Fast-food chains are notorious for using tools like glue and blowtorches to make food appear perfect in ads.
But McDonald's is now trying a different tactic: It's embracing messy, imperfect ingredients.
The company posted a new video ad Tuesday showing an egg cracking over a hot griddle, with the yolk streaming out of the egg ring.
Another recent ad shows a sausage-and-egg McMuffin dropping onto a table, with crumbs flying everywhere.
The ads are among the most recent in a series of similar videos posted over the past couple of weeks showing food at McDonald's being cooked and prepared.
Other videos show bacon sizzling and butter melting into a McMuffin.
The advertising firm JWT predicted in 2014 that food advertising would take a turn for the "ugly."
"Imperfection and even outright ugliness -- the quirky, the messy, and the flawed -- are taking on new appeal in a world that's become neatly polished and curated," the firm said in a report.
The intimate shots of McDonald's food being prepared are most likely intended to fight the perceptions that the chain's food is overly processed or that it is not freshly prepared.
The company has battled rumors over the past couple of years that it uses "pink slime" in its beef and questions about why its food doesn't rot.
The videos give consumers a behind-the-scenes look at the real (and not always perfect) ingredients behind some of the most popular items on the McDonald's menu.
So far, the advertising is getting a positive reaction from consumers.
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Hayley Peterson
Hayley Peterson is a reporter for Business Insider's retail section.
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