Late last week it was reported that McDonald’s would launch a marketing campaign in January with the phrase “Lovin’ Beats Hatin'” at its center, but the reality of what the burger behemoth actually trademarked makes those three words sound almost authentic by comparison.

Following the immediate blowback to last week’s slogan leak, a McDonald’s rep told Yahoo that Lovin’ Beats Hatin’ is “incorrect and not a new slogan,” but maybe that’s because, as BurgerBusiness.com points out, there are two much worse variations of this viral catchphrase that McDonald’s trademarked last week.

First up is “Lovin’ Is Greater Than Hatin’,” which is like saying that lovin’ beats hatin’, but in a more awkward, wordier way.

And because shortenin’ is greater than writin’ out the whole slogan, McDonald’s has also trademarked “Lovin’ > Hatin'” and is really, really hoping that everyone remembers their greater-than/less-than symbols from elementary school.

We wouldn’t be shocked if the lovin’/hatin’ campaign has been scrapped and never sees the light of day, which makes us wish it had never been leaked; it would have made for some delightfully awful ads.

But the trademarks do at least show that McDonald’s is indeed seriously thinking about going the love/hate route.

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