Latest news with #HappyMeals'
The Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Pokemon clogs McDonald's
McDonald's Japan has apologised after a campaign giving away limited-edition Pokemon cards with 'Happy Meals' triggered long queues and social media outrage. Launched on Friday, the McDonald's stunt soon went awry with some people flocking to buy meals in bulk to resell the attached cards at a higher price online. Social media was awash with complaints about long queues at McDonald's outlets, with unverified pictures of plastic bags full of uneaten burgers and fries. Some dubbed it the 'Unhappy Meals' campaign. 'I couldn't buy a Happy Meal for my daughter because of these people', one user posted on X. 'I'm sure there are adult Pokemon fans who genuinely want the cards, but these resellers are truly embarrassing,' another wrote. Similar problems have hit other McDonald's campaigns, including past collaborations with manga series such as Chiikawa. Announcing the latest campaign, the firm stressed that each person could buy a maximum of five meals. In a statement, McDonald's conceded there were some instances of 'resale-driven mass purchases by customers' that led to 'our food being thrown away or discarded'. It added that it was looking to 'introduce a stricter cap' on future Happy Meals purchases. 'Any attempts to buy more than permitted, repeatedly stand in the line and behave intimidatingly toward our staff' will be met with a rejection, the firm said. The fast food giant also vowed to ask e-commerce sites to take more effective measures against unscrupulous resale. — AFP
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
McDonald's Japan apologises after ‘Pokémon cards' campaign triggers outrage over food waste
McDonald's Japan has issued an apology after the fast food giant's campaign that gave away limited-edition Pokémon cards with "Happy Meals" triggered long queues and social media outrage about food waste across the country. The Pokémon card frenzy can be understood with a simple example that these cards have triggered physical fights and burglaries in the shops that sell them in Japan.(Representational) The 'little monsters' cards are extremely popular among both children and adult superfans and collectors, with some going as high as millions of dollars in value. Billions of 'little monsters' cards are printed every year to keep up with the demand. The frenzy can be understood with a simple example that these cards have triggered physical fights and burglaries in the shops that sell them in Japan, an extremely low-crime country. McDonald's conceded there were some instances of "resale-driven mass purchases by customers" that led to "our food being thrown away or discarded", in a statement released on Monday. The statement added that the company was looking to "introduce a stricter cap" on future Happy Meals purchases. "Any attempts to buy more than permitted, repeatedly stand in the line, and behave intimidatingly toward our staff" will be met with a rejection,' McDonald's said. The US fast food giant also vowed to ask e-commerce sites to take more effective measures against unscrupulous resale. Why the campaign backfired The McDonald's Japan campaign of giving away Pokémon cards with 'Happy Meals' was launched on Friday. Announcing the latest campaign, the firm stressed that each person could buy a maximum of five meals. But it soon went awry with some people flocking to buy meals in bulk to resell the attached cards at a higher price on e-commerce sites. Social media was awash with complaints about long queues at McDonald's outlets, with unverified pictures of plastic bags full of uneaten burgers and fries. Some dubbed it the "Unhappy Meals" campaign. "I couldn't buy a Happy Meal for my daughter because of these people", one user posted on X. "I'm sure there are adult Pokémon fans who genuinely want the cards, but these resellers are truly embarrassing," another wrote. 'They go to great lengths to collect them and then throw away food ... for how much profit?' Similar problems have affected other McDonald's campaigns, including past collaborations with manga series such as 'Chiikawa.'
