In an effort to combat flagging sales in its hamburger stores, McDonald’s plans to unveil a new slogan in January 2015, The Wall Street Journal reports. The slogan is “Lovin’ Beats Hatin’,” and it’s designed to complement, not replace, the existing McDonald’s slogan, “I’m Lovin’ It.” The logic is simple, really: The new phrase deepens the meaning of “I’m Lovin’ It” by explaining that “I” is “lovin’” the unspecified “it” because it (i.e., the lovin’, not the “it”) is superior to hatin’. Customers of the restaurant have long assumed that “I” was lovin’ “it” because there was something about the “it” that made “it” irresistibly lovable, but now the truth appears to be that all these years, “I” has been lovin’ for the sake of lovin’—which calls into question the relevance of “it” in the first place.
The Journal’s sources say that the sandwich restaurant’s new “Lovin’ Beats Hatin’” campaign “aims to spread happiness in the face of Internet hate,” a venture that will unofficially begin with the copious Internet love that is sure to greet this apostrophe-festooned catchphrase.