“Artisan” in the least-true sense of the word.

It’s almost cute how hard McDonald’s is working to compete with foes like Shake Shack — the tricks up its sleeve include putting all-sirloin burgers on wooden boards and rolling out kiosks that, at least in theory, make Big Macs fancier. The latest stunt, though, is something called the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich. It quietly materialized on McDonald’s online menu a few weeks ago, and appears to already be available at certain locations.

Slate’s Jordan Weissmann noticed a sign for the item at the register this morning. Besides flagrant use of artisan, the pitch’s tactics also include using the words “pantry seasonings” and a hand model doing a very bad job spreading mayo with a tiny spoon:

McDonald's, bewildered by modernity, is now selling an "artisan" chicken sandwich. http://t.co/w0UjwADAAp pic.twitter.com/3DnXmvDXfD — Slate Technology + Business (@slatebiztech) April 27, 2015

[Slate]