There’s Something About Grimace

By Emily Wray
Account & Media Coordinator

The concept of introducing a themed “meal” dedicated to a celebrity’s preferences isn’t a new one. In fact, while the Travis Scott Meal at McDonald’s is credited with starting the most recent boom of celebrity meals, the strategy can be traced back to 1992, with the release of the McDonald’s McJordan Special, a celebration of basketball legend Michael Jordan. Bulls fans arrived at participating locations in droves to get a taste of victory (or, rather, a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, mustard, pickles, onions, and barbecue sauce).Celebrity meal campaigns rely on a customer’s desire to eat like the stars. Why else would one indulge in both a chicken sandwich and a taco, along with fries, a brownie, and a Sprite, at Jack in the Box, if not for Snoop Dogg’s Munchie Meal? 

But Grimace is the exception to this rule. The rotund purple creature doesn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has never attended a Met Gala, and has yet to grace the covers of tabloid magazines in grocery store checkout lanes, yet the debut of the Grimace Meal at U.S. McDonald’s stores drew in crowds of all ages. McDonald’s shares climbed more than 1.5% when the company reported Q2 earnings. The violet anthropomorphic taste bud-shaped monster brought energy to the company’s social media and, quite by accident, launched a viral TikTok trend that took the Internet by storm.

All of this begs the question: what is so captivating about Grimace, and what can we take away from his return to the spotlight?

Grimace Makes His Entrance

In early June, a photo of Grimace appeared on the McDonald’s Instagram account with a cryptic, yet charming caption: “it grimace i’m [sic] taking over.” More feed posts featuring Grimace followed throughout the month of June, with “Grimace” even interacting with users in the comments. The social media accounts of other well-known brands were quick to join in on the conversation, jumping into the post’s comment section with thoughts of their own. Doordash chimed in with “Hi Grimace!”, while Facebook opted for a simple “love u grimace 💙”. Over 1.1 million Instagram users liked the post.

Then, McDonald’s upped the ante. The following day, the purpose for Grimace’s return was revealed: a special edition meal celebrating the fan-favorite character would soon debut in honor of his “birthday.” As a part of the promotion, patrons could partake in a brand-new Grimace Shake, equally as purple as its inspiration. To accompany the meal, McDonald’s also introduced celebratory merchandise, a desktop game, and sepia-tinted “vintage” Grimace imagery in commercials and social posts. Fans were also encouraged to donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities in honor of Grimace’s special day.

The Grimace Shake Strikes Back

There’s no doubt that Grimace is meme-able. In fact, he’s the perfect subject for internet joke fodder: strange but nostalgic, clumsy but amiable, silly but loveable. Even those who can’t recall the days of commercials set in McDonaldland or PlayPlaces decked with illustrations of Ronald McDonald and friends can buy into the punchline of Grimace’s return. This is yet another recent example of “memetic marketing,” a practice where companies tailor their advertising to fit a target audience of Internet-using, trend-following individuals— most often millennials and Gen Zers. When done well, a corporation’s use of a meme in their advertising positions them as funny and eccentric, sending social media users to share their posts with friends. When done very well, memetic marketing can compel users to create zany content of their own featuring a company’s products and branding.

Enter: The Grimace Shake TikTok Trend

TikToker Austin Frazier is credited with creating the first Grimace Shake video, which features him trying the new purple concoction. Then, the video cuts to a shot of Frazier lying motionless on the floor, the shake pooled around his head and mouth. It fits the oddball, absurdist humor style that many have come to associate with Gen Z, and is relatively tame compared to what followed: thousands of brief videos with a similar premise and varying levels of production value. Some lean heavily on jump scares,with users discussing what they’ve heard about the Grimace Shake, disregarding it, then appearing seemingly dead in the next shaky-cam long shot. Others go full Blair Witch, using “found footage” to warn viewers of the effects of the purple treat. Some even introduce a Grimace himself, positing that the beloved character is taking down these teenagers himself. While a bit disturbing, the creativity brought to these videos makes them incredibly enjoyable to watch. Why watch Insidious again when you can watch various twenty-somethings lose their battles with the Grimace Shake, knowing that each video you view will bring a new, strange but amusing approach?

Though McDonald’s has clarified that they had nothing to do with the launch of this viral trend, they’re certainly reaping the benefits. Each video under #grimaceshake features an individual holding a product purchased from a McDonald’s store, then using it for a punchline with exhilarating shock value. Whether it was the possibility of Internet fame, the opportunity for creativity, or users’ desire to follow in others’ footsteps that compelled so many people to produce their own Grimace Shake-inspired content, the trend drove people to head out and buy.

Results

Grimace’s birthday celebration menu convinced customers to head to McDonald’s stores across the United States. While analysts projected that global same-store sales would rise, they didn’t expect a hefty 10.3% increase in U.S. comparable sales. On a Q2 Earnings Call, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski noted that the Grimace campaign was critical to this boost, while CFO Ian Borden called it “a true demonstration of how the power of our brand emerges in organic and creative ways in our fans.” Plus, though the birthday party ended in early July for the beloved character, McDonald’s isn’t finished with celebrity meals just yet. The “As Featured In” Meal, a celebration of McDonald’s in modern media, debuted in mid-August in anticipation of the upcoming second season of Loki, which will feature a delightfully retro, multiversal McDonald’s in one of its episodes. Though the meal’s inspiration is not as silly and loveable as Grimace, its advertising featuring McDonald’s products in film and television over the years is certainly as nostalgic.

“Say Goodbye Grimace”

Grimace’s final formal appearance on the McDonald’s official social media accounts saw the violet creature surrounded by McNuggets and confetti, captioned “u made me feel sooo special on my bdayyy.” He didn’t overstay his welcome; the Grimace Meal was accessible, yet exclusive in its short duration. And with this success story in the books, the sky’s the limit. Maybe we’ll be celebrating the Hamburglar’s birthday next time!