Grimace and Uncle O’Grimacey Reunite to Announce the Return of McDonald’s Shamrock Shake
By Heather Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, PopIcon
Who better to announce the return of McDonald’s menu fan favorite Shamrock Shake than two beloved McDonaldland icons? On February 4, Uncle O’Grimacey, Grimace’s Irish uncle, reunited for the first time in decades with his nephew.
How Did This McDonaldland Reunion Happen?
There are a few narratives online detailing how Grimace and Uncle O’Grimacey were able to reunite. A McDonald’s press release says the wheels were in motion after Grimace found his family’s original Shamrock Shake recipe. This lucky discovery inspired Grimace to reconnect with his uncle, who packed his bags and traveled to America all the way from Sham Rock, Ireland.
However, nowhere in this release does it detail how, exactly, Grimace was able to track down his uncle. Remember: Uncle O’Grimacey hasn’t been seen in decades. Whether they’re McDonaldland characters or not, it can be easy to lose touch with relatives that way.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFp1U6UR2kD
This is why we like the Instagram depiction of their reunion so much! An Instagram Reel revealed that Grimace was able to find his uncle through Ancestry.com and FaceTimed him to confirm it was indeed Uncle O’Grimacey. (Don’t accidentally blink or you might miss the incredibly detailed Easter egg about their shared DNA.)
Grimace’s uncle then packed his bags and arrived at Hamburger University bearing a sign about the Shamrock Shake coming soon to McDonald’s. The seasonal favorite officially returns to McDonald’s locations everywhere on February 10 with 25 cents of every shake sold going to support RMHC families.
But that’s not all! A limited-time Uncle O’Grimacey capsule collection is available for pre-sale now at Golden Arches Unlimited. The collection features t-shirts, caps, decals and more with McDonald’s pledging to make an additional RMHC donation in the spirit of the campaign.
Welcome back, Uncle O’Grimacey! We’ll keep your return on our radar for a nomination in this year’s Madison Avenue Walk of Fame awards. Our fingers are also crossed we get a Shamrock Shake commercial starring these two legends.
Image Credits: McDonald’s
About the Author
Heather Taylor is the senior writer and editor-in-chief of PopIcon, Advertising Week’s blog about brand mascots. Got a pitch on brand mascots or want to wax nostalgic about characters? Drop her a line at howveryheather@gmail.com.
You May Also Like
Please Stop Chasing Prompts, Featuring Dan Baptiste of Skyword
Dan Baptiste, Executive Vice President, Skyword, joins Modern Marketing and Measurement to discuss how brands can build authority through original expertise, a clear point of view, and teams that actually work together. Drawing on his experience helping companies tell their stories, Dan explains how a Vegas resort can accidentally become known for gambling instructions, why being cited is different from being recommended, and what marketing departments might learn from looking beyond their own org charts. He brings humor to a serious question: What does a brand contribute that customers cannot get everywhere else?
Your Marketing Looks Like Your Org Chart. Dan Baptiste Has Some Notes.
Choosing a position can make executives nervous. If a brand becomes more specific about what it believes and whom it serves, what happens to everyone else?
Lexi Novak of Betches Media on Why Audience Connection Beats Content Creation
What does it take to build a media brand that audiences genuinely connect with, and what can marketers learn from a company that has made humor, honesty, and cultural relevance its calling cards?
