BizSugar.com › Marketing › Creepy Clowns Cause Ronald McDonald to Take a Break (Watch)

Ronald McDonald, the popular McDonald’s mascot, has been making fast food customers smile for the past 50 years. But not all clowns today are looking to make people smile.
A series of creepy clown sightings have some communities on edge. Some clowns have made violent threats, chased people to their doors and worse. Many Americans already have a deep fear of clowns after seeing movies like ‘IT.’ And these latest sightings aren’t helping.
So even though Ronald McDonald is known more as a happy clown, the restaurant chain is having him keep a low profile for a while. McDonald’s wants to be sensitive to the communities that have experienced any creepy clown incidents, and worries that parading around their own clown might lead to even more unease and fear.