According to a McDonald’s marketing promotion, it’s the birthday of the furry purple mascot Grimace. The gimmick (or Grimmick?) is usually to introduce a new purple shake as part of what is sold as the limited edition “Grimace’s Birthday Meal.” But social media users have embraced the event, claiming Grimace as a proud icon and beloved man. Some TikTokers have shown in cursed cosplay to participate in the Grimace Birthday Meal, which was released on June 12.
McDonald’s marketing has come up with a number of other inventive ways to celebrate the mascot, including transferring his Instagram account to Grimaceand releasing a Game Boy Color game (in collaboration with Krool Toys) called Grimas’ birthday, which you can play here. There is also Grimace merchandise, Naturally. This level of bombast is entertaining, because it’s not really clear why this period of days in mid-June counts as Grimace’s birthday – the press release doesn’t mention that Grimace was actually born (I don’t want to know what that would be). look), or when it was first introduced in advertising, although a simple Google search puts that date at 1971. (He was also originally one evil thief akin to the Hamburglarand he had four arms and scales when he was first made, according to Insiders. That version of him apparently terrified children.)
People were naturally curious how a Grimace shake tastes. What flavor is a purple triangular monster with googly eyes, which can actually be a taste bud? Turns out he has “berry” flavor. A reporter compared the taste of the shake to cereal milk.
TikTokers have A Time, order the Grimace Birthday Meal, put on cursed cosplay, and vaping in honor of ‘Mother Grimace’.
But a number of fans have really come out and embraced the mascot with fan art and other… interesting… works. Do we like him because McDonald’s has come all the way around the business ring of hell and is now camp? Or is Grimace a strange icon now because his birthday falls during Pride Month, when so many companies give their brands a rainbow wash, and because it’s funny to politicize mascots for such a huge, far-reaching fast-food chain? Who’s to say?
However, the idea of dating Grimace and the Hamburglar is very cute. And while Grimace’s pronouns over the years have been he/him, historically, women have donned the mascot suit for TV and commercial appearances.
Grimace is just here, without any thought. That’s the real birthday treat. According to the McDonald’s fan wiki, Grimace “sometimes goes long without speaking; when he speaks, he is known to say ‘duh’ before every sentence.”
But who or what is Grimace, really? Apparently even McDonald’s doesn’t know. A press release for the Grimace festivities reads: “Our timeless bestie has become a fan favorite known for his signature fuzzy purple look, friendly and playful personality, love of shakes and of course – ambiguous nature. What exactly is grimace? Maybe we’ll never know…”
Here’s the real pièce de résistance, though: someone made a spoof of what a real Grimace burger would look like, made with…real Grimace meat. Each patty is covered in wavy fur, resulting in an extremely tasty looking (I’m lying) burger. However, if you’re really into Grimace, I’d recommend not watching this one.
As a self-study project during lockdown, I wanted to see if I could mimic a brand’s advertising style
Anyway I made this, happy birthday Grimace or whatever pic.twitter.com/2MHjEtgsEL
— Richard Parry (@_RichardParry_) June 13, 2023
Grimas getting fan art in June wasn’t on my bingo card this year, but McDonald’s has struck a chord with its Happy Meal toys in recent years, so it probably shouldn’t surprise me. In 2021, Pokémon Happy Meal toys became a hot commodity and entered the resale market. Last October, the company released a series of Happy Meal toys in conjunction with it Flea Market Cactus Plants – quite clearly aimed at adults – which also became very popular on the resale market.
As Polygon culture writer Ana Diaz predicted at the time, “It makes sense that the company’s leadership would try to reclaim its once-young audience that has aged. I wouldn’t be surprised if we reach a day where McDonald’s runs multiple toy promotions at the same time, targeting both kids and adults.” Do the birthday milkshake, Game Boy Color game and merch count? I think so.