November 1, 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of the McRib and McDonald’s is celebrating accordingly by bringing back the iconic sandwich. The boneless sub-style sandwich is topped with rib-shaped pork, tangy barbecue sauce, onions and pickles, and is served on a thick homestyle bun. The sandwich costs approximately $4 and is said to be released nationwide for a limited time. 

The sandwich was first launched at a McDonald’s in Kansas City in 1981. The sandwich has been featured in international menus such as ones in Germany, New Zealand and France. Four years after the initial launch of the fan-favorite sandwich, McDonald’s pulled the item off of all menus. As a clever marketing strategy, the fast food chain began selling the item annually. This birthed the phrase “McRib Season”. 

Many customers highly anticipate the returning of Mickey D’s McRib. Limited time menu items have been seen at many restaurants, such as the exclusive pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks. This strategy spikes sales by hyping up the comeback of these items. Fans craving the comeback of the McRib even developed an app called ‘McRib Locator’ that finds McDonald’s near you that are selling McRibs. After the announcement of the return of the McRib, obsessed fans ran to the internet to tweet things such as “Stop what you’re doing… THE MCRIB IS COMING BACK!” and “I wait for the McRib every year. It’s like an addiction around Halloween.”

However, this is not the only marketing tool that McDonald’s uses to hype up their customers. Recently, McDonald’s has introduced celebrity meals. In September of 2020, McDonald’s announced the Travis Scott meal, which drove customers straight to the drive through. They have since released the J Balvin meal, the BTS meal and most recently the Saweetie meal. 

Ever since McDonald’s was first established in 1940, it has been a staple restaurant for many. The exciting news of the celebrity meals and the return of the McRib is keeping customers excitedly coming back to the classic fast food chain. Now is your chance to try or retry the iconic sandwich before it is once again gone for another year!