The Filet-O-Fish Jingle From 2009 That Still Lives In Customers' Heads

McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich is simple, but delicious, featuring wild-caught Alaskan Pollock with American cheese and tartar sauce on a soft steamed bun. It's unpretentious, yet effective in satiating hunger — so it's perhaps fitting that the surreal Filet-O-Fish commercial that's still stuck in foodies' heads nearly 20 years later shares that same "simple-yet-effective" dogma. 

The commercial that rocked McDonald's customers' worlds aired in 2009. In it, two men hang out in a garage chowing down on Filet-O-Fish sandwiches while a wall-mounted fish serenades them from its wooden plaque. "Gimme back that Filet-O-Fish. Give me that fish," demands the singing fish. Same-species dietary abominations notwithstanding, it's a lighthearted ad with a surrealist streak a mile wide. 

Comments on a YouTube video of the commercial share impassioned personal memories: "I spent MONTHS as a child with this stuck in my head." Others write, "Who's here in 2025 still jamming to this Legendary song?" Another commenter from five years ago adds, "You know quarantine start hitting different when this song plays in your head randomly." In just 30 seconds, McDonald's planted an earworm that has been living rent-free in the heads of many for decades — down to that tasty "oooh!" at the end of the song. The ad campaign was so widely-embraced, in fact, that in 2009 McDonald's released a limited line of battery-operated "Frankie The Fish" robotic fish plaque toys that sang the jingle. The gimmicky product was originally sold at retailers like Kmart, but today, it's all over eBay.

Folks remember it clearly. A Reddit thread in r/nostalgia dedicated to the commercial draws comments like, "I remember singing this all the time" and "I sing this out loud from time to time." Another Reddit post says that McDonald's "peaked" with the 2009 Filet-O-Fish jingle, noting that compared to the surrealist humor of this bygone commercial, the bulk of modern advertisements are severely lacking in the whimsy department.

At one time, Mickey D's Filet-O-Fish sandwich even had its own cartoon mascot (and it was kind of cute). His name was Phil A. O'Fish, he wore a straw hat, and he disappeared after the 1970s. But, a truly good ad campaign can outlast the sands of time — especially when a catchy tune is involved. Many longtime McDonald's fans are still singing another catchy 1975 commercial jingle that literally describes the contents of a Big Mac: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun." Shortly thereafter, McDonald's released another jaunty (if less-catchy) commercial melody in 1982 — a high-production, Broadway-style ad sang "Welcome to McDonald's Tonight!" 

If the trove of comments about the 2009 Filet-O-Fish commercial are any indication, customers are craving whimsy. After all, the return of Grimace in 2023 brought major sales growth to McDonald's locations across the U.S., which proves two important things: The public hasn't lost its palate for bizarre media art, and that appeal to primal surrealism can be an effective driver of sales. Big Fast Food, if you're listening: Bring back the bizarre jingles.