McDonald’s birthday milkshake for Grimace boosted sales and sparked a TikTok trend

McDonald’s threw a birthday party for Grimace. Gen Z turned it into a TikTok trend. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here Last June, McDonald’s launched the Grimace Birthday Meal, a choice of a Big Mac or 10-piece McNuggets with fries, and a purple, berry-flavored milkshake. The idea, from Wieden+Kennedy, came from the insight that many of today’s young consumers will never experience having their birthday party at McDonald’s, and the goal was to recreate that feeling. The effort included a line of merch, a mobile and desktop game and a Spotify playlist. Though no one at McDonald’s anticipated that fans, especially Gen Z customers, would use the Grimace shake as a key prop to make mini-horror films on TikTok. The trend implied that drinking the shake would lead to a gruesome, purple-covered end. It was so popular that McDonald’s ran out of milkshakes before the campaign ended. The hashtag #grimaceshake has 151,000 views on TikTok. @kameryn.paige She grimaced out🙀#grimaceshake #grimacesbirthday ♬ The Attic - Colin Stetson The brand then surprised marketing experts by acknowledging the trend on X, formerly known as Twitter. Many thought it would not mention the trend because it toed the line of typical brand safety guidelines. “They didn’t orchestrate how it played out on social, they got lucky,” said one juror. “But, we always talk about leaving room for fans to make it their own and for them to be part of the campaign. Luck is a part of all our campaigns, but it's what you do with it.” This is McDonald’s second consecutive win in the best product launch category. Its Cactus Plant Flea Market adult Happy Meal took the top spot last year. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here

McDonald’s birthday milkshake for Grimace boosted sales and sparked a TikTok trend

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