When McDonald’s rolled out a Pokemon-themed Happy Meal earlier this year, the strategy was clear. Here, let’s let Guillaume Huin, senior marketing director at McDonald’s, explain:
There’s nothing more exciting than when we can bring campaigns to our fans with partners that we’re fans of ourselves.
Much like they do for McDonald’s, our fans have deep nostalgia and love for the Pokemon brand.
We’re thrilled to build on those great memories and create a new moment of fun and happiness with the new Pokemon Happy Meal.
Like so many other McDonald’s campaigns, it was designed to take advantage of nostalgia — tapping into a subconscious desire to remember our childhoods (maybe through rose-colored glasses), and relive them with our kids today.
Pokemon, you might know, is a Japanese creation, and so it wasn’t surprising to learn about McDonald’s plans to do something similar in Japan, where Happy Meals are called Happy Sets.
Sure enough, McDonald’s launched a promotion recently in which every McDonald’s Happy Set came with two limited-edition Pokemon cards — and customers loved the idea.
Then, disaster struck.
‘Children, who are our future’
I don’t know if people should have predicted this, but the limited edition Pokemon cards became instant collectors’ items, and resellers swarmed McDonald’s locations across the country, buying Happy Meals in bulk.
Often, they kept the Pokemon toys and simply threw out the food, leaving mounds of trash outside McDonald’s locations.
The results were threefold:
First, “real” McDonald’s customers, who wanted the Happy Sets to get the Pokemon cards for themselves or their kids, were often shut out of being able to buy them.
Second, McDonald’s had to end the campaign early before the disaster got worse.
Finally, McDonald’s Japan apologized for the entire thing:
“We do not believe in abandoning and discarding food. This situation goes against our longtime philosophy that we have cherished as a restaurant to ‘offer a fun dining experience for children and families.’
We sincerely accept that our preparations had not been adequate …
We vow to return to the basics of what lies behind the Happy Set, which is about helping to bring smiles to families so we can contribute to the wholesome development of the hearts and bodies of children, who are our future.”
Pokemon is for kids
Quick aside: As an American, I have to say that I love how some other cultures do apologies compared to how we often do them.
There are no “sorry you were offended” or “sorry some bad apples destroyed our brilliant and generous promotion” undercurrents in the McDonald’s apology in Japan.
No “sorry, not sorry.”
Instead, it’s full-throttled.
It reminds me of how people used to apologize long ago — although I suspect I’m seeing that through rose-colored glasses, too.
Anyway, I like McDonald’s for the fries, but more importantly for the lessons. Today’s include:
Nostalgia is an under-appreciated emotion.
Economics doesn’t care about your feelings.
Oh, and most controversial: Pokemon is for kids.
Probably Happy Meals, too, for that matter.
7 other things worth knowing
Why Charlie Kirk’s death hits the Trump White House so hard: White House staff who spoke with The Hill said there was a sense of shock among many officials. Many in the building, particularly younger staff members, had gotten into politics and the MAGA movement at a time when Kirk was a rising voice, and many had met him personally. (The Hill)
Five days after Kirk's death, Vice President JD Vance hosted a special episode of his namesake podcast to join calls for a sweeping government effort to investigate and dismantle left-wing organizations in the country that he says encourage violence. (Time)
Elon Musk warned at a far-right rally in the UK over the weekend that “violence is coming” and “you either fight back, or you die.” Indeed, the demonstration did turn violent. The BBC reported 26 police officers were injured in clashes with the protestors — as some threw bottles and other projectiles at the officers. (Mediate)
The future of a Montana animal shelter remains uncertain after a cloud of smoke from two pounds of methamphetamine seized and incinerated by the FBI filled up the building and sent workers to the hospital. The incinerator is used primarily to burn carcasses of animals euthanized or collected by the city's animal control division. But every couple of months, local law enforcement or FBI agents use it to burn seized narcotics. Fourteen animal shelter workers were evacuated and went to the hospital. (CBS News)
Pope Leo has condemned the huge wages earned by top chief executives, citing Elon Musk’s possible rise to trillionaire status as a concern, in his first interview since being elected in May. The pontiff also warned that the United Nations was unable to resolve the world’s crises, admitted he was on a steep learning curve as a diplomat and revealed who he would support at the next World Cup. (The Times)
More than 1 in 4 U.S. workers without jobs have been unemployed for at least half a year, nearly double the 1 million people who were in a similar position in early 2023. "We have a low-hire, low-fire environment — and that stagnancy means there aren’t a lot of new positions for people to move into," said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at the jobs site Indeed. "The probability of becoming unemployed has not gone up that much, but if you become unemployed, it’s much harder to find a job." (The Washington Post)
A billionaire heir built one of America's largest homes. His bitter divorce means his $175 million mansion is for sale. (Business Insider)
Thanks for reading. Photo by Emmanuelle Magnenat on Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments.