McDonald’s new meal celebrates its pop culture cameos—including ‘Loki,’ 'Seinfeld' and more

The As Featured In Meal is tied to the upcoming season of Loki and celebrates the chain's past pop culture cameos.

Troov Troov
Aug 9, 2023 - 21:01
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McDonald’s new meal celebrates its pop culture cameos—including ‘Loki,’ 'Seinfeld' and more

McDonald’s is keeping up its nostalgia streak for its latest themed meal. But rather than invoking memories of Grimace, the fast food chain is celebrating its cameos in pop culture for its new As Featured In meal. 

The meal, which will be available for a limited time starting Aug. 14, is tied to the chain's upcoming appearance in the second season of “Loki” on Disney+. The bag for the meal includes a list of TV shows, movies and songs that have also referenced McDonald's, including “Seinfeld” and “Space Jam.” “Loki Season 2” appears last on the list, with an asterisk that clarifies, “New season streaming soon.” The season premieres Oct. 6.

The meal consists of a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, Quarter Pounder with Cheese or Big Mac Sandwich paired with medium fries, a Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce and a medium soft drink. 

McDonald’s teased the new meal in a tweet earlier this week, while the brand’s head of social, Guillaume Huin, posted the list that will appear on the bag. 

A frame of the video shows the chain's famous golden arches over the word “Palace.” McDonald’s is partnering with Palace, a London-based skate and streetwear brand, for a merchandise line of t-shirts and hoodies. Palace has featured McDonald’s in its skate videos. The As Featured In meal will have a code on its packaging that customers can scan to buy pieces from the collaboration. On Aug. 18, Palace will take over the oldest U.S. McDonald’s, located in Downey, California, for a pop-up where fans can buy the clothes.

McDonald’s plans to run a commercial for the As Featured In meal, but the spot from Wieden+Kennedy New York is not yet available. 

The new meal comes on the heels of McDonald’s last campaign with the Grimace Birthday meal, which included a berry milkshake trend that went viral on TikTok. Late last year, the company rolled out a meal positioned as adult Happy Meal promotion in partnership with streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market, which included toys of Grimace, Birdie and the Hamburglar in the style of the streetwear brand. Then in April, the Hamburglar returned to tell customers that burgers would be getting slight tweaks for “meltier cheese” and “a better sear.” 

“It’s not only our real-life fans who have a go-to order ... for decades our favorite movie and TV characters have, too,” said Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s global chief marketing officer and head of new business ventures. “The As Featured In Meal is our biggest Famous Order yet, celebrating the most memorable McDonald’s references across the world of entertainment.” 

In another nod to the new “Loki” season, McDonald’s will deck out a Brooklyn, New York location with 1982 memorabilia, the setting for the show. Customers can scan the Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce to watch content around the new season on Snapchat. The second season of “Loki” will start streaming Oct. 6 on Disney +.

A photo apparently showing the Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce with green “Loki” packaging surfaced on Twitter earlier in the week.