In a bizarre twist of events, a trend on TikTok involving McDonald’s MCD 52-year-old purple mascot Grimace has led to a significant boost in McDonald’s sales, Fortune reports.
The trend involves TikTokers pretending to suffer gruesome fake deaths after sipping the McDonald’s Grimace dessert shake, a vanilla-berry-flavored milkshake that debuted on June 12 in honor of the purple mascot’s 52nd birthday.
The Grimace Shake Trend: The hashtag #grimaceshake has garnered 2.9 billion views on TikTok, contributing to a 10% increase in McDonald’s second-quarter sales in the U.S. and nearly 12% globally.
Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's CEO, praised the McDonald’s System for its ability to “create cultural conversations and develop industry-leading innovations.”
See Also: Is McDonald’s Grimace Really A Giant Taste Bud?
The Viral Phenomenon: McDonald’s social media director, Guillaume Huin, denied any company involvement in creating the viral phenomenon.
“This was a level of genius creativity and organic fun that I could never dream about or plan for—it was all from the fans, and the fans only,” Huin wrote. The trend was initiated by TikToker Austin Frazier, whose 10-second video has over 3.6 million views.
The Grimace Mascot: Grimace, the best friend of Ronald McDonald, made his debut in a 1971 commercial. The character is an amorphous purple blob with short arms and legs, speculated to be the embodiment of a milkshake or a taste bud.
Read Next: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Grimace, Ronald McDonald’s Best Friend
Image by nlinnlin on Shutterstock
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