From free meals on Veterans Day to military discounts and luxurious front-row parking spots, companies clamoring to appear patriotic have long utilized special offers to show just how much they appreciate veterans.
McDonald’s, the mother of all fast food joints, has, however unintentionally, finally found a way to honor America’s most overlooked service branch in a way that’ll leave you pondering if its marketing team was too preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should.
On Jan. 31, the “Land, Air and Sea” will storm the beaches of McDonald’s... and likely clog up our veins, for a limited time only.
This 1,330-calorie monstrosity combines a Big Mac with a McChicken and Filet-o-Fish to create a delicious, combined-arms taste that is exactly what drunk Marines need to recover from a night of revelry in time for that hungover physical fitness test.
“From Hip-Hop icons to Christmas queens, everyone has a unique go-to McDonald’s order, including our everyday customers,” Jennifer Healan, McDonald’s vice president for U.S. marketing, brand content and engagement, said in a statement about the new menu item. “This campaign shows that it has never been ‘our menu’ — the menu belongs to our fans.”
Unfortunately, Healan failed to mention Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, Lt. Gen. Lewis “Chesty Puller” or Maj. Gen. Marion Eugene Carl, the Corps’ first World War II fighter ace, that clearly served as the inspiration for this grandiose grinder.
Before Marines get too excited and run to the nearest McDonalds, there is one small challenge with the new Land, Air and Sea sandwich. McDonald’s plans on providing all the materials, but assembly is not included.
Evidently, the components will be sold separately, and those brave enough to order this diabetic delicacy will have to unwrap them and build it themselves — which, altogether, is not unlike the Corps with all its shoddy equipment.
So, devil dogs, don’t forget to invite a logistics officer and a combat engineer with you as you embark on this culinary journey that is sure to be as momentous as raising the flag on Iwo Jima, Japan.
Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digitial Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.