Fans are going all in on celebrating Grimace’s birthday and declaring him a gay icon
According to a McDonald’s marketing promo, it’s the birthday of furry purple mascot Grimace. The gimmick (or Grimmick?) is mostly to introduce a new purple shake as part of what’s being sold as the limited edition “Grimace’s Birthday Meal.” But social media users have embraced the event by claiming Grimace as a pride icon and beloved guy. Some TikTokers have shown up in cursed cosplay to partake in the Grimace Birthday Meal, which was released on June 12.
McDonald’s marketing has come up with some other inventive ways to celebrate the mascot, including turning its Instagram account over to Grimace, and releasing a Game Boy Color game (in collaboration with Krool Toys) called Grimace’s Birthday, which you can play here. There’s also Grimace merch, of course. This level of bombast is entertaining, as it isn’t particularly clear why this span of days in mid-June counts as Grimace’s birthday — the press release makes no mention of Grimace actually being born (I don’t want to know what that would look like), or when he was first introduced in advertising, though a simple Google search puts that date at 1971. (He was also originally an evil thief akin to the Hamburglar, and he had four arms and scales when he was first created, according to Insider. That version of him apparently terrified children.)
People were, of course, curious to know what a Grimace shake tastes like. What flavor is a purple, triangular, googly-eyed monster, who might actually be a taste bud? Turns out he’s “berry” flavored. One reporter compared the taste of the shake to cereal-milk.
TikTokers are having A Time, ordering the Grimace Birthday Meal, donning cursed cosplay, and vaping in celebration of “mother Grimace.”
New mcdonalds grimace birthday meal
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