How Grimace’s viral New York Mets moment came together

Unpredictable things happen once the Grimace gets involved. Take the New York Mets. The baseball club was floundering with a 28-37 record on June 12, the night the team invited McDonald’s purple mascot to Citi Field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before a game against the Miami Marlins. The Mets haven’t lost since, stretching their win streak to seven games through June 18, when they rallied to defeat the Texas Rangers. The Mets’ abrupt winning streak has brought new life to a fan base that only weeks ago was preparing to experience a midseason fire sale, while delivering a social-media bonanza to McDonald’s and the team, which is heartily encouraging the notion that it has entered its “Grimace era.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The marketing stunt has garnered attention from media outlets such as the New York Post, Forbes, USA Today and Today.com, not to mention SNY, the team’s broadcast network. McDonald’s has played into the streak on its social handles, including updating its X avatar to show Grimace in a Mets hat, demonstrating once again how Grimace is a mysteriously powerful force in marketing. mee watching gamee 6 tonighttr @Mets pic.twitter.com/0C62VPz02M— McDonald's (@McDonalds) June 17, 2024 Getting Grimace to Queens fell to two Mets employees, Janey Murray, the team’s social media manager; and Vito Calise, the team’s podcast producer and host. Neither are typically responsible for arranging first-pitch guests, but they shared a fascination with Grimace, particularly after last summer’s sensational Grimace birthday shake launch orchestrated by McDonald’s. Calise, whom Murray described as a “life-long Grimace head,” said the success of the McDonald’s Grimace promotion sparked a texting thread between them. “We were just really into the concept of this character, and how much fun McDonald’s was having with it.” The Mets have a business relationship with McDonald’s—when the team scores five runs or more at home, fans can get a free small frozen Coca-Cola or frozen Fanta with a minimum purchase of $1 on the McDonald’s app. It gave the Mets partnerships team an opening to try and arrange a visit from the Grimace. After a swing and a miss last summer, they landed a date this year. Much like how the McDonald’s Grimace shake promotion morphed into a bizarre TikTok trend, the Mets’ date with the purple mascot took on a life of its own. “When we got him here, the only things that we had planned were the first pitch, coming out for ‘Lazy Mary,’ [in the seventh inning stretch] and being a part of the T-shirt toss,” said Calise. “But the team from McDonald’s was so incredible, and so willing to do everything that we asked of him.” This included positioning the mascot behind home plate so he’d appear from the center-field camera as the game went on—a tricky notion given the fact that the Grimace suit doesn’t allow its wearer to sit, and the seats he’d otherwise block are the priciest in the park. They were fortunate to find a nook where the mascot could stand. Grimace also posed for pictures with Mrs. and Mr. Met—borrowing a glove from the latter. He was presented with a Mets City Connect jersey, noted for its purple accents. At the request of McDonald’s, he was issued No. 55 for the year of McDonald’s founding. The team also collected photos and videos for its social feeds. “We were really trying to lean into the quirkiness of the character and how much fun you can have with that,” Calise said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by New York Mets (@mets) Calise said the team dealt with the TSMGI, a sports, event and promotional agency that handles McDonald’s mascots. A McDonald’s spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. The Mets employees declined to say who inhabited the costume of the Grimace. “He came from McDonaldland,” said Murray. The Mets see the Grimace visit as a resounding success, even if the winning streak won’t last. “I’m trying to get fans excited about the team on social media and grow our social media presence. And obviously, this did that,” Murray said. “And I think social media is the biggest place where it’s taken off.” “The Mets are always looking for new ways to engage and have fun with our fan base, whether that is through special promotions, in-game entertainment, or in this case, working closely with one of our partners in McDonald’s,” Brenden Mallette, senior VP of partnerships for the Mets, said in emailed remarks. “We’re constantly exploring new and unexpected ways to collaborate with our partners and having Grimace throw out the first pitch is a perfect example of those efforts. We’re thrilled to see the fan and media response, especially as it’s coincided with the team’s recent winning streak.” 40 under 40 entries are open The final deadline for nominations is Aug. 2 Enter here

How Grimace’s viral New York Mets moment came together

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