Could McDonald’s scrap ‘I’m Lovin’ It’?

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A year into turnaround efforts centered on streamlining its menu and corporate structure, McDonald’s has filed to trademark a tagline that could serve to highlight those endeavors: “The Simpler The Better.”  

News of the March 4 trademark filing was broken by BurgerBusiness.com, whose founder, Scott Hume, is a contributor to Restaurant Business.

“We routinely file intent-to-use trademark applications as part of our regular course of business,” a McDonald’s spokesperson told BurgerBusiness.com. “We can’t share details at this time as to how this trademark may or may not be used.”

Despite speculation that McDonald's has a new chain slogan in the works, “The Simpler The Better” could also be employed on a smaller scale, such as with limited-time menu items, or not used at all, BurgerBusiness.com says, noting that the chain trademarked "McBrunch" in 2014 but did not move forward with using the term. 

Recent signs indicate that McDonald’s turnaround strategy has been a boost to the chain, which saw its comp sales increase 5.7 percent year over year during the fourth quarter of 2015.

Read the full story via BurgerBusiness.com. 

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