18 of the Weirdest Fast-Food Commercials of All Time

There's nothing quite as satisfying as a juicy burger from your favorite fast food joint, especially when the late-night cravings hit. While we love indulging in some fries or chicken tendies, fast food commercials have a long history of using bizarre, or straight up creepy elements to grab viewers' attention. From peculiar characters to unsettling scenarios, these ads often leave a lasting impression for all the wrong reasons.

From Burger King and McDonald's to Dairy Queen and Taco Bell, here’s a look at some of the strangest and most unsettling fast food commercials ever made.

In this commercial, we see Burger King's mascot, the King, sneaking into people's homes and watching them sleep. If that wasn't creepy enough, his plastic, expressionless face combined with the eerie silence of him just sitting there, left many viewers feeling uncomfortable. While the King’s invasion of privacy was intended to be humorous, it certainly came off as disturbing and super creepy. 

Though the premise was to highlight the availability of BK's breakfast sandwiches, hence "waking up with the King," the commercial was dubbed by many as the stuff of nightmares.

This Taco Bell ad, which featured a talking chihuahua in a surreal, psychedelic setting, was more confusing than appealing. The trippy visuals and the dog's attempt to hypnotize viewers into buying Taco Bell made it memorable, but also quite strange. The use of a small dog to promote tacos was already quirky, but the surreal elements pushed it into the realm of the bizarre.

While we aren't fans of the ad, we're sad to hear that the chihuahua in the commercial (named Gidget) died in 2009. "Sad news, she died after having suffered a stroke in the home of her trainer, Sue Chipperton, in Santa Clarita, California," writes one Redditor.

Featuring a moon-headed crooner played by mime artist and actor Doug Jones, this Mickey D's commercial was considered by many to be an odd combination of jazz and fast food. The character's strange "moon face" and smooth-talking persona felt out of place (and looked super creepy). While meant to be catchy and stylish, the ad’s bizarre visual left an eerie impression on many fans.

"I had my 8th birthday party at McDonald's, and my parents paid for a guy to come in this costume and sign autographs," writes one Redditor. "Eight-year-old me wasn't super impressed." No kidding! I think I would have cried. 

The use of bizarre, internet-famous Spongmonkeys, with their high-pitched singing and disturbing appearance, made this ad memorable for its sheer oddity and off-putting visuals. The grotesque characters and their strange song about how subs are always better toasted left viewers feeling more puzzled than hungry.

"People like to laugh at how awful this ad campaign was, but it worked," writes one Redditor. "Took Quiznos from a little-known brand to a very popular one (in the Midwest, at least)." Curious about other foods from the Midwest? Check out our story.

This commercial, which featured a man named Bruce who "loves to dip things," was meant to highlight Little Caesars' Crazy Dippers' deals. While Bruce’s obsessive dipping behavior was meant to be funny and endearing, his over-the-top enthusiasm and the strange focus on dipping left many viewers feeling uncomfortable. 

"My family joked about this commercial for years!" writes one YouTube user in a comment. "We still say, “Mornin’ Bruce!" To my Dad!!!" 

In this commercial, KFC reimagined Colonel Sanders as Robocop as he guards the chain's secret recipe. But the CGI hybrid of the beloved fried chicken icon and the futuristic cop was both strange and off-putting. The lifelike yet robotic movements, combined with the Colonel’s signature look, left many viewers feeling puzzled. 

"This is so weird," writes one Redditor. "Robocop is my favorite movie of all-time and I have no idea what the hell KFC is doing." 

This ad, which featured people singing and dancing to a jingle promoting Subway's $5 footlong sandwiches, quickly became an irritating earworm. While the jingle itself was pretty catchy, the ad’s repetitive, almost hypnotic delivery made it more weird than entertaining. The awkward choreography signaling the size of the sub also left some viewers feeling uncomfortable. 

"That song is so annoying," writes one Redditor, while another adds, "Oh my god, yes. That song is like auditory diarrhea." Well, that's one way to put it. 

Featuring "tiny" cowboys herding cattle and riding on miniature horses in a Western setting, viewers thought this ad was both bizarre and disconnected from the actual product. The oddity of the setting made it hard to focus on the burgers being advertised, leaving more fans disappointed than enticed. Some also thought the use of little people as cowboys came across as disrespectful and out of touch. 

"I have a friend who’s a dwarf, and she has to deal with these stereotypes all the time," writes one user in response to the ad. "She happens to be a really cheerful person, but even she gets tired of being treated like a toy."

This Pizza Hut ad, which featured a party with anthropomorphic pizza bites jumping into people's mouths, felt more like a fever dream than anything else. The behavior of the bites was intended to be funny, but came off as odd. The surreal animation and bizarre character design also made the ad look more off-putting than appetizing.

While the chain used to be huge in the '90s, many fans say the quality of the pizza has declined over the years. "Pizza hut used to be a premium sit-down restaurant with a premium pizza at a premium price," writes one user. "It started going downhill the day they decided to chase Domino's profits and rely on volume of sales instead of quality." 

This Dairy Queen commercial featured two news anchors fighting over the new MooLatte drink as they get into a full brawl on live TV. But the absurdity of professional anchors losing their composure over a fast food drink made the ad look pretty ridiculous. The exaggerated reactions (including the male anchor having his toupe ripped off) turned a simple product promotion into an unrealistic spectacle.

While the commercial may have flopped, most DQ fans seemed to agree that the MooLatte is indeed worth trying. "Those are my FAVORITE!" writes one user, adding, "I've never had any issues with ordering them."

This 2009 ad featured an animated oven mitt as the head chef, barking orders and randomly breaking into song while in the kitchen. But the mitt's high-pitched voice and overly enthusiastic personality felt more annoying than endearing. The character’s unnatural animation and exaggerated expressions also added to the overall weirdness. 

"These commercials were borderline creepy," writes one Redditor, while another adds, "Commercials sure were weird back then." We have to agree. 

The Noid, a humanoid villain trying to ruin pizzas, was a character that Domino's created to promote its brand. But the Noid's eccentric appearance and over-the-top antics to try and sabotage pizza deliveries made viewers feel uneasy rather than amused. His manic energy and odd costume choice also contributed to the bizarre nature of the ads. 

"I totally think of a weird guy in a latex bondage suit when I order pizza," writes one Redditor. "That thing is creepy. Avoid the Noid? How about avoid Domino's?" Ouch!

This 1980s campaign featured a character named Herb, a nerdy and awkward guy who's trying to gain the attention of women at Burger King. The premise was that Herb, despite his nerdiness, was wealthy — and thus the women all fawned over him. While intended to be funny, the ad came off as more sexist than anything else.

"I was in advertising grad school the year after this disastrous campaign [aired]," writes one Redditor, adding, "And yes, it was discussed. Yes, it was a terrible idea."

This Red Robin commercial promoting the chain's bottomless fries features a dream sequence where a man is floating through a world made entirely of French fries. While craving fries and burgers (even in our sleep) isn't so far-fetched, the giant fries falling from the sky looked more like weapons than food. The man's fervent enthusiasm for the enormous fries also made the ad come off as a tad intense and over the top. 

Still, some fans seemed impressed with the ad. "My mother loves this Red Robin television commercial," writes one user in response to a comment. "It's her all-time favorite, because she loves fries." Looks like the target audience was reached. 

This KFC commercial, which featured a prom corsage made with a piece of fried chicken, was intended to be a cute and funny twist on the traditional flower corsage. While the idea of wearing and eating chicken as a corsage made the ad memorable, it also came across as strange and pretty gross. I mean, who wants to wear a piece of greasy chicken to their prom? Certainly not us. 

"Why would anyone ever need this?" writes one Redditor, while another questions, "What the actual [bleep] is KFC thinking?" We are wondering the same thing.

This McDonald's commercial from 2009 features a singing fish mounted on a wall that starts singing to a man eating a Filet-O-Fish sandwich. The premise of a taxidermied fish breaking out in song and demanding a bite of one's sandwich made the ad memorable, but it was also bizarre and kind of creepy. Still, we have to admit the song itself was pretty catchy, and most users seemed to agree with this. 

"That song can get stuck in your head pretty easily," writes one user in a comment, adding, "I love this commercial." Another questions, "Why would they make a commercial that makes you feel bad for eating fish?" Hmm, good question. 

This Wendy's commercial from 1984 featured three elderly women as they examined a competitor's burger and repeatedly asked where the beef is. While it was intended to be cute and endearing, the aggressive delivery and the intense demand for "more meat" struck some viewers as being inappropriate and off-putting. 

"I was a teenager when this came out. It is rather remarkable that this commercial was so talked about at the time," recounts one Redditor. "There were news stories in magazines and national news shows." Sounds like the ad ruffled quite a few feathers back in its day. 

This Burger Kind ad showed a time-lapse of a Whopper burger decaying over 34 days to emphasize the lack of artificial preservatives in its food. While the message aimed to highlight the company's commitment to using fresh, natural ingredients, it sparked a mix of reactions. Some viewers found the visual of a moldy burger gross and unappetizing, while others praised the chain for taking a risky and bold approach. 

"You're not going to stop eating Whoppers for very long, but you wont forget that Whoppers don't use preservatives," writes one Redditor, while another adds, "Bold move. I like it." 

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