Are you a “nuggnut”?

This is the question McDonald’s is asking millions of web and television viewers all over America. McDonalds recently launched their Nuggnuts marketing campaign with a series of commercials and a multimedia experience for the young at heart. www.nuggnuts.com. McDonalds has put true heart into this marketing campaign, complete with a Facebook fan page and even a Nuggnut Application for personal pages.

My first thought: Doesn’t this sound extremely vulgar? I am not one for censorship, but “Nuggnuts”? The first time I viewed the commercial I most certainly heard the phrase “numbnuts” in reference to the gentlemen popping his nuggets into his mouth. I am yet to really understand if this is strictly an adjective, or if it has numerous representations in our vocabulary. (Ex. What emotional baggage comes with being nuggnutted? Can I hit you it in the nuggnuts?) I am yet to hear any official response from market research, however I am going to assume that the vulgar connotations that may come with the name have led to increased conversation, which naturally gets us craving a 5-piece.

Upon the first research of the campaign, I began to question if I, too, was a true Nuggnut. Every Sunday, I traditionally venture to the local McDonalds to support the greatest deal at McDonalds, $3.00 for 20 chicken nuggets, typically bought 60-100 nuggets at a time with some help from the apartment mates. This evening snack, complimented with the consumption of a liter of buffalo sauce and enough barbeque sauce to drown a small chicken itself, sets pace for a late Sunday night in the library. Does this put me in the running with the elite?

My good friend Urban Dictionary informed me that a “nugg” is slang for marijuana buds, specifically high-quality buds. So, all you Nuggnuts, are you crazy for the buds or the “100% All-White meat”? Has McDonalds launched a guerilla marketing campaign in honor of the hippies of America? Everyone IS pretty happy and floating in the recent commercials. For those who truly want to represent the meat, make sure you grab the swag everyone is not talking about, Nuggnut shirts, bumper stickers, and mugs.

I am not sold on the Nuggnut concept, and I am going to refrain from gratification for the creators of the Nuggnuts, but do not let me be a discouragement to all of you chicken lovers who have what it takes to follow the Nuggnut pledge. I do not crave the nugget, nor do I ever anticipate a day in which the nugget will form the daily agenda or personal habits.

Nuggnuts, rise up and salute your fellow man. Visit the Nuggnut Hall of Fame, say a prayer to the fried foods gods, and dunk your next nugget really deep for me. And if you ever see a nugget that looks like my face, feel free to send it my way.

Chic fil At, it’s your turn to respond to the chicken craze. Grab your cows and step up your game.