Fast Food Promotions Archives : The Retro Network

Growing Up With the BK Kid’s Club

The BK Kid’s Club turned a simple kids meal into a full‑blown membership. One burger, one toy, and a plastic card later, every kid felt like they belonged to the coolest cartoon crew in fast‑food history.

The Short Life of McDonald’s Arch Deluxe

Mickey Yarber

The Arch Deluxe was McDonald’s big swing at a grown up burger in the 1990s, a premium experiment that arrived with huge hype and vanished just as quickly, remembered today as one of fast food’s most ambitious misfires.

McDonald’s Changeables Returning to Happy Meals Later This Month

The Retro Network

Leaked internal images circulating online suggest that McDonalds is preparing to bring back its popular Changeables toys in Happy Meals later this month. The photos, which appear to come from company communications, show a new

The Retro Resurgence Podcast – Episode 30 | Top 5 Fast Food Happy Meal Promotions

Chad Droze

Happy December Listeners! Episode 30 drops NOW! In our new retro news segment, Recurrent Events – a concept borrowed from our dearly departed retro bud Jason Gross – Current Events for Retro Minds, Ken discusses an upcoming

McDonald’s Halloween Magic: Buckets, McNuggets, and the Golden Age of Spooky Promotions

Mickey Yarber

For kids growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, Halloween wasn’t just about costumes and candy, it was about the thrill of seeing your favorite brands get spooky. And few did it better than McDonald’s.

Halloween Boo Buckets Return To McDonald’s On October 21st

The Retro Network

Summer isn’t even over, but McDonald’s is already preparing for fall by announcing the highly anticipated return of one of its most iconic seasonal items. As many brands lean into pumpkin spice lattes and fall spice-flavored treats,

Pizza Hut’s Bigfoot Pizza: The Pizza So Big it Fed a Generation

Mickey Yarber

In the golden age of over-the-top fast food promotions, few items loomed as large, literally and culturally, as Pizza Hut’s Bigfoot Pizza. Launched in 1993, this rectangular behemoth wasn’t just a meal; it was a

McDonald’s Is Launching a New Adult Meal Featuring the Legendary Characters From the Past

The Retro Network

McDonald’s is bringing back nostalgic characters to launch a new adult Happy Meal, which will include a new limited-edition shake. Ronald McDonald, Birdie, Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Fry Friends and Grimace, whose birthday meal went viral after its

Retro Ramblings: Wendy’s SuperBar and a Buffet of Memories

Mickey Yarber

In the fast-food world of burgers, fries, and drive-thrus, Wendy’s SuperBar was like an oasis in the desert. It launched in the late 1980s and peaked in the early ’90s, and it was an attempt

Burger King is Offering an Advent Calendar For 2024

The Retro Network

Burger King gets into the advent calendar game with the upcoming release of its first-ever BK Advent Calendar starting November 22, 2024. The limited-edition BK Advent Calendar features a “whimsical holiday village design inspired by this season’s BK

McDonald’s Happy Meal Boo Buckets Return on Oct. 15th

The Retro Network

Happy Meal Boo Buckets make a limited-time return to McDonald’s for the 2024 Halloween season starting on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. The plastic pails feature new Monster designs and come in four colors white, orange, green, and, new for this

Taco Bell is Bringing Back Old Favorites For a New Nostalgia Menu

The Retro Network

Taco Bell has announced it is testing a “Nostalgic Menu” at select Southern California locations for a limited time, while also noting that it is looking to bring these items nationwide later this year for a

Burger King Introduces the Ghost Pepper Whopper for a Limited Time

The Retro Network

Burger King is celebrating the 2022 Halloween Season with the debut of the new Ghost Pepper Whopper with an Orange Bun! The Ghost Pepper Whopper features a flame-grilled beef patty, spicy queso, crispy jalapeños, bacon, and ghost pepper cheese, all on

Retro Commercials: McDonald’s Halloween Boo Buckets

OldSchool80s

I don’t know about you, but commercials can often take me back to my formative years as quickly as any song or movie can. That is why we will continue this semi-regular feature on ’80s commercials

Retro Commercials: Wendy’s ‘Where’s the Beef?’

OldSchool80s

I don’t know about you, but commercials can often take me back to my formative years as quickly as any song or movie can. That is why we will continue this semi-regular feature on ’80s commercials

The History of McDonald’s Shamrock Shake

Mickey Yarber

McDonald’s Shamrock Shake had a unique beginning. Football teams, hospitals, and more combine to give this iconic shake it’s humble beginnings.

Television

Burger King ’80s Commercials with Actors Before They Were Stars

OldSchool80s

Burger King has the distinction of one of the worst advertising campaigns of the ’80s with the forgettable and embarrassing “Where’s Herb” promotion. Earlier in the decade, though, Burger King did a couple things right