McDonald's Spicy McNuggets return for limited time

McDonald's (MCD) is bringing back its Spicy Chicken McNuggets for a limited time. Yahoo Finance Live discusses the nuggets' popularity and the company's most recent branding campaigns.

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Video Transcript

[AUDIO LOGO]

BRAD SMITH: Some hot news hitting McDonald's this month for a limited time. McDonald's is bringing back their Spicy Chicken Nuggets. The wildly popular nuggets are coated with aged cayenne and chili pepper. They made their debut back in 2020 and return annually in select locations here. OK, so I'm not the connoisseur of chicken nuggets, as some in our office are. However, this is a big deal.

I actually questioned ChatGPT who has the best chicken nuggets. As of right now, the rankings came in at McDonald's, number one, Chick-fil-A, number two, Wendy's, ticker symbol WEN, number three. And then also, you've got Tyson in there. That's also one of the popular ticker symbols for chicken nuggets on the Yahoo Finance platform.

SEANA SMITH: You know, I had no idea how popular these were. I didn't know, obviously. Actually, when I think of chicken nuggets, I think of McDonald's. I never knew that they had this spicy nugget option. Apparently, this is-- they've been offering it for the past couple of years for a limited time. People are obsessed with this. One person saying that this has dramatically improved my day. This is the best news I've heard all year. I cannot wait. Going right now.

I mean, the commentary that we're getting from this Instagram post is incredible. And I just think it speaks to, one, we all got to try it, obviously. Alex, I know Val, our head of live, is a huge, huge fan of chicken nuggets, so she's got to get us the spicy. We're going to put it to the test. But two, Apple-- or Apple-- McDonald's is so smart with this.

BRAD SMITH: They are.

SEANA SMITH: Their limited menu, it gets people excited, and it gets them to spend more, every time.

BRAD SMITH: It's been a huge year for McDonald's.

SEANA SMITH: [INAUDIBLE]

BRAD SMITH: I know, and at the end of the day, when people think about what's going to make you happy with your food purchase, sure, nuggets make it into the realm, but it's also just a strategy and how McDonald's has been able to just drive this kind of experiential food happiness. And it's been very strategic.

We talked with the CMO, Tarek Hassan, in Cannes Lion Film Festival-- or Festival of Creativity, I should say-- just about all of these different campaigns, whether it's been annexed to some high profile celebrity, or whether it's involved a purple taste bud by the name of Grimace, or whether that's making sure that they've just got a good flashy food item that's going to drive even more traffic, like a spicy chicken nugget. Move over, chicken sandwich wars. The chicken nuggets wars are back and hotter than ever, apparently, with this new spicy nugget.

SEANA SMITH: They always are. And the fried chicken sandwich wars, that's another one. It always heats up every single year. Maybe we'll get a Boo Bucket again this year from McDonald's.

BRAD SMITH: What is a Boo Bucket?

SEANA SMITH: Boo Bucket? They have a limited time. And it comes--

BRAD SMITH: Is it a Valentine's Day thing?

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, but boo-- oh, well, you're thinking of like, oh, you're cute. But no.

BRAD SMITH: Like--

SEANA SMITH: Boo like scary, Halloween.

BRAD SMITH: Oh.

SEANA SMITH: They have it in October. So maybe we're going to get that again--

BRAD SMITH: Different boos.

SEANA SMITH: --this year, a different boo. [LAUGHS] All right, guys. Let's do a [INAUDIBLE] check.