NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- McDonald's (MCD) is about to channel some nostalgia in a bid to light a flame under its flagging U.S. sales.

Who will be serving up that nostalgia? The smiley, always energetic, red-haired icon of the pre-cable television airwaves, Ronald McDonald the clown.

"We re-launched Ronald in April of this year," said McDonald's spokesperson Becca Can TV Commercial Icon Ronald McDonald Save the Golden Arches? 

While the budding social media celebrity status of Ronald McDonald is evident in the litany of Instagram posts from around the globe, it's undetermined if the clown that many babyboomers and millennials grew up watching on TV commercials and seeing plastered on Happy Meal boxes will allure a new generation of teens and 20-somethings currently obsessed with Chipotle (CMG) burritos and salad bowls. McDonald's could use what remaining star power Ronald has left, and potentially other former prominent brand ambassadors like Grimace, Mayor McCheese and Hamburglar, to drive interest in the company's affordable coffee, new lower-calorie menu options, customizable burgers, mobile payment, and remodeled restaurants.  

While the budding social media celebrity status of Ronald McDonald is evident in the litany of Instagram posts from around the globe, it's undetermined if the clown that many babyboomers and millennials grew up watching on TV commercials and seeing plastered on Happy Meal boxes will allure a new generation of teens and 20-somethings currently obsessed with Chipotle (CMG) burritos and salad bowls. McDonald's could use what remaining star power Ronald has left, and potentially other former prominent brand ambassadors like Grimace, Mayor McCheese and Hamburglar, to drive interest in the company's affordable coffee, new lower-calorie menu options, customizable burgers, mobile payment, and remodeled restaurants .