© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Watch McDonald's Make A Supermodel Out Of A Quarter Pounder

If you think supermodels are the only ones who get gussied up and airbrushed during photo shoots, think again. Food companies use stylist magic that can cost big bucks, too, but mere mortals like us rarely get to see how that magic is made.

In a novel marketing move, McDonald's Canada recently posted a You Tube video of Marketing Director Hope Bagozzi responding to a customer's question about why the famous burgers looks better in front of the lens.

As the British marketing blog The Drum describes it, Bagozzi guides the viewer through the steps of how the marketing firm they've hired is "painstakingly reconstructing a store bought quarter pounder with cheese with surgical precision."

Using the same ingredients as McDonalds does, watch as condiments move forward in the frame, microscopic bun holes are fixed, and the cheese is Photoshopped into an even melt. Of course the process takes hours, rather than minutes, to produce one burger, so it's not likely to be coming to a franchise near you.

The video has racked up over three million hits since it was posted June 19.

For more on meat, why we eat it, and how much it costs, watch this space, search #meatweek on Twitter and listen to Morning Edition all next week.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

April Fulton is a former editor with NPR's Science Desk and a contributor to The Salt, NPR's Food Blog.
Recent cuts to federal funding are challenging our mission to serve central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. This is the moment to join our community of supporters and help keep journalists on the ground, asking hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today—not just for yourself, but for all who depend on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.