How McDonald's Rebranded Grimace From Villain To A Lovable Sidekick

Grimace is one of McDonald's most recognizable mascots, but he wasn't always a fan favorite. Before the fuzzy purple dude was a benevolent milkshake fiend and friend of Ronald McDonald, he was actually a shady McDonaldland character. Grimace is like the Cookie Monster of the McDonald's universe, but his original villain form was actually quite monstrous. Named Evil Grimace and with a face just like his namesake, this four-armed creature stormed onto the scene in 1971 when he appeared in a McDonald's commercial. His M.O.? To steal all of the cups in fantastical McDonaldland, thieving the joy of anyone who wanted a milkshake or soda.

Evil Grimace was still a purple blob, but unlike his modern self, he was scaly with an unsettling stare. As you can imagine, this villainous rendition of the character did not do well with audiences. So, Grimace quickly received a makeover and was reintroduced in 1972 as the two-armed, lovable guy we all know today. After the McDonaldland commercial series ended in 2003, Grimace was one of the few original mascots chosen to stick around.

The purple, milkshake-loving blob of a mascot is either "the embodiment of a milkshake," according to a McDonald's Corporation post on X, or a giant taste bud depending on who you ask. Some fans even speculate that Grimace may be related to the Philadelphia Flyers' orange mascot, Gritty. But no matter what his species really is, Grimace is known to be friendly, a little dopey, and an all-around great guy. 

Fans can learn all about Grimace's backstory in a 1999 episode of the animated series "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald." In the episode, Grimace and the rest of the gang discover Grimace Island, home of Grimace's brother King Gonga and many others of their species in various shades of purple. Grimace's most notable relative, Uncle O'Grimacey, however, is not purple at all. This viridescent Irish character who has the power to turn anything green first appeared in a 1975 commercial to promote the seasonal return of the iconic Shamrock Shake.

After "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald" ended, Grimace made a few appearances at events like the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and a 2022 Super Bowl commercial. For the most part, he was never in the spotlight, but all of that changed in 2023, thanks to TikTok.

In June 2023, McDonald's honored Grimace's birthday with a limited-release milkshake all his own: the purple Grimace shake. This fun new product inspired a TikTok trend where customers made mini horror films about what happens after one drinks a Grimace milkshake. These short videos amassed 1.4 billion views in just two weeks and caused the purple shake to sell out at some McDonald's locations.

Grimace's birthday coincides with Pride Month, and the character has also become somewhat of a queer icon. Grimace mascots have been spotted at many Pride celebrations, and his image has been used in all sorts of queer-centered content on social media. Gimace solidified his gay icon status when he threw out the first pitch at a 2024 New York Mets game. The baseball team, sometimes referred to as the Gay Mets, has been hosting Pride games since 2016. After Grimace's pitch kicked off a winning streak for the team, fans started calling them the Gay Grimace Mets.

Thanks to the smashing success of the Grimace shake campaign and subsequent memes, Grimace is everywhere. In December 2023, McDonald's collaborated with Jazwares to create a Grimace Squishmallow plush Happy Meal toy. He has also been featured on McDonald's merch, including an ugly Christmas sweater, slippers, Crocs, hats, shirts, and socks.