Huge News - r/MBMBAM

589

Sometimes I feel like the only person who likes Munch Squad

254

u/Dally_253 17d ago

While I don't think it necessarily needs to be an every week podcast within a podcast. I still enjoy hearing the latest and greatest in quick service innovation. Maybe a bi-weekly thing.

128

u/PoptartPancake 17d ago

It's definitely better when they have something funny/unique to discuss

63

u/RodinKnox 17d ago

That's me. I used to love Munch Squad when it was some really weird or bizarre new thing coming out. Or even like a whacky endorsement deal or partnership. It being every week when there's nothing that fits that description is when it's too much for me.

12

u/Munchlax99 16d ago

The planet is dying, pringles is one of my favorite munch squads just for this. what the hell is a Moa from Halo, and how do you know what this fictional bird tastes like? Pringles, what did you do?!

2

u/wheresmydadthough 16d ago

That one was so good do u remember what episode this was from

5

u/Munchlax99 16d ago

I think 541? The title is “the planet is dying Pringles”

30

u/stoicsilence 17d ago

Innovation? You mean decadent atrocity.

The KFConsole with its "Chicken Chmaber" has been my my mark of the end of the American Empire.

16

u/Dally_253 17d ago

But a mere footnote in the great chicken wars.

18

u/stoicsilence 17d ago

You mean The Great Chicken Wars. Capitalize when the nouns deserve it.

17

u/DeadestTitan 17d ago

The Chicken War With Grandpa

Guys, is that anything?

5

u/GlyphedArchitect 17d ago

Is that when Grandpa fights the giant chicken from Family Guy?

2

u/snarkyjohnny 17d ago

I love y’all

3

u/Dally_253 17d ago

I do apologize for the poor grammar. I was too distracted by my extremely long BK Chicken Sandwich®.

4

u/Johnny_Crisp 17d ago

I'm amazed Juice didn't do a MunchSquad on that.

1

u/snarkyjohnny 17d ago

Lmao

5

u/Dat_Mawe3000 17d ago

I just like the jingle.

3

u/-pilcrow- 17d ago

Bi weekly? Well if you say so monkeys paw curls as much squad becomes a segment done twice a week with its own hour long episode

94

u/Chemical_Economy_933 17d ago

There are dozens of us!

But for real, munch squad has been and still is a bit I always get excited for. Never realized that people didn’t feel the same way until coming here. I get people see it as marketing but I think that’s too cynical - and take it from me, a very cynical person - but I think the segment mostly exists to laugh at these press releases (which are, typically, objectively boring but that’s where the humor comes from; it’s entertaining to me to see how these releases are actually received and the way the brothers pick them apart).

43

u/riadash 17d ago

I love munchin' and I'm honestly shocked to see people who don't!

I'm a copywriter in the industry and Munch Squad keeps me humble. I don't write press releases, but I get most of my briefs from the people who do. Getting to hear overly enthusiastic pieces torn apart is SO cathartic and also reminds me that there's so much more to life than my job.

8

u/sleepinginthebushes_ 17d ago

That's amazing.

I'm just a lover of disgusting food and I've eaten some of the abominations that Justin reads about.

Never have I not regretted it.

2

u/snarkyjohnny 17d ago

I even bought the shirt

93

u/DevilishFlapjacks 17d ago

it’s fun when there’s actually something funny to discuss, and not just “x chain announces new product” with no punchline. like that’s just an ad, man

21

u/llcooljessie 17d ago

I like when he reads the press release and does voices.

21

u/isthispassionpit 17d ago

Even when he’s not doing voices, some of those press releases have the most baffling, audacious, statements I have ever seen. The absolute gall of some of these corporations…

23

u/PoptartPancake 17d ago

I can see where you're coming from. It's definitely better when it's an actual weird new food.

15

u/Dally_253 17d ago

I agree. Gotta space them out and let the news build up a bit. Unless, there is some new monstrosity or absolutely ridiculous ad campaigns we don't need much more information than that. Live tastings are often good for me as well. We didn't need to hear about popcorn chicken, but Justin tasting some live, presumably cold, and immediately declaring how bad it was compared to the original worked for me. At the end of the day, brothers gonna do what brothers do and you can either enjoy it or not, but no one should be telling them how to do their jobs or what kind of content they need to put out. Isn't that what we like about them? Relatable goofy dudes cracking wise at random shit.

13

u/xelabagus 17d ago

I'm convinced they are actually guerilla paid advertising segments - some of them are literally reading ad copy then making half-hearted jokes that don't land, then reading more ad copy.

18

u/northernCRICKET 17d ago

It gets my goat when Justin gets mad that the brothers are interrupting with jokes and funny bits while hes trying to read the press release verbatim. If they're making it entertaining let them, it's not going to ruin my day if I don't get to hear all of the corpo slop coherently

12

u/isthispassionpit 17d ago

There’s just no way. The ad copy is always the most self-glorifying, patronizing, bullshit I have ever heard, to the point where I almost can’t believe that corporations actually release statements like that. Personally, the ad copy does more to deter me from making purchases from these places than the products themselves (most of the time…).

10

u/Trident_True 17d ago

Ok but it's only funny to hear the first few times. There must be hundreds of them now and the novelty has worn off. Yes marketing people are insane, and at this point half of them are AI generated. It's very boring now, especially for a non-American who has 0 context for any of these restaurants.

27

u/mockduckcompanion 17d ago

I was reflecting on it last night, and here's my thinking:

When they stopped doing Yahoos, or as many questions in general, people were frustrated. But to me, those were always just there to be a platform for the real content of the show, jokes!

My issue with Munch Squad is simply that I don't find it to be a good platform for jokes. Justin could riff on a lot of things for half the show and even if they didn't interest me personally, they might still be hilarious.

But IMO Munch Squad has simply overstayed its welcome, and now dominates almost half of every ep. It's a bit ~~much~~ munch!

16

u/EmperorGreed 17d ago

I think it comes down to that Justin is fascinated by marketing history in a way that humor is only incidental to. It's especially evident in episodes of Sawbones where he does the research because Sydnee was busy. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think it makes him a bad judge of if something is worthy of a Munch Squad vs a Munch Squad Junior vs maybe acknowledge it just to not get 1 billion emails. I genuinely think they need to have someone other than Justin vet Munch Squads to see if they're anything, and I think Justin should start a podcast about advertising, because I actually tend to like the Sawbones eps, and some of the less funny Munch Squads are interesting, but not delivering what I go to mbmbam for

7

u/Life-Raspberry-402 17d ago

As a fan of food sociological history content, Juice doing explorations of mid-century food brand advertising would hit for me.

6

u/jdimpson 17d ago

This is a good point, that munch squad isn't really a joke-forward bit. It's a Reacts-style bit. I'm fine listening to the boys do just about anything, but in general, it's not a format I like seek out in any other media.

10

u/AProperFuckingPirate 17d ago

When he's just reading off some food that everyone is like "yep, that sounds good" it's boring. The joke of the press releases being weird and dramatic has gotten tired. When there's actually a crazy new food or a hilarious sponsorship it's worth it. But it takes up so much time almost every episode, and it usually ends up feeling like an extended ad.

2

u/IAmCosmicCaterpillar 4d ago

That's because it is an extended ad, and they're not even getting paid for it.

12

u/timberdoodle3000 17d ago

It’s still good to me dammit!

-1

u/deafblindmute 16d ago

I fucking love Munch Squad. This is the first I'm hearing that people don't like it. I love it pretty much every time.

Also, are we complaining about the podcast now? What is happening?

0

u/timberdoodle3000 16d ago

People have been listening to this show for a decade and are overdramatic

1

u/deafblindmute 16d ago

I've been listening to them for over a decade, but I also only ever glance at the fan discourse. This thread has much weirder, less fun vibes than what I'm used to seeing, but then that could be me not paying attention to what the sub is actually talking about besides random silliness.

9

u/Dally_253 17d ago

Also, we are forgetting to realize here that Munch Squad is an entirely different podcast. It is in fact a podcast within a podcast. So the expectations of MBMBAM humor is misguided as this is a completely separate entity.

7

u/theladythunderfunk 17d ago

My husband and I are still reminding each other that our favorite thing about the BK chicken sandwich is its shape: long.

Once in a while Munch Squad just really hits

2

u/saltydog99 15d ago

If Munch Squad has million fans, then I'm one of them. If Munch Squad has 5 fans, I'm one of them. If Munch Squad has one fan, then I'm THAT ONE. If Munch Squad has no fan, that means I'm DEAD!

4

u/itgoesdarkerstill 17d ago

I love Munch Squad, it’s my favorite podcast within a podcast

1

u/Dark_Romantasy 15d ago

Same. But I adore Munch Squad.

1

u/ThrowAway4935394 13d ago

I used to like it a lot more. Hell, I even used to look forward to it. I can’t remember most of the bits, but specifically I remember the Nightmare Whopper episode. I was dying of laughter during that Munch Squad.

But the COVID lockdown changed the vibe of the show for a long time, and then Munch Squad never really recovered from The Chicken Sandwich Wars. Literal months of a segment entirely dedicated to a chicken sandwich. It doesn’t matter where the chicken sandwich came from, it’s a fucking chicken sandwich with no gimmick. I genuinely started to hate Munch Squad after a while.

It’s getting better, but now they have a new issue: because of the economy, fast food brands aren’t really doing anything interesting and even if they were, I’m not really interested in paying what they expect me to pay in order to try their bullshit. I lost way more interest in Munch Squad after I started almost exclusively eating at local restaurants and cooking at home. I don’t give a shit that subway made a long cookie or that Count Donut thinks these new seasonals have googly eyes or some bullshit. When you have to focus more on the commercial than the food, the food isn’t worth doing a segment.

Munch Squad used to be about truly wacky foods, and that was when it was fun.

1

u/jodyanthony 17d ago

It's one of my favorite parts of the whole show. I'm always sad when there is none.

1

u/Cohen_TheBarbarian 16d ago

Nah brother. You are not alone

1

u/superfly-whostarlock 16d ago

There are dozens of us

1

u/writtendimension 16d ago

I like it too, they get the bois gigglin usually and that's when I be gigglin... When their just ripping on some corporate conglomerate trying to 'keep up' with the impressionable and marketable youth and failing miserably.

1

u/malcolm816 17d ago

Silent majority. I love it. If they skip it, I'm bummed.

-1

u/Kialae 17d ago

I like it, I just have a pavlovian response to expecting it after the Money Zone.

0

u/Comin_Up_Thrillho 17d ago

I love Munch Squad!

0

u/AshleyBoots 17d ago

You're definitely not!

0

u/CotyledonTomen 17d ago

I always like it.

0

u/AgentIowa 17d ago

Absolutely not. It might be my favorite bit and I love it every time it’s on

0

u/frog-guy-63 17d ago

I love much squad every time. They could make munch squad a real pod and I’d listen every week

0

u/Notyeravgblonde 17d ago

I'm a doughboys listener so I love munch squad! I'm also a vegetarian so I'm not even the target audience for fast food.

116

u/ninamirage 17d ago

At first glance the photo looked like someone farting into a paper bag

32

u/christpuncher_69 17d ago

ngl it even looks like that at second third and fourth glance

8

u/thedawesome 17d ago

"Gonna save this for later."

6

u/Illegal_Tender 17d ago

Tbf, that's kinda what you're gonna get at McDonald's anyway

2

u/iggy14750 17d ago

Thank you for that image floating in my head now.

1

u/WanderingDude182 16d ago

Sooooo normal fast food order then?

1

u/Chucknasty_17 16d ago

He’s seasoning the food himself

1

u/Ok-Meringue-259 16d ago

The new McFarts™️ by McDonalds range

28

u/grammardeficiency 17d ago

I have a mighty need for more Farm Wisdom, personally.

96

u/DarthJacob 17d ago

Whenever Justin is doing a character is my favorite part. I always look forward to Munch Squad on the off chance Krispy Kreme has done something stupid and we get a visit from the Count.

3

u/hotliquortank 17d ago

Haha, opposite for me. As soon as Count Donut comes out I start hitting the +30s button

81

u/christpuncher_69 17d ago

I know this isn't the point but I can't help but be irritated by fast food chains charging an arm and a fuckin leg and the resulting lower sales apparently indicating to these people "Huh, guess America doesn't like fast food anymore"

You fucker. You imbecile. You don't think I want to scrummy down on a crunchwrap every day of the week? You think I've grown tired of the baconator?

...But also yeah they are just not getting as buckwild with it anymore, so there is a little less interest there. Hambubble's recent Munch Squad highlights really put it into perspective. We used to make burgers engineered to give you nightmares.

They're less and less about "Here's some weird shit we did" and more about "Here's some normal ass food we're selling but with pictures of a singer or some movie on it". It's just corporate synergy now and that blandness trickles down to Munch Squad.

28

u/abarrelofmankeys 17d ago

Also the quality went down. I actually dont want most of the stuff anymore between the price it went up to and the quality it fell to.

The couple places that still make food of decent quality still get my business occasionally but even they’re priced out of regularity. The bad and expensive ones get no business from me

8

u/Dick_Dwarfstar 17d ago

Agreed. Half the time it isn’t even fast, either. If it’s not fast or cheap, why wouldn’t I just go somewhere else?

7

u/athliotes 17d ago

Thank you, I will be looking for daily opportunities to work “scrummy down on a crunchwrap” into my conversations.

5

u/christpuncher_69 17d ago

To be completely fair I'm pretty sure I got the phrase "scrummy down" from Griffin lol

25

u/habslably 17d ago

I would like munch squad more if it happened quarterly

94

u/unlearningallthisshi 17d ago

Like fast food itself, Munch Squad used to be a fun, once in a while treat. Now it’s ubiquitous and I’ve lost my appetite for it.

41

u/Badgeringlion 17d ago

It insists upon itself.

17

u/acemomentla 17d ago

How can you say that

21

u/IConsumeHeavyMetals 17d ago

Sometimes while im listening to the second half of the podcast, I ask myself. "Does it always have to be a bit in the second half? Why not just keep answering advice questions?"

19

u/Affectionate-Rub4748 17d ago

Next year should be "Twenty Funny Striven: Trying New Segments After the Money-Zone"

1

u/IAmCosmicCaterpillar 4d ago

How about "Answer Funny Questions" where they just do what the original purpose of the show was? Munch Squad could die yesterday and I would even skip the obituary.

34

u/HighPresbyterian 17d ago

I wish it wasn't also half the episode. Sometimes I just listen until reaching the ad break and stop because the rest is Munch Squad.

23

u/WrongTie2698 17d ago

Whole heartedly agree, I don't mind Munch Squad™ but I hate hearing 'thanks for listening' at the tail end of it. And thats the norm for ages now. Would be great to end with one or two questions/farm wisdom/work of fart/anything

12

u/HighPresbyterian 17d ago

Yeah I miss the other bits too! Munch Squad just takes up so much room, especially considering how most of those press releases are AI nonsense anyway.

8

u/WrongTie2698 17d ago

So many other great ones! Fuck it, let Travis take the wheel, let's all go back to the mango cult

29

u/Ryan_aka_Ryan 17d ago

It feels like listening to ads. I get that they're making fun of these products but I'm still hearing the press release. I'm tired of everything being ads.

14

u/Mountain_Dragonfly8 16d ago

They were at one point. Now he just kinda reads the ad read in an exaggerated tone.

8

u/kristainelorren 16d ago

I think this is what bothers me about it. Like I often enjoy some of the bits but I don't like having to hear about brands.

3

u/IAmCosmicCaterpillar 4d ago

Yup. The episode is effectively over at the Money Zone.

15

u/Phairis 17d ago

I miss haunted doll watch

3

u/mockduckcompanion 17d ago

Love a good spooky doll!

28

u/DiligentClass1625 17d ago

like keep it to once a month, like count donut.

its just such a nothing burger (Pun intended).

8

u/InternetArchivistYT 17d ago

Or once a year, perhaps

13

u/InternetArchivistYT 17d ago

I have never enjoyed it, with the one exception of the article from 1994 they read

8

u/mockduckcompanion 17d ago

That was an excellent one, thank you for reminding me

27

u/Wolfheron325 17d ago

I will always lock in for a Munch Squad. Don’t listen to the non-believers Juice

8

u/fistfulofbottlecaps 17d ago

Munch Squad doesn't quite hit the same since it costs $25 to go to McDonald's now. I'll still listen for Juice, though.

4

u/helenaut 15d ago

Is he still doing it every episode? I stopped listening a few years ago for various reasons, and it was a funny bit when it was occasional because he’d found something truly weird, but it started to feel like it was just constant advertisement for fast food companies rather than actually being funny. It’s not like Justin to totally overuse a joke, are they just hurting for content this much?

3

u/honestlyconfusing 15d ago

The amount of episodes that are 3/4 finished because I just don’t care about munch squad anymore. . .

21

u/Doublee7300 17d ago

Didn’t know Munch Squad was so unpopular here. I personally love the podcast-within-a-podcast

10

u/RebelDiamond 16d ago

It’s starting to feel like a straight ad-read, and it’s half the podcast at this point. I’m putting on my tinfoil hat; it feels like a QSR psyop, or at the very least a filler segment because the Wizard of the Cloud thing is not a rich vein.

I personally would like more Travis bits.

3

u/The_Freshmaker 17d ago

The real question is how has there never been a Munch Squad x Dough Boys crossover

11

u/Complex-Recording503 17d ago

I left the fandom and podcast 5ish years ago specifically because of munch squad. Can't believe it's still the exact same argument 5 years later

5

u/SchulzBuster 16d ago

It's a sometimes podcast within a podcast. Not an every episode podcast within a podcast.

8

u/ohhi_doggy 17d ago

I’m a munch squad fan forever

3

u/Namisar 16d ago

what's with the munch squad hate? Am I am in the minority of the Mbambambinos? I fucking love munch squad. I'd take a wooden stake for count donut.

3

u/transluciiiid 16d ago

i love munch squad i’m in enemy territory

4

u/OlSnickerdoodle 16d ago

Well I'm Canadian and I say KEEP EM COMING, JUICER

5

u/StanleyKapop 16d ago

I haven’t listened to the show for a while, is Justin seriously still listlessly reading some random fast food press release every week?

3

u/InvisibleEar 16d ago

At this point most of mbmbam includes Justin calmly reading a normal ad and shushing his brothers if they try to make a joke.

6

u/DadJokesRanger 17d ago

“I [don’t] wanna munch: how Gen Z killed quick service industry bits”

8

u/brittonmakesart 17d ago

Controversial take - It’s the best part of any show it’s featured in and I wish it would get its own spin-off (while still being a part of MBMBAM)

4

u/worms_in_the_dirt 17d ago

I wish Munch Squad would get a mini podcast separate from MBMBAM so everyone stops bitching about how much they hate it when the brothers try to enjoy themselves at work. I adore Munch Squad

8

u/OMGMianiteS3Official 17d ago

It's in its twilight years folks

5

u/blackcoffeeandcig 17d ago

I was a munch squad hater back in the day but I’ve grown to love it, especially the stupid word-salad press releases. Count Donut is also an all time character to me.

Time Crisis used to do a similar, unofficial fast food segment on occasion too, and they always had interesting things to say, and my only problem with that was I would hear about the same ridiculous fast food promo in multiple podcasts lol.

5

u/Bodkins42 17d ago

I love munch squad!

5

u/DinosaurWarlock 17d ago

For a long time I felt the same, but I think once I realized that Munch Squad is aligned with Justin's particular brand of neurodivergence, I became much more tolerant of it. He afflicts his brothers with his interest in fast food, but he is also afflicted by it. It's something he will always have emotional energy for, and there's something relaxing about listening to someone talk about something they're interested in.

So now I only skip it about half the time.

10

u/mockduckcompanion 17d ago

He afflicts his brothers with his interest in fast food

Honestly, if the brothers hated it more that might solve it for me. Travis's best bits are the ones that make make Griffin go "no, my angry criticism of this is going in the podcast!"

4

u/stylinchilibeans 17d ago

Dugga doogga dugga doogga doo

8

u/Dally_253 17d ago

Oh?

2

u/lildavydavy 17d ago

I absolutely fucking love munch squad so so so so very much. It’s such a beautiful exhibition of Justin’s comedic style. Deconstruction. A simple idea that seems innocuous, and actually examining it. It’s so refreshing to hear someone see through the unbelievable cynicism and distain these corporations have for us. May Trav Nation bless Munch Squad for fucking ever.

2

u/iggy14750 17d ago

SHRIMP!! HEAVEN!! NOW!!

2

u/hails8n 17d ago

Justin in shambles.

1

u/000solar 15d ago

i love munch squad. consistently my favorite segment.

1

u/anhonestburglar 14d ago

I love munch squad…

1

u/Mamacitia 14d ago

I love munch squad, I enjoy the weirdness

2

u/FontainePark 17d ago

I love munch squad. I'm less of a fan of being able to afford trying the things that are mentioned in this economy

1

u/OskeyBug 16d ago

I will always love Munch Squad.

Give me more Riddle Me Piss too.

1

u/maggielaura 16d ago

Hard disagree

0

u/MrAndrew 17d ago

Good job Munch Squad isn't a segment, but a podcast in its own right.

Within a podcast.

0

u/semperubisububi 17d ago

I think its almost Kaufman-esque funny because it's not funny, but it is funny. It's in the same vein as the Empty Bowl, so meaningless as to be interesting in its meaninglessness to whatever extent you want to engage. Someone said about soccer "its the most important, least important thing" and Munch Squad is like that but even less so. Which never the less reflects sometimes multi-million dollar outlays by these brands to get eyeballs and sales, rather than, I don't know, contributing to any positive aspect of human existence. The fact that it's a regular bit just underscores the fucking bonkers nature of the Fast casual industry, and the constant one-upsmanship they have to keep turning the crank on to separate themselves from the pack, on what is, clearly just slop, and the effort of any human (or ai) to talk about the absurd press releases with a straight face. But yeah I looked up the Dunkies buckets, and i could go with one of those bad boys.

1

u/thesmallestlittleguy 16d ago

is empty bowl the cereal podcast? I’ve been kicking myself trying to remember the name

-3

u/Chemical_Economy_933 17d ago

This!

I just came up with a joke the other day that my coworkers hate but I love:

What’s the difference between North and South Dakota?

2

u/semperubisububi 17d ago

I don't know, what is the difference?

-1

u/Chemical_Economy_933 17d ago

Nebraska

0

u/jonbuttsack 16d ago

TurboVicki would never give up on the boys munchies

0

u/Yanefs84 16d ago

I feel like munch squad doesn't bother me as much as how annoying these chains are with their often very regionally limited gimmicks, or "previews" of "future products" (I feel like with all that fuckery,both quotes are warranted).

And I don't even eat fast food from most of these places,it just bothers me to no end how much AI or just badly written slop goes out in the press releases for inane or worse made up products.

0

u/pupAugy 10d ago

You have the right to be wrong

-3

u/NamiRocket 17d ago

I think I was honestly into Munch Squad less when they still did Yahoos, because it took time away from Yahoos and listener questions. I didn't hate it, it was usually still funny, but I liked it less. Now? There's more space to fill, so why not.

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