Talk:Big Mac

Infobox image

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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These three photos were discussed in 2023 at Talk:Big Mac/Archive 3#That's not a Big Mac in the picture (redux) without much consensus (the second one has since been updated to have a transparent background):

• 
  Amos (2011)
• 
  Crath (2020)
• 
  3df (2023)

Which should the infobox use?

I'd say the 3df photo. Amos notes on the older thread that they had reassembled the burger incorrectly when composing their photo (putting the cheese on top of the burger), so it would be misleading to use it. The draping lettuce strands and box stand seem like distractions on Crath's, even if the former is how a Big Mac would often be served. Belbury (talk) 09:11, 15 December 2024 (UTC)

I think it should be either Craths or 3dfs. I like Craths better, but I don't see a policy or Manual of Style reason that makes either better. Nobody (talk) 06:13, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

While Anemonemma generously credited me as a co-author of the third image, my work on it was seriously minimal and I do not feel comfortable with it being called the 3df photo, as all of the photography, lightbox construction, and post-processing was done by her. I only did dressage and planning the shoot. Our intent was to replicate Amos's style used in other articles with a sandwich that was assembled correctly and neutrally.

I want to note that we didn't get the sandwich with lettuce draping like that. Its location in our image is very close to where it was originally.

In my opinion, Crath's image looked better with the opaque background than it does with its new transparent background. The other options were lightbox photos intended for white out backgrounds. 3df (talk) 19:10, 3 May 2025 (UTC)

The infobox image was changed and then changed back recently, in both cases citing this thread as supporting one photo over another. Since there wasn't a clear consensus here, an RfC might help. I'll start one below. --Belbury (talk) 15:38, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

Is Crath, so keen to use their own image that they are wiling to edit-war it back in while claiming a standing consensus? Note that while qui tacet consentire videtur, etc., WP:WEAKSILENCE applies: consensus arising from silence evaporates when an editor changes existing content or objects to it. —Fortuna, imperatrix 15:47, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

The image that is identified as "A", below, was incorrectly applied to the article for many years; despite some editors pointing out that it wasn't correct. So, in 2020 I undertook the work to take a photo of an actual Big Mac and post it to this page. Since that time, over and over other contributors have sought to replace the image simply because they want their image used -- that is, there's no other merit to their image.

Yes, my image has a Big Mac box in it. That doesn't invalidate the fact that it is an accurate photo of a Big Mac.

Other than your personal belief that my defending my contribution is an "edit war", what is a reason of merit for replacing "B"? Christopher Rath (talk) 14:09, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

RfC: Infobox photo

The following discussion is an archived record of a request for comment. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

Consensus for option C. Iseult ^Δx talk to me 22:04, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

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Which of these photos should be used in the infobox? Belbury (talk) 15:44, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

• 
  A
• 
  B
• 
  C

• (Note that the photographer of image A has said that they ordered the cheese on the side and mistakenly put it on top of the burger when composing the photo, where McDonald's staff would have placed it below.) Belbury (talk) 15:54, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

  The pickles are also misplaced in A; so, it's simply NOT a Big Mac as sold my McDonald's. Christopher Rath (talk) 14:03, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

• C: Because (A) is plain wrong (as noted above, the cheese is misplaced and as such misleading to the WP:READER), (B) is unnecessarily artistic, as the burger does not come balanced on a box in the wild (and in any case, the McD's logo is a wholly unecessary distraction) and smacks of a subway poster advert. (C) therefore is the logical choice by default (although having mentioned "in the wild", an untouched photo of a burger at a restaurant should be preferred: transparencizing the background removes context (e.g. its relative size) and environment (e.g. what a reader would commonly find with it)). —Fortuna, imperatrix 15:56, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

  A Big Mac is also not delivered to the customer floating in mid-air. The box is the actual Big Mac box; so, it's an accurate photo. 14:52, 9 March 2026 (UTC) Christopher Rath (talk) 14:52, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose B for the weird placement of a burger on a box and it's duller colors. I'm okay with both C and A, though if Fortuna's reasoning is to be believed, C is more accurate. Toadspike [Talk] 16:47, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

  How is C more accurate? Christopher Rath (talk) 14:00, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  As several editors have noted, because the cheese is misplaced in (A) and the coloring is poor quality in (B). —Fortuna, imperatrix 14:15, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  The coloring in B was color calibrated using a Passport ColorChecker; so, while you might personally prefer how C is colored, B's colors are accurate.

  

  Big Mac with ColorChecker

  Christopher Rath (talk) 14:42, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  ColorChecker etc is completely irrelevant; per MOS:IMAGERELEVANCE, Images should look like what they are meant to illustrate, regardless of whether they are authentic. Even if your ColorCheckered image is authentic (which it may be, although no one can actually tell since you haven't uploaded anything), the reader expects to see what looks like a Big Mac to them, not to a food painter. Anyway, you've made your point several times now, so probably best to let the RfC run its course. Cheers, —Fortuna, imperatrix 14:51, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  The accurate depiction of reality is not irrelevant. If Wikipedia wants to be taken seriously, then it can simply present "what users want/expect to see". It has to present the world as it is. Christopher Rath (talk) 15:01, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  I didn't link to it because I didn't think I had to, but here: WP:BADGER. Cheers, —Fortuna, imperatrix 15:20, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  The whole point of a discussion page is to discuss. If discussion is considered bludgeoning, then so be it. Christopher Rath (talk) 15:50, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  Other problems were discussed with B as well. It's sitting on top of a box (with the company logo on it), making it a less-than-ideal choice. It could be cropped, but by then you might as well use a different image anyways. I like octopuses^{talk to me, talk to me} 17:03, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

• C > A > B for the reasons given above. (B also has some really atrocious color balancing.) I like octopuses^{talk to me, talk to me} 17:31, 8 March 2026 (UTC)
• C > A > B, as per above. Feeglgeef (talk) 22:05, 8 March 2026 (UTC)
• C > A > B, (summoned by bot) per logic of Fortuna imperatrix mundi above, A may be a better picture, but placement of the cheese-like yellow rubbery emulsified fatty stuff is wrong! Pincrete (talk) 06:18, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  Who actually cares about ingredient stacking order? Has a customer ever sent one back saying "I can't eat this, the cheese and/or pickles are not in the correct place". Most customers will only worry about the absence of an expected ingredient - although, some people I know will look for the pickles, but only in order to hook them out. Like I do with the tomatoes in a Whopper. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 19:09, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

  Who actually cares about ingredient stacking order? Obviously McDonald's do if they standardise the product across the globe. Pincrete (talk) 05:01, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

  They can't tell us that we're using the wrong photo, unless they are willing to provide a free-use image from their files. For our readers, it's sufficient that there are three layers of bun, two of burger patty, one of cheese and some pickles plus lettuce sticking out. The exact colour matching is even less important. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 13:07, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

  The exact colour matching is even less important, absolutely, which knocks out (B). As to your concerns wrt stacking order: conversely, why get it wrong when you can get it right? We do our readers a disservice if we don't use an accurate picture when one's available. See: integrity. Cheers, —Fortuna, imperatrix 13:15, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

• 

  A because the straight-on angle is better. C is my second choice, and I dislike B. The scattered strands of lettuce feel like someone's deliberately tried to make it look messy and unappealing. I also think that this other photo is okay. WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:27, 13 March 2026 (UTC)
• C > A > B. A is a slightly better angle, but MOS:IMAGEREL does say that images should look like what they are meant to illustrate and there's evidently a McDonald's standard for how Big Macs are assembled. --Belbury (talk) 19:26, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

A brand of hamburger?

The opening sentence says "The Big Mac is a brand of hamburger". Surely the brand is McDonald's, the Big Mac is one of their products. Both our own Brand article (A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers) and dictionary definitions confirm that it is the common name of the seller, rather than the product which is the 'brand'.

Describing it as 'a brand' is like saying that Model T is a brand of cars or 501s are a brand of jeans, rather than Ford or Levi's being the brand. Pincrete (talk) 06:13, 9 March 2026 (UTC)

I believe that the modern marketing/branding folks have a more complex notion of what constitutes a brand, and that they would say that both McDonald's and Big Mac are brands. I'd be happy with something like "a style of hamburger" myself, but I don't think the "brand" language is wrong. WhatamIdoing (talk) 20:03, 26 March 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 April 2026

Remove McDouble like a Mac as it isn’t a variant of the Big Mac but a variant of the McDouble under the Big Mac Wikipedia article Xayneheir (talk) 00:16, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. StartOkayStop (talk) 01:11, 16 April 2026 (UTC)