Introducing The 42 oz McDonald's "Hugo" Drink
McDonald's has been struggling to give themselves an image makeover—they've cut the "supersize" menu and added salads and "apple dippers." But what's this?
The "Hugo"? What the heck is a Hugo?
The Hugo is McDonald's new drink size, available only in certain markets, the Hugo is 42 oz and when filled with regular soda weighs in at an impressive 410 calories.
It's priced as low as $0.89. A hell of a deal! But who needs that much soda? From the NYT:
"People, I believe, tend to drink more during the summer," said Danya Proud, a McDonald's spokeswoman. "People are out and about."That's a rediculous amount of soda, but what can you do? People want what they want. We just wonder if it would sell as well if it said "410 calories" on it.She said the Hugo was being offered because of customer demand, and so far, it has sold quite well. Ms. Proud cautioned about comparing the Hugo to McDonald's old Supersize menu.
"That's not what this is about," she said. "You have to put it in context with the rest of our menu."
Did McDonald's Give In to Temptation? [NYT]
(Photo:Noah Berger/NYT)
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Yeah, but you can't fill a Supersize meal with diet fries and 0-calorie patties...
Wait, what? Hugo?
It's a Supersize drink. Nice to see it back. Since I only drink non-sugar soda, calories aren't a concern for me here, so I missed being able to get a drink that size if I wanted one.
Coming soon, the Hugo fries. And then, you can Hugo-Size your meal!
Please don't think this gigantic soda has anything to do with their supersize menu? Are they kidding? Folks, this is about 1.25 liters of soda here... take your standard supermarket bottle (2 liters) and drink more than half of it in one sitting. That's what you have.
Holy fat Buddha on a pogo-ball! WANT!
The only things good at Rotten Ronnies are their fries and their orange drink. Gimme a Hugo fries to go with that and I'd die of happiness.
Makes sense...soda gives them the most profits. Although, would $.89 undercut their other drinks? (I dunno, haven't been there this century). And will they be offering it in NYC where they'd be required to put the calories up there?
1. Drink unholy volume of caffeinated, sugary beverage.
2. Get dehydrated and very thirsty.
3. Mistake thirst for hunger.
4. Order new McDonald's "Hugo" meal.
5. Ghasp in horror as your pants no longer fit.
The should put the nutritional information on the side of the cup. After all, the bottle of Coke at the convenience store has it. Why should McDonald's get off easy?
They have those here. The small drink is $1 on the Dollar Menu and this thing is $0.89 so my wife and I get one to split. Most times it doesn't get finished.
It surely does undercut their other drinks! I got one for kicks recently and the drive thru lady mis-heard me and tried to charge me MORE for LESS (stupid useless medium). Crazy.
Actually, wouldn't it be significantly less than 42oz of soda since it will be filed with ice? Is 410 calories pure soda, or including ice?
They've had these for a while where I live. It's a pretty good deal if your thirsty. Right now they are selling them for only $0.69. I'm only drinking diet drinks right now so I'm not really that concerned with the calories.
This is not a bad size. IF, that is, 2/3 to 3/4 of that cup is filled with ice.
Now, my question is, is this "Hugh-go" or "Huge-oh" size? One sounds like they are targeting the Spanish or Mexican groups, the other sounds like they are going more for the NASCAR nation.
I'm pretty sure McDonalds will be selling "Hugo" size fries in the near future as well.
When I was growing up, Mom always drank Diet Rite or Diet Coke. I drank the regular, but would drink hers when mine ran out. So I did have a taste for the unleaded.
But my preference was the sweet stuff. That is until McDonald's posted their nutritional information on a chart on the wall, and I saw that a large Coke (24 oz at that time?) had over 200 calories. I switched to diet right then.
Oh, and it's spelled 'ridiculous'.
Oh, and it's spelled 'ridiculous'.
______________________________
Meg has a "rediculous" mental block when it comes to that word. She spells it wrong quite consistently.
They are advertising the huge McD's drink here for .69 (for a limited time).
I smell a LOST tie-in...
what's next? katrina fries, large enough to blow through the dams of your arterial walls? the andrew burger, heavy enough to topple a FEMA trailer! they could do a whole range of disasterously huge, disaster-named foods.
What size glove does the woman in the picture wear? The cup really doesn't look that large
Grr. I forgot the main point of my post...
I am a certified pop-a-holic. But even I am stunned by what's a 'large' and what's 'small' these days. I ordered a medium at Wendy's the other day, and it was what once was the extra-large. Portion sizes are, without a doubt, the source of the obesity problem. 400+ calories for a soda. Jeesh. I am all for personal choice and responsibility, but when the 24 ounce that made me change my ways is now the 'small,' and these 200-400 calorie sizes are the standards, it's easy to get your perspective messed up. Especially when you are a teen without the early frames of reference.
You know, I think of the name Hugo and all that comes to mind is the huge guy named Hugo on Lost. Do they really want to associate the name of their new "product" with someone who looks like he mistook the movie Supersize Me for an advocacy piece?
Damnit. I was going to go for A&W for lunch, but now I HAVE to see if Hugo hit Canada or not... I hope they have Katrinasize Fries.
What is the big deal? So they are selling large amounts of soda?
Its not like convenence sotres haven't been doing it for years. I remember AM/PM used to sell a 96oz *BUCKET* of soda. Yes, it was so big it came in a bucket, with a handle.
@VA_White:
In my english class, you only lost points for misspelling a word once, and as long as it was consistantly misspelled the same way, there were no more penalties.
To all you people drinking 42 ounces of diet soda: ever read up on the delightful stuff that non-sugar sweeteners are? I think I'll take my calories and burn them off with a walk.
Great, I love the large sized cups. Great for a long trip. Calories do not matter to me, since I only drink diet. Even the low calorie lemonade would be what? 40 caloires in that big cup?
Besides a few people, I doubt most people that eat at McDonald's care how many calories are in something. Somebody that routinely has a Big mac, large fries, and a soda (pop, Coke, whatever each of us calls it), isn't going to say "oh-my-god it has 410 calories I better order something smaller". I haven't eaten at a McDonald's in many years- their food sucks (as does most fast food).
I think if you naturally watch your calorie intake, you are going to know this huge cup of soda has a lot of calories and avoid it.
@Ickypoopy: I remember when movie theaters had those, with free refills. Cause the best thing to go with sitting in a dark theather for 2+ hours is 96 ounces of soda.
You really never realize, even if you are looking at the "Nutritional Information" (and I think that is an oxymoron in regards to McDonald's) brochures at McDonald's what the actual sugar, fat and sodium contents are in the food you are eating. They show the information in grams and milligrams! Unless you are able to convert them to tablespoons and teaspoons in your head (or use a gram/teaspoon converter online) it almost impossible to know how much you are really eating. For the brochures for the US they should print the information in TSP/TBSP!
That way when yo drink the HUGO it might be helpful to realize you are getting 25 (or however much) teaspoons of sugar in that refreshing drink!
@JustPeteHere: yeah... LOST in that giant cup! Wait a minute, you may have solved the mystery of the show! The plane crashed inside the cup.
@mopar_man: true, but regular soda is not just carbonated water and corn syrup ... I'm sure the extra negative effects of aspartame make the drink only marginally worse
For the brochures for the US they should print the information in TSP/TBSP!
Or....the US could just get with the rest of the world and use the metric system.
Is it possible to just order a cup of ice at McDonalds? A buck for a massive cup of gradually melting ice water isn't that bad if you're going to be out and about for the day. It'd beat bottled, anyway.
Hurricane Huge destroyed my parents house when I was a kid, so I'm really excited about drinking a Hugo-sized diet coke.
Thanks for helping me relive those memories Mcdonalds!
they had these cups a while back in a small town where i went to college...they're massive. they dont even fit in your cupholders in the car. but then again, the gas stations such as race track and qt offer the same thing here in texas.
This isn't some brand new thing...it's the same size as the old "super-size" drinks that McDonald's used to have before their "menu simplification." Personally, I drink diet sodas, and it's been frustrating not to be able to get myself a mammoth soda on the few occasions I find myself at a McDonald's.
I really don't understand why people don't just drink diet soda...it takes about a week or maybe two to get used to it (cold turkey approach), and after that it fulfills your carbonated cravings without bloating you to mammoth proportions. I knew someone who dropped 60 lbs just by switching to diet with no other lifestyle changes (of course, they drank a lot of soda).
Even with all of the attention to obesity and physical problems, people will still buy this mess. I don't blame McDonald's, I blame the people who are shoveling this mess down their throats. And I blame the parents for their kids actions, although the kids are probably just mimicking the parents.
@B: No caffeine does not dehydrated you in solutions you find in soda... it just isn't truth. It isn't salt water it is just a mild diuretic very blah.
Oh and honestly I don't see anything too wrong with this if... you take it and pour it into one of those insulated cups for the entire day. I know a lot of busdrivers and the like do that already.
I almost wish they did have this around here, I have no problem throwing soda out, and it would be the cheapest drink on the go.
I'm an admitted soda addict. I love the Hugo drink. Where I live (California), it's only 69 cents, which is a damn good price. Now, the cup is fucking huge. Do I drink it all? Hell no. When I am super thirsty, I'll fill it with Diet Coke or something so as to miss some of the calories. However, it is still cheaper to buy the 42-oz Hugo than it is to buy a 12 oz kiddie drink, or the 16 oz dollar menu drink. Now, why would I pay a full dollar for 16 oz, when I can pay 72 cents after tax for 42 oz?
@awall25: Small, medium, large, extra-large, Hugo and Katrina! You'll be on the Ponchetrain to thirst satisfaction as your basin overflows with flavor!
Naaah better not.
Maybe the 410 is with ice? There's no way there are that few calories in 42 ounces. According to Coca-Cola there are 99 calories in 8oz of regular coke. 42 ounces gives 520 calories.
I don't understand what the big deal is. So McDonalds is selling large cokes? Wow... Hold the presses. You can get a giant drink at 7-11 (a slurpee, which is even more fattening but at least worth it). You could go for a 2 liter bottle at the grocery store. Have them offer cheap bottled water, that'll be something to write about.
Besides, the real benefit of the huge coke is that two people can split it: one person gets the huge meal, the other one gets a mac, and you've got a meal for two people.
@KIDGENIUS: Fountain sodas are usually watered down compared to the stuff you buy in the bottles. Though 410 still seems like a little.
@Yasth Ummm...mild or not, a diuretic dehydrates you, so yes, the caffeine solution in soda will dehydrate you (not to mention the sugar). What kills me is the fact that people will drink this much soda and think that makes up for the fact they haven't had any water all day. It's also kind of sick that a 20 oz. water costs more than this.
Here are prices from our local McDonalds -
You can order:
Large Drink (1.59) + Cheeseburger (1.39) = 2.98
or get twice as much everything, for cheaper:
Extra Large Drink (0.89) + Double Cheeseburger (0.99) = 1.88.
Go figure.
Soda gives you diabetes. Just so you know!
If they do the Hugo the same way they do the rest of the drinks, half or more is ice, so how much soda do you really get?
I like the idea, myself. I tend to get a large drink and then (gasp) take it with me, and continue drinking it for awhile longer.
As for the name, I give them points for cleverness. The essence of 'huge' with a slight difference. As for it being named like a hurricane... I truly hope that just because natural disasters get names, that they don't become completely taboo to use. Especially a natural disaster that happened nearly 18 years ago.
Suddenly I feel bad for anybody named Hugo. And yes people do drink more in the summer, but drinking caffeinated beverages when you are thirsty is counter-productive.