Grimace Shake
 A picture of the Grimace Shake | |
| Owner | McDonald's |
|---|---|
| Website | https://grimacesbirthday.com/ |
The Grimace Shake is a limited edition berry-flavored milkshake sold at McDonald's restaurants in the United States during June and July 2023. It was released as part of the Grimace Birthday Meal promotion which celebrated the character Grimace's 52nd birthday.[1]
Background
Grimace was first introduced in the McDonaldland media franchise in 1972 as "Evil Grimace".[2] In the 1980s, McDonald's created the character Uncle O'Grimacey (a relative of Grimace) to promote Shamrock Shakes in March.[3]
The Grimace shake was released as part of the Grimace Birthday Meal, which came with the choice of a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, a medium side of fries, and the purple shake.[1][4]
Marketing
A post on Instagram by McDonald's official brand account included a series of photos of the character celebrating his birthday alongside some friends and the meal itself.[5] McDonald's also released a Grimace-centric Game Boy game[6] made by Krool Toys,[7] Grimace-inspired merchandise, and an invitation to donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities alongside the release of the birthday meal.[8]
In popular culture
Before the drink's release, users on social media began posting fan-art and memes featuring Grimace.[9] A TikTok trend with the hashtag #GrimaceShake began circulating after the release of the shake, in which users record themselves drinking the shake and finding themselves in unusual positions and in strange locations, or being discovered dead while covered in the drink.
The videos are staged to look like a crime scene (or "Grime Scene"), implying that Grimace is responsible for their misfortune.[10][11] The trend stems from a similar trend involving the Whopper released to promote Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse due to both products having unnatural colors.[12] As of June 30, the hashtag has over 1 billion views.[13] The trend itself has been noted as an example of viral marketing.[14]
See also
References
- ^ a b Tyko, Kelly (7 June 2023). "McDonald's to release Grimace meal with purple shake". Axios. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ Quinn, Dave (14 June 2023). "What Is the Grimace murders? All About McDonald's Beloved Purple Character Who's Actually a Taste Bud". People. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ O'Keefe, Dan (14 March 2022). "Remembering Uncle O'Grimacey, McDonald's Bizarre Shamrock Shake Mascot". GuiltyEats. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Boscamp, Emi (9 June 2023). "Grimac inspired a new McDonald's shake. But what is he, exactly?". Today. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "me and my friendss celebrating with my bday meal and shake @ mcds ❤️". Instagram. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "McDonald's just released a Grimace Game Boy Color game". Engadget. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
- ^ "YOU'RE INVITED: McDonald's Celebrates Grimace's Birthday with Special Meal & Shake". www.mcdonalds.com. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
- ^ Reiter, Amy (7 June 2023). "McDonald's New Purple Grimace Shake Tastes Like Sweet Berry Cereal Milk". Food Network. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ Panella, Chris (16 June 2023). "McDonald's brought back its iconic mascot Grimace for an unhinged marketing scheme that's taking the internet by storm". Insider Inc. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ Bennett, Connor (26 June 2023). "What is the Grimace Shake trend on TikTok?". Dexerto. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ Nambiar, Prerna (25 June 2023). "Grimace Shake Meme Explained As The Trend Takes Over TikTok". HITC. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ Wheless, Erika (27 June 2023). "Behind The Grimace Shake TikTok Trend And How McDonald's Is Responding". Ad Age. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ Koh, Reena (27 June 2023). "The 'Grimace Shake' TikTok trend has Gen Z pretending to pass out in random places after drinking the McDonald's special purple drink". Insider Inc. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ Di Placido, Dani (28 June 2023). "McDonald's 'Grimace Shake' Meme, Explained". Forbes. Retrieved 29 June 2023.