A 55-Cent Mcflop?

Instead of sizzling sales for a 55-cent promotion on Big Mac sandwiches, McDonald’s franchisees so far have only seen a gentle warming.

McDonald’s Corp. hoped its yearlong promotion to sell large sandwiches for 55 cents with the purchase of any size fries or drink would trounce competitors, such as Burger King and Wendy’s.

But the Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain’s daily survey of 3,000 domestic restaurants - about a quarter of the total - found that since the Big Mac promotion began two weeks ago, sales are actually off as much as 6 percent on a given day compared with last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Franchisees also said the campaign has been slow catching on.

McDonald’s spokesman Chuck Ebeling disputed the report of poor sales, noting U.S. comparable store sales in April were the “strongest we’ve seen in years.”

While those numbers, which he declined to disclose, include sizzling sales of Happy Meals in conjunction with its two-week Teenie Beanie Babies promotion, Ebeling said sales of Big Macs were more than double the amount sold nationwide prior to the 55-cent campaign.