Kraft Urges McDonald's to Add Mac & Cheese to the Big Mac

In recent years, Kraft Mac & Cheese has run a handful of marketing campaigns meant to get people talking. Or arguing with each other in a positive, fun-to-discuss kind of way. The brand, for example, has repositioned itself as a good choice for breakfast. It's released a pink, candy-coated version of its popular product for Valentine's Day. It's also collaborated with ice cream company Van Leeuwen to make macaroni and cheese-flavored ice cream. Not all of these stunts have gone as planned. In late 2020, Kraft Mac & Cheese encouraged members of the public to "send noods" to loved ones—meaning blue boxes filled with pasta, not digital images of naked body parts. Despite the play on words, some people considered the message distasteful. The brand removed the campaign from its social channels. Today, Kraft Mac & Cheese is back at it with a new effort created in partnership with ad agency Johannes Leonardo, which also works with Kraft Heinz brands Velveeta and Oscar Mayer. In short, Kraft is petitioning McDonald's to insert Mac & Cheese into its Big Mac. And it's appealing to consumers for help. "For years, we’ve seen our fans add Kraft Mac & Cheese to their burgers from the comfort of their homes," Christina Brown, an associate brand manager at the Kraft Heinz Company, said in a statement. "We believe the time for change is now, and we are hopeful America’s most iconic burger, the Big Mac, will start to add the most important mac of all." People interested in supporting Kraft on its quixotic quest can visit WheresTheMac.com, which contains prewritten pleas to tweet at the restaurant chain, along with a link to send McDonald's corporate feedback. Kraft will reward individuals who participate in the campaign with a free box of Mac & Cheese. This isn't the first time Kraft has joked around about Mac & Cheese and the Big Mac. Two years ago, the brand tweeted at McDonald's asking if it was OK to make a large macaroni and call it a Big Mac. https://twitter.com/kraftmacncheese/status/1303724851782447104 McDonald's responded with a tweet noting it would check with its legal department. The result: "they said no :(" In 1967, Esther Glickstein Rose, a 21-year-old secretary working within McDonald's advertising department, suggested the company name its then new two-patty burger the "Big Mac." Another option the restaurant chain considered was the "Blue Ribbon Burger." In June, Kraft Mac & Cheese updated its logo and officially dropped its "Macaroni & Cheese" title—the name it debuted with more than 80 years ago. Parent company Kraft Heinz claims to sell more than a million boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese each day.