In the 1983 anime adaptation of “Cat’s Eye,” a thinly disguised version of the Golden Arches showed up in the form of “WcDonald’s,” a barely-fictional, trademark-bypassing fast-food franchise that has gone on to appear in many more anime, manga and related cartoons over the years.
Forty years later, McDonald’s is making it a real thing.
From a special dipping sauce to manga-inspired packaging and even short animated cartoons, the fast-food company will embrace the fan-created WcDonald’s universe for a limited time starting Feb. 26.
“Anime is a huge part of today’s culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years,” said Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald’s USA. “The WcDonald’s universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever.”
Franchises in 30 international markets will debut the Savory Chili WcDonald’s Sauce, a combination of ginger, garlic, soy and chili flakes.
McDonald’s also collaborated with Japanese artist and illustrator Acky Bright to design custom packaging featuring the “staff” of WcDonald’s.
A QR code on meal packaging will allow customers to watch weekly digital anime short episode centered around the promotion, along with a link to a weekly manga chapter.
A full website, WcDonalds.com, has been created to showcase the weekly releases.
It’s not the first time fictional entertainment has snuck the company’s internationally-recognized logo onto the screen in some way. Just a few years after “Cat’s Eye” debuted WcDonald’s, the Eddie Murphy 1988 comedy “Coming to America” featured McDowell’s, a McDonald’s clone advertising itself as “the home of the Big Mick” instead of the Big Mac.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.