Grimace Shake

Last updated

Grimace Shake
GrimaceShake.jpg
Product type Milkshake
Introduced
June 12, 2023 (2023-06-12)
    • US: June 12, 2023
    • CAN: May 14, 2024
    • UK: August 28, 2024
    • NOR: September 4, 2024
    • AU: October 4, 2024
    • ZA: October 22, 2023
    • NZ: October 23, 2024
    • JP: October 30, 2024
Discontinued
July 9, 2023 (2023-07-09)
    • US: July 9, 2023
    • UK: September 3, 2024
    • AU: November 12, 2024
MarketsAustralia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States

The Grimace Shake is a berry-flavored milkshake that was first sold at McDonald's restaurants in the United States from June 11 to July 11, 2023, to celebrate the 52nd birthday of Grimace, the purple, milkshake-loving character from McDonaldland. The shake was then introduced in Canada the following year, starting on May 14, 2024. A third limited run took place in the United Kingdom for one week starting on August 28, 2024, celebrating McDonald's 50th anniversary in the country. The shake was also introduced to Norway on September 4, 2024. It released in Australia on October 4, in South Africa on October 22, in New Zealand on October 23, and Japan on October 30.

Contents

The shake gained popularity on TikTok and YouTube with the #GrimaceShake trend, where users filmed themselves drinking the shake and then finding themselves in ominous and gruesome staged situations.

Background

The character Grimace was introduced in the McDonaldland media franchise in 1971 as "Evil Grimace". [1] [2] His original character had four arms and would steal people's milkshakes. [1] McDonald's soon changed the character to a purple, smiling blob with two arms and a love for milkshakes who accompanied Ronald McDonald and other benevolent characters in advertisements and commercials. [1] [2]

Some McDonald's representatives described Grimace as an "embodiment of a milkshake or a taste bud", but his identity remains up to interpretation for many fans. [3] [2] McDonald's says Grimace comes from Grimace Island, along with other family members like Uncle O'Grimacey, who is known for bringing Shamrock Shakes for Saint Patrick's Day. [1] [2]

Product description

The Grimace Shake is a purple, berry-flavored milkshake. It is a combination of vanilla soft serve and berry flavors. [4] The company did not disclose which flavoring had been used, [5] and consumers reported that they tasted other flavors like Fruity Pebbles or bubblegum. [4] On the UK menu, it was described as containing blueberry-flavored syrup.[ citation needed ]

In the US, the shake was released as a standalone product and as part of the Grimace Birthday Meal, which consists of the shake, medium fries, and a choice of a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets. [6]

Roll-out

In June 2023, McDonald's announced the release by changing their profile picture on social media platforms TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram to a picture of Grimace looking at the Grimace Shake. [1] [‡ 1] To accompany the release of the meal, McDonald's released a Game Boy-themed browser game, Grimace's Birthday , developed by Krool Toys, and other Grimace-inspired merchandise. [7] [‡ 2] "In lieu of gifts" for Grimace, McDonald's suggested that people donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. [8] The drink was discontinued in the United States on July 9, 2023.[ citation needed ]

From May 14, 2024, participating Canadian McDonald's locations offered the shake for a limited time after multiple responses from consumers suggesting that the shakes should be available on the nation's menu. [9] It was then introduced to the UK on August 28 as part of promotions celebrating McDonald's 50th anniversary in the country, available for one week until September 3. [10] The Grimace Shake was introduced to Norway on September 4, 2024,[ citation needed ] Australia on October 4 [11] (to be discontinued on November 12),[ citation needed ] South Africa on October 22,[ citation needed ] New Zealand on October 23, [12] and Japan on October 30. [‡ 3]

Critical reviews

The Grimace Shake received mixed reviews from critics. Dane Rivera of Uproxx called it the best flavor in the McDonald's milkshake lineup. [13] Delish gave it a positive review, calling it "the sweetest berry smoothie of your life". [14] Rechel Chapman, writing for Elite Daily , was "not a fan of the flavor", which she described as "very fruity and artificial tasting". [15] A review by Business Insider described the taste as smooth and not too sweet, but also artificial and ultimately underwhelming. [16] Steven Luna of Mashed.com said that despite the shake being "pretty" and "magical-looking", it was disappointing and a "troubling tribute to a garrulous grape-colored goofball who deserves so much better". [17]

TikTok trend

A TikTok video trend with the hashtag #GrimaceShake gained popularity after the release of the shake. In the videos, users recorded themselves wishing Grimace a happy birthday while drinking the shake. [3] The video would then cut to a scene of the users finding themselves in unusual positions and in strange locations, or being discovered dead while covered in the drink. This trend led #grimmaceshake getting over 145k posts on tiktok. [18] The videos are staged to look like a crime scene with the shake splattered around, implying that Grimace is the assassin who is responsible for their transformation. [19] [3] [20] TikTok user @thefrazmaz (Austin Frazier) was considered to have created the first instance of this trend. [1]

This trend stemmed from a similar trend involving the Whopper released to promote Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse due to both products having unnatural colors. [20] The trend spread to other products, such as Barbie -themed products by Krispy Kreme and Cold Stone, where consumers appear more feminine or "yassified" after consumption. [21] [22] As of July 12, the hashtag had over one billion views. [1]

Response from McDonald's

McDonald's did not anticipate the Grimace Shake's popularity or its related trends. The company responded publicly to the trend with a TikTok video starring Grimace captioned: "meee pretending i don't see the grimace shake trendd[ sic ]". [1] McDonald's social media director Guillaume Huin said the Grimace Shake trend was unexpected and described it as "brilliant creativity, unfiltered fun, peak absurdist Gen Z humor". However, at the time he felt that acknowledging the trend would be risky, as he felt that "the campaign was already wildly successful, both on a social and business standpoint, so why would we take the 'risk' to jump in?" [23] [24] [‡ 4]

Sales impact

The US launch of the Grimace Shake and its resulting publicity increased McDonald's next quarter sales by 10.3% in stores that had been open for at least a year. [25] [26] In the April–June period of 2023, sales rose by 12%, exceeding The Wall Street Journal 's estimate of 9.3%. [26] In the quarter after the Grimace Shake release, McDonald's reported $6.5 billion in sales, which beat estimates by $200 million. [25]

Controversies

Advertising

Many speculated that the Grimace Shake trend on TikTok was an intentional advertising strategy to raise awareness of the McDonald's brand for younger audiences; its indeterminate flavor and unnatural purple color have garnered significant attention on social media platforms. [19] However, the company has stated that it never intended for the shake to become so viral, with McDonald's social media director saying "This was a level of genius creativity and organic fun that I could never dream about or plan for—it was all from the fans, and the fans only". [23] The virality of the trend on social media also boosted McDonald's sales as many came to McDonald's to buy the shake after seeing the trend on TikTok, resulting in stores running out of ice cream early in the day. [5] [25]

Fandom advertisement

Around the time of the June 2023 release, McDonald's paid Fandom to replace the Grimace page on the McDonald's Wiki with an advertisement promoting the Grimace Shake and other pieces of Grimace media, such as the video game. [27] Nathan Steinmetz, who wrote the original Grimace article, said that the move disrupted editorial independence. [28] Fandom staff stated that the paid advertisement from McDonald's would last for the duration of the Grimace Shake promotion, and users would not be able to edit the page. [27] [28] [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonaldland</span> Fast food-themed media franchise and fictional world

McDonaldland is a McDonald's media franchise and the fictional fantasy world inhabited by Ronald McDonald and his friends. Starting with the creation of Ronald McDonald in 1963, it is primarily developed and published by McDonald's. Initial attempts to expand the McDonaldland universe by marketing agency Needham, Harper & Steers were seemingly retconned due to legal issues, but ongoing aspects were expanded in McDonald's projects in collaboration with Data East, Virgin Interactive, Treasure, SEGA, and Klasky Csupo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milkshake</span> Cold dairy beverage

A milkshake is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may also be made using a base made from non-dairy products, including plant milks such as almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. Dry ingredients such as whole fruit, nuts, seeds, candy, or cookies may be incorporated.

Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way that a virus spreads from one person to another. It can be delivered by word of mouth, or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet and mobile networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starburst (candy)</span> Chewy fruit-flavored candy/sweet

Starburst is the brand name of a box-shaped, fruit-flavoured soft taffy candy manufactured by The Wrigley Company, which is a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Starburst has many different varieties, such as Tropical, Sour, FaveREDs, Watermelon, Very Berry, Superfruit, Summer Blast and Original.

Go-Gurt, also known as Yoplait Tubes in Canada and as Frubes in Britain and Ireland, is an American brand of low-fat yogurt for children. It can be sucked out of a tube, instead of being eaten with a spoon. It was introduced by the General Mills-licensed brand Yoplait in 1997, as the first yogurt made specifically for children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Value menu</span> Low-priced items on a menu

A value menu is a group of menu items at a fast food restaurant that are designed to be the least expensive items available. In the US, the items are usually priced between $0.99 and $2.99. The portion size, and number of items included with the food, are typically related to the price.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shamrock Shake</span> Milkshake sold by McDonalds

The Shamrock Shake is a seasonal green mint flavored milkshake dessert sold at some McDonald's restaurants during March to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the US, Canada and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutter Butter</span> American sandwich cookie brand

Nutter Butter is an American sandwich cookie brand, first introduced in 1969 and currently owned by Nabisco, which is a subsidiary of Mondelez International. It is claimed to be the best-selling U.S. peanut butter sandwich cookie, with around a billion estimated to be eaten every year.

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. McDonald's traces its origins to a 1940 restaurant in San Bernardino, California, United States. After expanding within the United States, McDonald's became an international corporation in 1967, when it opened a location in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. By the end of the 1970s, McDonald's restaurants existed in five of the Earth's seven continents; an African location came in 1992 in Casablanca, Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TikTok</span> Video-focused social media platform

TikTok, whose mainland Chinese and Hong Kong counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 60 minutes. It can be accessed with a smart phone app.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalgona coffee</span> Whipped drink made with coffee, sugar and chilled milk

Dalgona coffee, also known as hand beaten coffee, is a beverage originating from Macau made by whipping equal parts instant coffee powder, sugar, and hot water until it becomes creamy and then adding it to cold or hot milk. Occasionally, it is topped with coffee powder, cocoa, crumbled biscuits, or honey. It was popularized on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people refraining from going out started making videos of whipping the coffee at home, by hand without using electrical mixers. After the drink spread to South Korea, it was renamed "dalgona coffee" which is derived from dalgona, a Korean sugar candy, due to the resemblance in taste and appearance, though most dalgona coffee does not actually contain dalgona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Hall</span> American social media personality (born 1999)

Bryce Michael Hall is an American social media personality. He is most known for his videos on TikTok and YouTube. As of October 9, 2023, his TikTok account has 24 million followers, and his YouTube channel has 3 million subscribers.

Lilliane Catherine Diomi, known professionally as ppcocaine, is an American social media personality and rapper. She is perhaps best known for her song "3 Musketeers" that gained popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittany Broski</span> American social media personality (born 1997)

Brittany Alexis Tomlinson, known professionally as Brittany Broski, is an American social media personality, YouTuber, and comedian. She initially gained fame after a video of her tasting kombucha for the first time went viral on TikTok in 2019. She signed to United Talent Agency later that year and has since hosted the TikTok-produced podcast For You (2021), the pop culture-focused podcasts Violating Community Guidelines (2022–2023) with Sarah Schauer and The Broski Report (2023–present), and the YouTube talk show Royal Court (2023–present). She has frequently been referred to as one of TikTok's biggest stars and noted for her meme-focused humor.

TikTok food trends are specific food recipes and food-related fads on the social media platform TikTok. This content amassed popularity in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, given that many were inclined to eat at home while simultaneously turning to social media as a form of entertainment. While some TikTok users share their diets and recipes, others expand their brand or image on TikTok through step-by-step videos of easy and popular recipes. Users often refer to food-related content as "FoodTok."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borg (drink)</span> Mixed drink made in a gallon jug

A borg is a mixed drink made in a plastic gallon jug, generally containing water, vodka, flavored drink mix such as MiO or Kool-Aid, and sometimes electrolyte mix such as Pedialyte. The drink gained popularity at universities in the United States in the early 2020s, spreading among members of Generation Z on TikTok in late 2022 and early 2023. A borg is designed to be held and consumed by one individual throughout a party, distinguishing it from older communally-served party drinks such as jungle juice and punch. Drinkers typically label their borg jug with a nickname, often a pun on the word "borg."

<i>Grimaces Birthday</i> 2023 video game

Grimace's Birthday is a 2023 browser-based platformer game developed by Krool Toys and published by McDonald's. The game was a promotional title released to coincide with the launch of the Grimace Shake on 12 June 2023. Development of Grimace's Birthday used GB Studio, a tool to create games compatible with use on Game Boy hardware, although the game was not a Nintendo-licensed title and did not receive a physical release. Grimace's Birthday was positively received, with several critics directing attention to the unexpected theme and medium for a promotional game and the strong likeness of the game's visual presentation to Game Boy titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynja</span> American online celebrity chef (1956–2024)

Lynn T. Yamada Davis, better known by her online alias Lynja, was an American online celebrity chef who was known for her viral TikTok and YouTube Shorts videos. Praised for her quick-styled editing and references to popular internet memes, "Cooking with Lynja" accumulated over 12.8 million subscribers on YouTube and over 21.8 million followers on TikTok as of June 27, 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kayembe, Astrid (July 12, 2023). "Why was the internet obsessed with McDonald's mascot Grimace — and his shake?". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Panella, Chris. "A history of Grimace, the bizarre McDonald's mascot now making a comeback as a queer meme icon". Insider. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Andrew, Scottie (June 28, 2023). "How the McDonald's Grimace shake became the stuff of nightmares on TikTok". CNN. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Lamour, Joseph (June 15, 2023). "McDonald's says its Grimace Shake is berry-flavored. Customers have other theories". TODAY.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Tan, Eli; Fowlkes, Tamia (July 1, 2023). "Grimace shake trend mixes horror with McDonald's mascot on TikTok". Washington Post. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  6. Gibson, Kelsie (June 30, 2023). "What Does the Grimace Milkshake Taste Like? All About the Viral McDonald's Drink". People. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  7. Moon, Mariella (June 14, 2023). "McDonald's just released a Grimace Game Boy Color game". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  8. Reiter, Amy (June 7, 2023). "McDonald's New Purple Grimace Shake Tastes Like Sweet Berry Cereal Milk". Food Network. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  9. Vega, Manuela (May 14, 2024). "McDonald's Grimace Shake — which spurred a viral TikTok horror trend — is now in Canada". Toronto Star . Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  10. Guyoncourt, Sally (August 28, 2024). "When the McDonald's Grimace Shake arrives in the UK, and how long it's available for". inews.co.uk. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  11. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/mcdonalds-finally-bringing-cult-grimace-shake-to-australia/news-story/f3a4f702ea2d84c98e20769cbefa90b0
  12. Soest, Sophie van. "The viral McDonald's Grimace shake is finally coming to NZ - but what's the flavour?". www.rova.nz. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  13. Rivera, Dane (June 16, 2023). "What The Hell Is McDonald's Grimace Birthday Milkshake And Is It Any Good?". Uproxx. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  14. Romero, Gabby (June 7, 2023). "We Tried The McDonald's Limited-Edition Grimace Shake—Here Are Our Unfiltered Thoughts". Delish. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  15. Chapman, Rachel (July 3, 2023). "Here's What TikTok's Viral Grimace Shake From McDonald's Actually Tastes Like". Elite Daily. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  16. McDowell, Erin; Panella, Chris (June 17, 2023). "We tried the purple Grimace milkshake from McDonald's and still can't figure out what it tastes like". Insider. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  17. Luna, Steven (June 17, 2023). "McDonald's Grimace Shake Review: It Deserves A Grimace". Mashed. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  18. Ritzen, Stacey (June 27, 2023). "McDonald's Grimace Shake Inspires Morbid, Hilarious TikTok Trend". Men's Journal. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Holtermann, Callie (June 29, 2023). "In a TikTok Trend, Grisly Scenes of Purple Milkshake Horror". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Tolentino, Daysia (June 29, 2023). "McDonald's Grimace breaks his silence on TikTok trend". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  21. Leishman, Rachel (July 4, 2023). "The Grimace Shake Takes, but the Barbie Shake Is Giving". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  22. Sun, Esther (July 7, 2023). "Move over, Grimace: The Barbie shake trend is taking over TikTok". Today. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  23. 1 2 Jackson, Sarah (July 12, 2023). "McDonald's social chief: We didn't plant 'Grimace Shake' TikTok trend—and we weren't sure we should jump on it". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  24. Lamour, Joseph (July 13, 2023). "McDonald's head of social media was as shocked as we were about the Grimace Shake trend". TODAY.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  25. 1 2 3 Haddon, Heather (July 27, 2023). "McDonald's Grimace Shake Trend Pays Off for Burger Chain". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  26. 1 2 Durbin, Dee-Ann (July 27, 2023). "McDonald's posts surprisingly strong sales after 'happy birthday' Grimace campaign goes viral". ABC News. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  27. 1 2 Dodgson, Lindsay (June 20, 2023). "McDonald's upset a Grimace superfan by replacing his exhaustive wiki page for the character with an ad". Insider. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  28. 1 2 Razali, Izzatul (June 20, 2023). "Man Behind Grimace's Wiki Page Gets Upset As Page Is Replaced by McDonald's Ads". IGN Southeast Asia. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  29. Plunkett, Luke (June 19, 2023). "McDonalds & Fandom Replaced A Wiki Page With An Advertisement". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.

Primary sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

  1. "me and my friendss celebrating with my bday meal and shake @ mcds ❤️". Instagram. June 13, 2023. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  2. "YOU'RE INVITED: McDonald's Celebrates Grimace's Birthday with Special Meal & Shake". www.mcdonalds.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  3. @McDonaldsJapan (October 24, 2024). "とってもマジカルな テレビCMができました。#グリマスシェイク期間限定10/30(水)〜" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  4. Guillaume, Huin. "I have received so many questions about the Grimace Trend and how McDonald's handled it". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.