Often, it only takes one little detail to be slightly off-kilter, and the whole construct of a youth-orientated campaign can go down in social schadenfreude-fanned flames, leaving a brand looking clumsy, late for the party, pushy, and most unwelcome.
Kudos then to Wieden & Kennedy New York for landing a TikTok viral hit with this Gameboy homage that tapped straight into Gen Z’s ongoing infatuations with all things retro gaming: day-glo graphics, lo-fi pixels and irritating bleeping soundtracks.
The agency’s first smart move was to hook up with Krool Toys, the very Brooklyn indie studio, to develop the browser-style game for McDonald’s. The concept was a core part of the multinational’s revival of its Grimace character, whose heyday was (on the other side of the Atlantic, at least) back in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
As a brand asset it was always more Herman’s Hermits than Ronald’s Beatles, but the purple monster’s basic charms fit right in with the mania for old-school aesthetics. McDonald’s initially marked his return with the launch of a Grimace Birthday Meal, complete with a purple milkshake.
Then came the game. Players had to navigate a pared-down New York City to collect purple milkshakes before Grimace blew out his birthday candles. It wasn’t just the post-millennial crowd that fell for its hypnotic simplicity. The gaming/tech establishment, too, gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up (Condé Nast’s Ars Technica site praised it for being ).
Of course, it wouldn’t be a TikTok smash without swiftly taking on an unanticipated, loony life of its own. Users would take a gulp of the Grimace-themed milkshake, wish the now 52-year-old mascot many happy returns and pretend to suffer an early, tortuous death.
Not that McDonald’s minded. Chief executive was quick to give thanks and credit for a 10.3% increase in sales in the US. “If I'm being honest, the theme was Grimace,” he told journalists last year. “Grimace was everywhere.”
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