McDonald's Is Bringing the Hamburglar out of Retirement

You may want to keep an eye out for your burgers because the Hamburglar's back in town. Monday, McDonald's announced the return of the iconic ad villain, who's now set to return for a series of new commercials for the chain in the coming months. The return of the domino mask-donning burger thief coincides with the reveal of the chain's new changes for its burger line.

"Our classic burgers are what made McDonald's famous. They've become a cultural icon over the years. We saw the opportunity to make a few changes in our kitchens to make them even more delicious and get back to what people loved most about them in the first place," McDonald's chief marketer Tariq Hassan said of the character's return. "To get the word out, we're bringing back a McDonald's favorite – the Hamburglar – because what better way to show just how good they are than to turn the most notorious burger thief loose in our marketing campaign, as he tries to get his hands on our best burgers ever."

The Hamburglar was last used in an advertising campaign in 2015, helping promote the chain's ill-fated Sirloin Burglar. At the time, the character was reimagined as a bearded hipster looking to get his hands on the latest offering.

What is McDonald's changing in its hamburgers?

While the patties themselves appear to be remaining the same for the time-being, many other items surrounding the beef are being changed. Monday, McDonald's announced all of its hamburger offerings will soon feature new buns and more sauce. Not only that, but the chain also said onions are being added to the burger while it's being grilled to add some depth with caramelization while the cheese for all burgers will be melted more.

"I'll always remember my first burger from McDonald's. And now my culinary team and I have the best job in the world: thinking about ways to bring even more of that iconic McDonald's taste to fans," McDonald's culinary director Chad Schafer offered in a press release. "We found that small changes, like tweaking our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, added up to a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever."

The changes have already started being implemented at locations on the west coast donning the Golden Arches and are expected to be rolled out company-wide by 2024.