McDonald's Triple Cheeseburger returns

The Triple Cheeseburger is alive, well and back regionally at McDonald's.

In the midst of a national sales slump, McDonald's appears to be reaching far into its bag of promotional tricks — even to juice sales regionally. The triple burger, made with three beef patties and two slices of cheese, is being sold for a limited time in about 3,500 restaurants, said McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb, in an e-mail.

But the regions are widely dispersed. They include: Indianapolis, Ohio, Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Atlanta, Florida, Houston, Raleigh, and parts of the Midwest, Greater Southwest, Northwest, Rocky Mountains and Southern California, said McComb.

While McDonald's routinely introduces regional promotions, this one is raising eyebrows because it coincides with the burger giant also pushing hard to boost its image with ads and videos that focus on the quality and nutrition of its products. Some younger consumers concerned with nutrition and food ingredients have been filtering away from McDonald's to rivals like Chipotle and Panera Bread.

One restaurant industry public relations veteran questions the move by McDonald's.

"The target is extremists who don't give a flip about health," says PR guru Derek Farley. "It's an easy out, and in contrast to steering toward healthier options."

The Triple Cheeseburger, which sells for about $2 in most markets, has 510 calories, 27 grams of fat and 1,150 milligrams of sodium, according to the company's website.

Most recently, McDonald's has talked a lot about healthier options in its marketing — including ads squarely focused on its recent addition of "Cuties" clementines to Happy Meals. It recently began to test a better-for-you cafe in Sydney that offers healthier items like lentil and eggplant salads.

McDonald's officials say the aim is to offer choice to consumers.