# McRib Mania! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991 "2010-11-09T02:45:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/21 "2010-11-09T08:07:49Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > The pig shortage idea is silly. I heard that there were so many non-pig-eating countries that it wasn’t profitable as a permanent worldwide menu item. Not sure that makes sense either. It doesn’t. McDonald’s menus change from country to country anyway, why would something not being profitable in one market make it being a limited thing in another market make sense? It’s not like McDonald’s head offices will force the McDonald’ses in, say, Israel to sell the McRib just because they’re selling it in the US, any more than they’ll have beer on the US menu because they sell it in Germany, or shrimp sandwiches, because they sell them in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/22 "2010-11-09T08:57:54Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > That’s because those clever Germans have genetically engineered a pig with 512 ribs on each side, thus permanently solving the problem identified in the OP. But surely there are no actual ribs in a McRib…? I don’t know about the version you all are talking about, but I’ve had the German McRib, and it was just an elongated ground pork patty. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/23 "2010-11-09T09:35:26Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > But surely there are no actual ribs in a McRib…? I don’t know about the version you all are talking about, but I’ve had the German McRib, and it was just an elongated ground pork patty. That is essentially correct. Sure, there might be some rib meat in it, but it is specifically a pressed pork product. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/24 "2010-11-09T09:39:17Z")
> [@OnyxGold](#): > > I was at work one day and I met a McDonalds Executive… Is it fair to call the night manager of the McDonalds down the street an “executive”? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/25 "2010-11-09T12:16:32Z")
> [@Qwakkeddup](#): > > Besides the fact that New Pork doesn’t taste anything like the original, the sauce sucks. \There’s a _new_ pork?\ ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/26 "2010-11-09T12:42:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And, of course, more people would go into the pig-raising business to take advantage of the increased prices, thus increasing the supply, also, with the same effect. Right, but there would be a substantial lag time for that to happen. I was referring to the short term. ---
**Author:** ![OnyxGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b5e925/32.png) [@OnyxGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OnyxGold)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/27 "2010-11-09T13:40:25Z")
> [@GrizzRich](#): > > Is it fair to call the night manager of the McDonalds down the street an “executive”? She wasn’t an in store manager.Not sure if she was area or regional but she was definitely multi unit. All regionals have to go to that school of Hamburgerology or whatever in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/28 "2010-11-09T13:46:46Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > While the McRib is popular in the short run, over time the demand drops. It works better as a short-term item, where people are more willing to pay more for it. You hit the nail square on the head. It doesn’t sell well constantly. It would be a drain. McDonalds is king of marketing and test marketing. If it sold well all the time, it would be on the menu. They would work something out. > [@Tengu](#): > > It doesn’t. McDonald’s menus change from country to country anyway You are not wrong. McDonalds is extremely sensitive of local cultures. They have made mistakes in the past and really test out what is going to go over and not go over in local market conditons. McDonalds is huge but it can’t afford failures. Oh sure things fail but when they do, the people that are responsible for those failures are called on the carpet, as in any company, and there better be a good reason for it. (and that’s every company not just McDonalds) If you read the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser you see how McDonald’s culture works. A lot of people come out thinking Schosser’s only out to slam McDonalds, but he doesn’t really. Instead he explains WHY McDonalds has been so sucsessful and why everyone is copying their methods. Basically it’s finding out what people want and giving it to them. And as you can see the things people want, aren’t always good for them, this is where a lot of the criticism stems from ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/29 "2010-11-09T13:51:21Z")
Disney does something like this with kids’ movies. As I understand it, you can’t buy all the Disney films all the time, but they are reintroduced on a periodic basis, then withdrawn from the market. I think they think this makes an old movie into a new movie for the next generation of kids, and Disney maximizes the profit over a long period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/30 "2010-11-09T13:57:09Z")
> [@OnyxGold](#): > > It’s only an isue at mcdonalds. Order an egg & cheese Croissanwich at burger king and it takes about 3 seconds. It’s only a problem for Mickey D’s. I was referring to McDonald’s (back when I used to go there). I have never had any issue in any McDonald’s anywhere, anytime, that I can remember, in the years I’ve the biscuit sandwiches sans meat. Prior to that, I had even ordered the Egg McMuffin sans meat because I remember the ham slices as being chewy and disgusting, just like their bacon. Of course, I think \*\*Sampti \*\*is on to something because I seem to remember paying the same for the sandwiches as if I got the meat and thinking they should add the Egg and Cheese to their menu. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/31 "2010-11-09T14:38:03Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Disney does something like this with kids’ movies. As I understand it, you can’t buy all the Disney films all the time, but they are reintroduced on a periodic basis, then withdrawn from the market. I think they think this makes an old movie into a new movie for the next generation of kids, and Disney maximizes the profit over a long period of time. I guess I should have expounded in my previous post, but to add to yours, it’s the idea of creating [demand through scarcity.](http://hausmanmarketresearch.org/251/marketing-strategy-is-impersonal-influence-ethical/) I thought I had heard this referred to as “manufactured scarcity,” but that phrase doesn’t get too many hits on google, so there must be another term for it. > [@](#): > > Scarcity is another influence tool of marketing strategy. People seem to always want what they can’t have. Scarcity appeals to this consumer need. Research shows that consumers will buy more of a product if purchase is limited to, say 4, than if no limit is imposed. Consumers will also buy more quickly if an offer expires at a particular time and are more likely to buy if the product will only be available in limited quantities or for a limited time. McDonald’s uses this marketing strategy in only producing the McRib at certain times of the year. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/32 "2010-11-09T14:40:53Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > depending on how the POS software is implemented Ohhh…Point Of Sale! Having been a McDonald’s crewmember and having worked with their registers, that wasn’t the first interpretation of “POS” that came to mind… ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/33 "2010-11-09T14:42:05Z")
It’s called Marketing. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/34 "2010-11-09T15:11:09Z")
> [@OnyxGold](#): > > She said: Whenever we release the McRib sandwich, it actually depletes the world’s population of pigs by such a significant amount that it can only be a limited time item on the menu." That sounds like marketingese for “Whenever we can get a really, really good price on pork, we’ll buy up a few million pounds and sell it as McRibs. But the price of pork doesn’t often get low enough to make it worth it for us.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/35 "2010-11-09T15:23:56Z")
The reason that McD corporate has admitted to is that it actually sells better when intermittant because it artificially creates a high demand. Why they do this with the McRib and not the An(g)us beef burgers I have no clue. The OP reminded me of the Simpsons episode where KrustyBurgers had to stop making their McRib equivalent because the (never identified) animal they made it out of was going extinct. ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/36 "2010-11-09T15:38:58Z")
I still remember when lard was a cooking ingredient, and you could tell the difference between french fries that were cooked in it compared to vegetable oil. I don’t think there is a such thing as a lard hog anymore. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/37 "2010-11-09T15:39:30Z")
One important thing to remember is that this is the first time in a LONG time that the McRib has been released nationally. McDonald’s US is split into three divisions, which is then split into about 15 regions total, each of which have about 6-7 Co-Op. Some areas haven’t had the McRib in years because it hasn’t been profitable. But if they wanted to, a group of McDonald’s owners in one area could get together and decide to have the McRib year round if it was profitable. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/38 "2010-11-09T15:41:18Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The reason that McD corporate has admitted to is that it actually sells better when intermittant because it artificially creates a high demand. Why they do this with the McRib and not the An(g)us beef burgers I have no clue. The Angus were supposed to end in February and go the way of McRib, but they were more popular than McDonald’s were expecting and became a semi-permanent item. ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/39 "2010-11-09T15:41:22Z")
\There’s a new pork?\ (( This is a reply to Colophon, I screwed up the quote thingy.)) Third times a charm, I still remember when french fries were deep fried in lard, and you could really tell the difference when they switched to veggie oil. I don’t think there is a such thing as a lard hog anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991/40 "2010-11-09T16:59:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That is essentially correct. Sure, there might be some rib meat in it, but it is specifically a pressed pork product. Has it ever been determined that there is actual meat in the thing? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcrib-mania/559991.md?page=3)