audiences
@michellewilliams5533
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
A lot of things off with this video. Those ads were done by us…so don't compare it to a minstrel show. I also feel like because you're young you think this was problematic. Or maybe it wasn't your reality. Not sure, but these were racist ads. Unless you're saying black ads created by all black ad agencies can be racist
@casscoraggia7098
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
I can't believe the amount of shooters for old McDonalds ads there are in these comments… 🤣 Guys it's fine if it was something you saw as okay back in the day and it didn't age well, that's normal. As we progress we SHOULD look back and critique what came before.
@AGuyNameDash
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Thank You for pointing this out. I’ve been making this point for years. McDonald’s had a R&B tenders commercial. Don’t forget the young woman rapping. These commercials pandered to black people in the worst way.
@Queen2026-g2j
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Okay ain't stepped in after o.j. did that hertz commercial? We gone have to work with our community
@RDOk-h2u
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Dinnertimmin’ …. oh word yo
@RovinTan
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Isn't it racist of you not to allow black people to act in black face if they want to? Why do black people need a white man's permission to act in black face?
@Michael-im2lk
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Is black people a racist
@jimtrack3786
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
McDonalds becomes "Mickey Dee's" Black people say "I'm lov'in it" These stereotypes portray blacks in a category removed from white society. Blacks must dance and sing. Whites see these commercials and draw their own conclusions. Whites do not dance and sing. Then chasm only widens between us.
@jasongoldman3850
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
I'm African American. I grew up in a predominantly White neighborhood. The only ad shown here that I find offensive is the one about the grandmother going to McDonald's before going to church. I'm a little offended that they were playing church music in the background.
I remember the ad with Calvin. I never saw it as racist, but thank you for pointing out what made it stereotypical. At least Calvin had a job and he wasn't pushing drugs and/or getting girls pregnant.
Ads are products.of their times. I can't really get offended at other McDonald's ads from decades ago.
@Arminiusx2
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
LOL the last McDonald's I was in was being robbed by Black kids
@Matt-y1l
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
The sterotypes reflect their behaviour.
@bretton6518
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
I mean… if it quacks like a duck…
@MrJake_02
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
"Why aren't more people upset about these commercials?" Probably because everybody wasn't as uptight and looking to be offended back then. We were just trying to make a living, have as much fun as possible, and just get on with life.
@JohnRael-t2e
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
1619 project failed to show black on black war. Where the victorious tribe sold their captives into slavery and also made slaves of the captives
@jameslipton
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
As an ad creative who has worked in Black Advertising. I can tell you the dinner timin' ad was done by one of the first black ad agencies. McDonald's hired an agency to represent this audience in the 70s. So no you are incorrect. These ads for McDonald's were done by a Black agency full of wonderful black creatives. and these commercials fit the times, and the community related and enjoyed these commercials. You can't look back now and properly judge them. Not minstrel, at all, but refreshingly representative at the time. Calvin is a commercial that was created at this agency and it is a classic, the fact that every one of those comedians remembered that spot is a testament to it's impact. So I like the video and the connects you are drawing here, but the whole picture isn't realized.
@kkrr3677
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Question why are black people in every advert ?
@Marlinsdotter
June 3, 2026 at 10:11 am
Dropping the G is actually an Irish thing. So is "Mammy", and the use of "be/being" to mean ongoing behavior or status. Most African Americans do have Irish genes — look up the origins of "kidnap" to find out why.
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