13 Best 80s Fast Food Commercials

The 80s were known for a lot of things: big hair, makeup, clothing and everything else. But it was also the 80s where television really started to expand. With the growing popularity of MTV and sitcoms as well as the introduction of more channels, it was the ads that had to fuel all these new shows. So this era really took off with the fast food commercials. While some commercials are a lot better than others, they had to start somewhere.

Although in my opinion, the story behind these ads is a lot more intriguing than the current commercials on Hulu’s streaming services, Progressive being the worst. So here are the best 80s fast food commercials. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

1. McDonald’s Grimace Hamburglar Touch (1984)

Used in the marketing for McDonalds from the 70s throughout the 90s, Ronald and the characters were a big hit on getting kids to eat those greasy burgers. Making a number of commercial to engage children with their food menu items, they worked for a long time, even incorporating them into the fast food restaurants. Grimace started out as the “evil” character who loved to steal milkshakes, before transforming into one of the “good guys” since he quickly became a kid favorite.

In this commercial, he’s more like one of the “good guys”, although everything he touches turns into a cheeseburger. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense at first, but it’s fun for kids to enjoy the fantasy.

2. Wendy’s Parts is Parts

Parts is absolutely not parts. Wendy’s caught on early that its consumers certainly don’t want to eat processed food, although it still is fast food. So when they eat that greasy, fried chicken sandwich, it’s not that unhealthy, just easing their guilt a little bit.

Wendy’s has had a reputation for having great chicken sandwiches for quite a while, in addition to including fresh ingredients. This focus on “a healthier fast food” has carried them well into the competitive fast food market that it is today.

3. Pizza Hut Pan Pizza

Even during the 80s, Pizza Hut was trying to capture that market who wanted the home-cooked pizza. While there was a restaurant in almost every town, they tried desperately to create that home-town pizza parlor vibe. The Pizza Hut we knew it as was the place to go on a Friday night with your friends and/or family, or for lunch after a baseball/softball game during the weekend. Most restaurants also had a salad bar, the best appetizer right before the cheesy, doughy, greasy pizza.

4. Taco Bell $5.59 (1980)

When it comes to customers, Taco Bell was certainly going after the cheapies. There were some pretty tough economic times during the early 80s, but things didn’t get cheaper than feeding a family of four for $5.59. Surely there were healthier options, but that wasn’t this knockoff Mexican restaurant’s focus. You certainly got a full meal from the deal, but after you’re done, great may not be how you feel. I’ll leave it at that.

Regardless, there were plenty of penny-pinching Americans then, and there always will be. But like many others, Taco Bell has had to adapt to the competitive market as well as more Americans opting to eat healthier. So the quality has gone down a bit (especially the cheese), using cheaper ingredients, while the prices have climbed. Nevertheless, there’s still one in every town.

5. Burger King The Best Food for Fast Times

A better name for this commercial would have been “Fast Food for Fast Times” but of course, Burger King doesn’t want to call their food “fast” (even though it is). Simply because everyone associates fast food with unhealthy, they chose “best” instead.

This campaign was also targeting the younger generation, who’s always on the go. Whether on the way to the movies or to the beach, teens and twenty-somethings could grab a quick bite from Burger King and continue on their way. Most of the younger generation prefers not to cook or simply doesn’t make time for it, so grabbing a Whopper was easy to fit into their busy schedules.

6. KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken School

Another restaurant marketing their fresh ingredients, KFC really wanted to show off their ingredients and processes to steal the spotlight for the best fried chicken chain. Although you can be sure the chicken is extremely processed. The ingredients may be fresh, but the process takes the health right out of it.

They also wanted to target families so they can sell their huge buckets of chicken. A cheap, delicious way to feed the entire family if neither parent wanted to cook.

7. Everybody Loves Arby’s

While it is in the fast food market, not many are competing to sell roast beef. Arby’s certainly wanted to show that everyone should love their roast beef sandwiches, even aliens. It’s certainly a silly way to show it, but the catchy jingle is a proven method to get it stuck in people’s heads, especially with the catchy tune “America’s roast beef, yes sir!”

As far as Arby’s today, it doesn’t own a huge market share, but they’re still around. It’s a good fast food to try if you’re sick of the typical burger joint.

8. Domino’s Pizza Delivered

It certainly wasn’t hard to figure out that Domino’s was aiming those tired soccer moms after their kids’ soccer games. This was the case for many families, and Domino’s was and still is super easy to order. Back then, it was as easy as making a phone call. Now, it’s as easy as ordering from your phone. But since then, there’s been a lot of competition that’s come to the pizza delivery market, such as Little Caesar’s and Papa John’s.

They almost fell out in the early 2000s since their pizza tasted like cardboard. But in 2010, they rolled out a whole new recipe, including new sauce, crust and cheese, which has swung them back into the playing field again.

9. A&W Puppet Platter

Definitely targeting the 80s kids, A&W went with a Goldilocks and the Three Bears theme to capture their attention. They also took this opportunity to show off their most popular food menu items, burgers, fries and hotdogs. The three definitely fit well together.

Since then, I’ve only seen A&W restaurants in the rural towns. They’re not nearly as popular as they were then, especially with the 50s theme. They’ll have to continue updating their infrastructure if they want to stay competitive.

10. Dunkin’ Donuts Time to Make the Donuts

I’m not one for fast food, but Dunkin’ Donuts is one of the places I frequent often, especially in the morning. For over 40 years, they’ve held true to their values, which is serving up fresh donuts everyday, sun, rain, or snow. Although cheesy, this commercial did a fantastic job of illustrating their employees putting in the effort to make donuts fresh everyday.

I also love their tagline “Worth the trip” because it is, for a fast food that really is fresh. Since then, they’ve focused a lot more on their beverage products, especially coffee. They’ve even changed their name to just Dunkin’ now to cut back on the donuts. Regular coffee, iced coffee, cold brew, Americano, Iced Americano, Lattes, signature lattes, macchiatos, the list goes on. It certainly didn’t used to be like this, but as Americans are now more careful about what they eat and have grown to love coffee more than ever, this was a great opportunity for the beverage brand.

11. White Castle Computer Designed Kids’ Meal

From the use of video games in their commercials, White Castle wanted to target the gamers. While other fast food brands like Domino’s, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut went after soccer moms, White Castle went after the gamers. Combining their innovative, techie commercials with cheap, greasy fast food, they’ve stayed popular for a long time.

Now, I think of White Castle as the perfect hangover food. Nothing better than to enjoy a greasy burger to get rid of the awful headache.

12. Baskin Robbin’s Ice Cream

Before the days of soft-serve, hot fudge sundaes and banana split had the spotlight. When was the last time you had a banana split? To me, it doesn’t even compare to the Oreo soft serve ice cream. But even over the years, Baskin’ Robbins hasn’t changed at all, and it certainly doesn’t need to! Maybe a few flavor additions, but nothing substantial. They know how to keep their customers happy!

13. Sonic Car and Kid’s Meal

This one was super cute as if the extra young couple were on a date. I couldn’t help but think of Barbie with that high-pitched voice over to appeal to the girls. The commercial also did a great job of incorporating their 1950s drive-in theme and still tailoring their message to kids to promote their kids’ meals. Kids probably also make up a large portion of their target market, in addition to tweens and young teens for an after-school snack. The only part I’d change is the story book. Kids want to play with toys, not read a storybook. Everything else looked a bit cheesy, although still enticing.

Which Commercials Do You Remember?

While the popularity of TV was growing faster than networks could meet the demand, the 80s had some memorable fast food commercials. Which of these do you remember seeing on TV back in the day? Any that you’d like to share? I’d love to see in the comments below!