4th meal? Err.. 5th maybe?

As I approached the end of a long dive down to North Carolina on Friday night I had given up on searching for a new radio station every time commercials came on and heard a ridiculous McDonald's commercial. It aired around 11:00pm and went something like this:

Man: I'm gonna run out and get somethin' to eat. Want anything?
Woman: (sounding tired) I just went to bed, like, two hours ago...
Man: I'm going to McDonald's... (he says in a "tempting" voice)
Woman: Alright... (she concedes) Bring me some fries then.
Song: Do do doo do doo... I'm lovin' it.
Announcer: Open 'til one AM or later... feed your late night cravings...

Really? I mean, REALLY?? I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I've heard all the "Eat great, even late" Wendy's ads before. And I think Taco Bell actually made up a name for a fourth meal. AND McDonald's has those snack size sandwiches for mid-morning or mid-afternoon or watching sports or something.

Perhaps this isn't a new thing for McDonald's to encourage folks to wake up in the middle of the night and eat fries and I just haven't been awake after 11pm in a while? Or I've mastered the art of avoiding these silly marketing messages? Or I'm still subscribed to the marketing message that if I am up late and craving something it is because I am pregnant, hormonal, or going through a break-up and the clear fix is a pint of ice cream, likely something with a catchy name like Chunky Monkey? Or maybe I'm just old fashioned and still think late night cravings are a private moment of weakness - a rare guilty pleasure - as opposed to a nationwide nightly occurrence.

Ugh.