The McDonald’s 1989 Commercial That Will Give You Nightmares

When we look back on old commercials, we’re usually filled with nostalgia. Maybe some thoughts about what the advertisers were thinking when they made certain choices. We certainly aren’t expecting to be jump-scared worse than a horror flick.

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But this old McDonald’s commercial from 1989 might do just that. Reddit has resurrected this old commercial to stock the nostalgia and we’re not the biggest fan. Now, I get that this is definitely going to take some people back. The Munsters was still popular at that time. Or at least recognizable. Why not shoot a commercial featuring Count Sam Dracula? 

The Munsters Commercial We Wish We Forgot

The combination of late ’80s color TV, the noise maker, and confetti is making a weird mishmash that feels like it misses the mark. For the younger ones out there, The Munsters was done in black and white. So suddenly, we have Grandpa Munster in all his color glory. But it seems like they didn’t account for color when doing makeup. Although, he is Dracula. So maybe the pale skin works. (It is the skin of a killer, Bella.)

But it’s not just Grandpa that is eerie. It’s all the characters and the unnerving closeups they have. Did they not realize you can deliver lines without someone’s face being the entire frame of the shot? Seems like they certainly didn’t. 

But what’s scarier? The price of that double cheeseburger. 89 cents? Uh, can I get a burger for that price again? It’s crazy that prices used to be that low. Grandpa popping up may have startled me, but man, that price is really going to haunt me. 

The Real Horror Story

We went ahead and dove into the comments to see what Redditors were saying and most were just reminiscing about the shows they grew up watching. One person, though, did the math. And that’s the real horror show. 89 cents in 1989 would have the same buying power now at $2.40. So the double cheeseburger should be around that price right? Wrong. At the time of writing this, double cheeseburgers run from around $3.49 to over $5. At my local McDonald’s a double cheeseburger is currently $4.19. And that’s in a mid-sized town in Northern Indiana. Seems a little pricey for a simple double cheeseburger. Especially when those patties are thin. (I’ll still eat them, but I will complain while I do it)

It feels like the scariest thing is growing up and the cost rising with you. But the commercial is a fun little throwback. I certainly don’t think you’d find something quite as silly today as everything strives to be serious and modern. Why does that mean anti-fun? Bring back the fever dream commercials!