What the Internet Actually Said About the McDonald’s CEO Big Arch Burger Moment
New Today: A breakdown of the narratives, humor, and competitor commentary shaping the conversation
In early February, a video of McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski tasting the company’s new Big Arch burger began circulating online.
The clip was meant to promote the new menu item. Instead, it quickly became a talking point across social media as users debated the CEO’s reaction and what it said about the brand.
But the story didn’t spread the way many viral brand moments do.
Instead of exploding overnight, the conversation moved gradually across platforms as clips were reposted, reactions piled on, and users added their own commentary. The narrative ultimately spiked in early March.
So we decided to take a closer look.
Using PeakMetrics’ Smart Categories, we analyzed posts across X, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube from February 3 through March 3 that referenced McDonald’s and Kempczinski.
Smart Categories use AI prompts to organize large volumes of online posts into structured intelligence based on themes, tones, and signals within the conversation. Instead of relying only on traditional metrics like mention volume or overall sentiment, this approach breaks the conversation into the specific types of discussion happening around a topic.
When we categorized the McDonald’s discussion this way, the results told a more detailed story than a typical “CEO backlash” headline.
How the Internet Framed the Moment
Humorous / Mocking: 35.3%
Political or Economic Framing: 19.6%
Competitive Framing (Burger King comparisons): 18.8%
Direct Personal Criticism: 15.6%
Commentary on the Backlash: 9.5%
Supportive or Defensive: 1.2%
The biggest takeaway: much of the conversation wasn’t outrage…it was entertainment.
Humor Drove the Conversation
The largest portion of posts — 35.3% of the discussion — framed the moment humorously.
Users joked about the perceived awkwardness of the video, shared memes, and circulated reaction clips poking fun at the CEO’s reaction to the burger.
This is common in viral brand moments. While headlines often frame these situations as backlash, much of the engagement actually comes from people participating in internet humor rather than expressing genuine anger.
The Moment Sparked Broader Leadership Conversations
Nearly one in five posts (19.6%) framed the moment through a political or economic lens.
These posts moved beyond the video itself and discussed larger themes around McDonald’s leadership and strategy, including pricing, executive compensation, and the company’s broader direction.
In many cases, the video became a starting point for a wider conversation about the company.
Burger King Entered the Narrative
Another 18.8% of the conversation referenced McDonald’s competitor Burger King.
Much of this discussion centered around a spoof video released by Burger King that playfully mocked the original Big Arch clip. The parody circulated widely online and prompted users to compare the two brands.
Moments like this show how quickly competitors can enter and reshape a narrative once a brand begins trending online.
Criticism Was Present — But Smaller Than Headlines Suggested
Direct criticism of Kempczinski accounted for about 15.6% of posts.
These mentions focused on critiques of his leadership style, his background in brand management, or perceptions that the video felt overly corporate.
Criticism was certainly present, but it represented a smaller share of the conversation than humor or competitive commentary.
The Internet Also Commented on the Backlash
Another 9.5% of posts focused less on the video itself and more on the reaction surrounding it.
These posts debated whether the criticism was fair or discussed how social media can quickly amplify relatively small moments into major narratives.
This type of meta-discussion about the internet itself is becoming increasingly common.
Why Narrative Intelligence Matters
Moments like this highlight a challenge many organizations face.
Traditional monitoring tools can show that a conversation is happening, but they often struggle to explain why it is spreading or how it is being framed.
By organizing conversations into themes and signals, Smart Categories help teams quickly determine whether a moment represents a genuine reputational threat or simply the internet entertaining itself.
Seeing Through the Noise
The Big Arch burger moment shows how a single piece of content can evolve into a layered online narrative.
Humor, competitor engagement, leadership commentary, and discussion about the backlash itself emerged across platforms.
Without structured analysis, these signals can easily get lost in the overall volume of conversation.
Narrative intelligence helps organizations see what is actually driving the discussion — and respond with clarity when it matters most. Learn more.