Long before he was wishing 100 year-old people a Happy Birthday on Today, Willard Scott was a clown. A pathetic, oddly dressed clown.

After the jump is the very first commercial that McDonald's ran featuring Ronald McDonald. Sure, it's easy to dismiss the low-budget look of this ad because of the time it was created, the bad special effects, and the knowledge that later the character would be refined and would look a lot different (and better). But then you look closely and you see that the guy has a freakin' paper cup on his nose. It's like the last minute Halloween costume a father would put together to entertain his kids. He and the other parents think it's hilarious, but the kids are thinking "what's wrong with daddy?"

And does he really need two trays of food, one on his waist and one on his head?

Still, it's a cool look at a different TV era, and it's great to see how McDonald's television advertising started out. Hey, it's better than the "I'm Lovin' It" campaign.

[via The Big Money]