McDonald’s brings back collector’s cups in newest nostalgia play

For its latest nostalgia play, McDonald’s is bringing back what used to be a fast food marketing staple—collector’s cups. The Collector’s Meal campaign, from Wieden+Kennedy, will include one of six cups featuring illustrations from past partnerships including Beanie Babies; Barbie and Hot Wheels; Hello Kitty and Peanuts; Universal movies “Shrek,” “Jurassic Park” and “Minions;” Coca-Cola; and classic McDonald’s characters such as Grimace and the Fry Kids. Each cup will come with a sausage McMuffin, a 10-piece McNugget or a Big Mac. The cups in the U.S. will be plastic, while customers in other markets including Australia and Portugal will be able to purchase embossed glass cups. The cups spotlight classic keepsakes that may be familiar to some McDonald’s fans, including the 1988 Cowpoke McNugget Buddy, the 1993 McDonald’s Dragster done in partnership with Hot Wheels and the 2000 Hello Kitty Crew keychain. McDonald’s is banking that the throwbacks will interest older customers while also appealing to Gen Z. “These new collectible cups commemorate some of our most unforgettable designs and global collaborations over the years, allowing longtime fans to relive treasured moments and helping a new generation make their own lasting memories,” Morgan Flatley, global chief marketing officer and head of new business ventures at McDonald’s, said in a statement. Collector’s Meals with the cups will be available starting on Aug. 13 via the McDonald’s app, in restaurants and in the drive-thru at participating locations. Fans can then use the cups as entry to pop-ups in Los Angeles and New York later that week. Ads for the new meal feature giant versions of the classic collectors items. Branded glass collectible cups used to be very popular but also contained heavy metals, making them unsafe to drink from. Cups fell out of favor as younger fans became more interested in other fast-food novelties, such as toys. McDonald’s says its U.S. collectible cups are made of a reusable, shatter-resistant and BPA-free plastic material. The cups have already drawn interest from the popular social media account Consumer Time Capsule, a self-described vintage McDonald’s super-collector, which recently posted about it on X. Someone on FB posted this McDonald's "Collector's Meal" cup about an hour ago. Is this the next big adult Happy Meal promo? Is it finally my time to shine? DMs are open, @McDonalds! pic.twitter.com/2OlyABdaNe— Consumer Time Capsule (@consumertc) August 5, 2024 McDonald’s partnered with several artists to design the cups, including former McDonald’s crew member Oscar Bastidas, a Venezuelan graphic designer and illustrator who has designed for Trolli gummy worms, TurboTax and Welsbro Watch Co. Bags for the campaign feature illustrations on the cups that were designed in partnership with Boxer. Fans can also scan the cups on Snapchat to explore AR versions—the lens turns them into the character from the cup or allows users to look around virtually and click on cup objects. The new Collector campaign comes on the heels of McDonald’s anime-inspired WcDonald’s, Grandma McFlurry and Grimace campaigns, which also highlighted fandoms within McDonald’s customer base. The collector cups are yet another example of the Golden Arches leaning into “fan truths” for marketing ideas— an internal moniker the chain has used to guide its marketing in recent years that leans into a moment, memory, ritual or behavior related to McDonald’s. The fast feeder has drawn on older IP before, including a meal with Kerwin Frost featuring new McNugget Buddies, or the wildly popular Grimace Birthday Meal, which included a berry-flavored purple milkshake. The new meal comes soon after McDonald’s reported a decline in quarterly sales for the first time since 2020 as consumers pulled back from higher prices. McDonald’s and other fast food chains were quick to roll out value meals. McDonald’s has since extended its $5 meal deal, which includes a 4-piece McNuggets, McDouble or McChicken sandwich, small fries and a small drink.

McDonald’s brings back collector’s cups in newest nostalgia play

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