In Australia, we shorten the name for all sorts of things, so "maccas" is in line with the general theme. More examples (not sure if some of these are found everywhere or not):
* Australian: Aussie
* McDonalds: maccas
* Barbeque: barbie
* Ambulance: ambo (often used to refer to the ambulance staff -- I'm not even sure what they're called other than 'ambos'!)
Yeah, I don't recall personally hearing those two strung together like that, but we definitely say them individually. I was surprised learning that not every English speaking country says 'ta' as a short version of 'thanks'.
This happened to me in Brisbane, as said many years ago, 1980, maybe it is (was) a regional (Queensland) thing, but definitely, while I remember perfectly the first time I heard it because it struck me, it wasn't the "only" time I experienced it.
Back when macc.as was launched it linked to a campaign to debunk/side-step some common local ideas about the food quality of mcdonalds.
Back when McDonalds was still relevant there was a lot of press about the nutritional content, food preparation standards and so on. Food poisoning or undercooked food from mcdonalds was a common theme. My understanding is that they have largely addressed these issues.
The interesting part is that it's apparently embraced by the brand itself. Back when we had real McDonald's in Russia*, its colloquial name was "makdak" or simply "mak", but it was that — how people called it (and still do). Never recognized officially.
* the corporate pulled out of Russia several months ago and the business was sold to the biggest franchisee. The new owner reopened the stores under a different brand name but kept most of everything else.
Supermarket chain "Woolworths" - commonly called "Woolies" - had a campaign using the Woolies name a while back. These short names are so ubiquitous in Australia that of course they'll eventually use them, if only tongue in cheek.
In Germany it's fairly common to call McDonalds "Mäckes", which sounds very similar to "maccas" when spoken. This is an unofficial designation with a slightly negative touch as well, as it's often preferred to the actual name when referring to McDonalds specifically as a provider of mostly unhealthy food.
I don't know, for me Meckes is neutral. The ones with more negative connotations are probably 'Zum Goldenen Adler' (due to the sarcastic undertone) und 'Amerikanische Delikatessen' (due to the perceived oxymoron)
Interesting, I don't know any of your synonyms from my personal experience. The especially negatively connotated variant I know is 'McDoof' (basically 'McDumb' when translated to English).
It is also common in Europe, or at least Germany, though more likely spelled Meckes. The term apparently used in the US (Mickey Ds) is unheard of here. There seems to be a trend in the US to dissociate from everything that sounds like it could have European history or influence (see also the renaming of french fries)
