SEGA in the Media: The 1993 and 2022 Sonic the Hedgehog McDonald’s commercials were filmed at the same location

Would you believe that the 1993 McDonald’s Sonic 3 (the game, not the movie) Happy Meal commercial and the 2022 McDonald’s Sonic 2 (the movie, not the game) Happy Meal commercial, filmed 29 years apart, were actually filmed in the exact same location? That’s right! Over on Facebook the page Film Locations – Then and Now shared a post detailing a McDonald’s restaurant in California that is purely used for filming commercials. The MockDonald’s, as locals call it, is at 17030 Green Drive in City of Industry, CA and has existed for decades. The restaurant has appeared in the 1988 film “Mac and me” as well as dozens, if not hundreds, of McDonald’s commercials. The company is so committed to the location that it has seen numerous changes to the exterior to fit with the on-brand look of the company’s restaurants.

When I saw the Facebook post detailing the location, I jumped on Google Maps and took a look at the various angles as realized that this fake McDonald’s acted as the exterior for not only 2022’s Sonic 2 Happy Meal commercial, which saw Tails working the drive through window as Sonic sped through, but it was also the exterior (and possibly interior) for the 1993 Sonic 3 Happy Meal commercial! Of course, the location saw major changes in those 29 years, but if you watch both ads below you can get a sense of the front and sides of the building. For more photos of the location, check out the post on Film Locations – Then and Now.

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