The article discusses the origins of Grimace, a character from McDonaldland, a promotional campaign by McDonald's in the 1970s. Initially, Grimace was a villain who stole milkshakes, but after a lawsuit by the creators of the original concept, McDonald's was forced to change the character's design and personality. Over time, Grimace became a friendly, goofy character who lost his love for crime and became a mascot for McDonald's.
The article also explores the history of McDonaldland, a surreal world created by McDonald's to advertise their products. The world was inhabited by a variety of colorful characters, including Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, and the Fry Guys. However, due to changes in marketing strategies and growing concerns about childhood obesity and diabetes, the characters are no longer used in advertising.
In recent years, Grimace has experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly among internet users, who have created a horror trend around the character. The article suggests that Grimace's popularity may be revived in a new campaign, potentially bringing back other McDonaldland characters.
Here are the extracted key facts from the text, numbered and written in short sentences:
1. In the summer of 2023, a trend emerged on YouTube and TikTok where people drank a new milkshake from McDonald's called the "Grimace Cocktail" and pretended to pass out.
2. The Grimace is a purple creature and one of the main mascots of McDonald's.
3. In the 1960s, McDonald's marketers realized that their fast food could be successfully marketed to children.
4. The first mascot of McDonald's was a humanized burger named Speedy.
5. Speedy was later replaced by Ronald McDonald, a clown who became the main mascot of the restaurant.
6. In the 1970s, McDonald's created a fictional world called McDonaldland, which featured a cast of colorful characters, including the Grimace.
7. The Grimace was initially introduced as a villain who stole milkshakes, but later became a friendly character.
8. The Grimace was designed to have four hands to hold more cups, but later lost two of his extra hands due to a lawsuit.
9. In the 1970s, McDonald's was sued by the creators of the sitcom "H.R. Pufnstuf" for allegedly stealing their characters and ideas.
10. McDonald's was forced to pay the creators of "H.R. Pufnstuf" around $1 million and change some of their characters to avoid copyright infringement.
11. The Grimace has appeared in numerous advertisements and has become one of the most recognizable mascots of McDonald's.
12. The Grimace has been rebranded over the years, including a redesign in the 1980s that made him more friendly and rounded.
13. The Grimace has appeared in various forms of media, including TV shows, films, and video games.
14. McDonald's introduced a new character in the 1980s called Mac Tonight, a crooner with a head shaped like a cheeseburger.
15. Mac Tonight was introduced to attract an adult audience to McDonald's, and appeared in restaurants and advertisements for around 10 years.
16. McDonald's did not pay the copyright holders of Mac Tonight's original compositions, leading to a lawsuit and a loss of popularity for the character.
17. Many of McDonald's mascots, including the Grimace, are no longer used in advertising due to changing consumer preferences and concerns about childhood obesity and diabetes.
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