Big Mac became the title of McDonald’s 1968 hamburger advertising campaign.
The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee, and was introduced nationally in the United States in 1968. Its distinctive three-part bun, two beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions gave McDonald’s a highly recognizable flagship product.
The product’s name became central to branding because it was short, memorable, and strongly associated with McDonald’s. The 1968 advertising campaign helped establish the Big Mac as more than one menu item: it became one of the company’s signature symbols.
The Big Mac is sometimes mixed up with the Quarter Pounder, another major McDonald’s product. The Quarter Pounder identifies a beef-patty weight, while the Big Mac identifies a particular layered sandwich and its brand name. The campaign reference specifically points to Big Mac.