Gaming meets grub: McDonald's makes foray into the Minecraft world

​McDonald's has teamed up with the popular video game franchise Minecraft to introduce limited-time meals and collectibles in celebration of the upcoming release of A Minecraft Movie. 

Inspired by fans’ imagination and timed with the highly anticipated global release of the movie, the campaign aims to create moments of joy for fans of all ages, bringing their McDonald’s Minecraft dreams to life with their favorite food, gameplay and characters.

To hype up the global campaign, the restaurant chain released a 30-second teaser featuring McDonald's' beloved mascots Grimace, Birdie and Hamburglar. The three characters entered the world of Minecraft and immersed themselves into the various elements of the video game. 

The clip also unveiled the launch of an exclusive lineup of six limited-edition blind box collectibles featuring McDonald's characters inspired by Minecraft. In Singapore, the chain also introduced 10 unique Minecraft happy meal toys, with two new designs released each week over five weeks.

Additionally, Minecraft fans are able to get their hands on the McDonald's Minecraft collector's gift box. Exclusive to McDonald's members, the box includes the limited-edition collectibles and cards, tapping on Singaporeans' love of collectibles. 

In a statement in March, McDonald's also unveiled its digital experiences to further fuel fans’ creativity while driving guest counts. With the card included in the collector's gift box, fans will be able to scan a code to unlock a special in-game skin to be used in Minecraft. 

Fans who purchase or redeem points through the McDonald’s app will receive an additional code to reveal an exclusive McDonald’s add-on pack in Minecraft that gives players even more gameable enhancements and tools. In addition, every happy meal also comes with a scannable code with access to a digital game where players can complete their very own quest in a McDonald’s-inspired A Minecraft Movie world.

Beyond the Minecraft meals and collectibles, the fun has spilled onto the streets across the nation. Bringing the toys to life, the McDonald's zombie Hamburglar mascot has been making surprise appearances across various heartland malls and city spots.

In an Instagram post last week, the zombified-Hamburglar was seen interacting with the public across various stores and points in a mall, stirring up "chaos and laughter". 

Morgan Flatley, global chief marketing officer and head of new business ventures said, "At a time when people are craving more from the brands they love, we’re changing the game for fans everywhere. For the first time ever your favorite game and favorite restaurant are part of the same universe, built with the fan at the center."

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to McDonald's Singapore for more information. 

Minecraft has taken over various other brands in Singapore in recent times. Garrett Popcorn and Paya Lebar Quarter unveiled a cheeky Minecraft-inspired post on their various Instagram pages, highlighting their products and services through video game elements. 

With that said, McDonald's is no stranger to the metaverse. In 2023, McDonald’s tapped into childhood nostalgia by collaborating with Krool Toys on an exclusive video game, to celebrate the 52^nd birthday of its purple biped mascot Grimace. The video game allowed users to immerse themselves in Grimace's world as he raced around classic McDonald's birthday scenes to find his friends, all in a quest to cut his birthday cake. The video game was a 2D retro style game with controls similar to that of a Game Boy Colour that can be played on a computer or mobile phone.

Moreover, McDonald's isn't the only brand to have jumped on the gaming trend in recent times. Last month, Mentos took its product to the next level with its global campaign in the world of Fortnite. Perfetti Van Melle, the parent company of Mentos, introduced Mentos' "Fizzooka", the world's first Mentos-powered soda-spraying launcher. Over two weeks, "Fizzookas" was dropped into some of the maps on Fortnite Creative, a sandbox mode in the game that allows players to create their own custom maps, game modes and experiences. 

Back in 2022, Armani Beauty made its debut in the metaverse by launching "Rewrite the code" on Fortnite, inspired by the Armani Code Parfum. Players were able to race through maze-like speed runs in the metaverse to collect the code numbers needed to unlock the Armani Code building, access the Armani Code Parfum bottle and use its magnetic power to rewrite the code.

Prior to that, NBA also tipped off a partnership with Fortnite in line with its 2021 playoffs, which allowed players to leverage on Fortnite’s “Creative mode” to visit the NBA Welcome Hub for more NBA-related experiences and content surrounding the campaign.

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