McDonald's Is Officially Bringing Back The McRib. Here's What We Know So Far
McRib fans rejoice! McDonald's has announced that the cult product will return. Earlier this morning, McDonald's posted on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram the announcement in meme format, declaring, "I think it's time to bring the McRib back. 11.1"
As People notes, this is the second year in a row that McDonald's will officially offer the McRib. Before 2020, the McRib was last available nationwide in 2012. So, the pressure is on to buy a McRib as soon as you can.
However, not everyone seems to be experiencing the pressure to get a McRib. In fact, a common theme in the comments to the announcements is that people would rather have a different menu option returned: the snack wrap. "Man, I just want the snack wraps back," one wrote on Instagram. "Nobody wants this. Bring back the snack wraps," a Facebook follower wrote to 220 positive reactions. Even on Twitter, the desire was very present: "Why can't it be snack wraps, McDonald's?"
These feelings may be supercharged by the memory of how earlier this month, Eat This, Not That relayed McDonald's squashed any rumors that the snack wrap would return.
There's probably still some love for the McRib
This marks the second time in two months that McDonald's has made a major announcement to the general disappointment of their fan base. BlogTO reported how McDonald's accidentally raised the hopes of Canada by declaring the return of a much-requested item. The country wanted the McPizza, but McDonald's gave them Spicy Chicken McNuggets.
However, even with the same widespread disappointment, it's likely that McDonald's will do better this time round. That is because the McRib is a more cultish item than Spicy Chicken McNuggets. In a 2019 piece titled "Love is patient, love is the McRib," Allison Robicelli explained in The Takeout that the McRib isn't a pleasure you should think about too heavily. It's something you should just enjoy.
The other reason could be that McDonald's had introduced the McRib when limited-time offers were not as prevalent. Today I Found Out notes that the McRib became important in the mid-'90s when it was released alongside the Flintstones movie. Furthermore, the piece describes how psychologists have discovered that random reward structures prompt more of a response than predictable ones. In other words, having hooked people onto the McRib in the '90s, McDonald's can introduce the sandwich at random points and people will jump at it because they won't know when the reward will be offered again. The Spicy Chicken McNuggets, which are just a retooling of a regular item, cannot command the same attention.