McDonald’s Japan scraps One Piece promotion after Pokemon frenzy

TOKYO – McDonald’s Japan has cancelled a promotion based on the classic One Piece manga series (1997 to present), after a similar Pokemon-themed campaign sparked a frenzy and uproar about uneaten food being discarded.

The US fast-food giant said in a statement on Aug 21 that it had called off the campaign, which was due to start on Aug 29.

It had promised to give away game cards for the hugely popular manga and anime series One Piece in Happy Set meals, the Japanese name for Happy Meals.

Earlier in August, McDonald’s Japan

gave away limited-edition Pokemon trading cards

with the meals, which are primarily designed for children.

Long queues formed at some outlets, with some customers buying meals in bulk in order to get hold of the cards and resell them on e-commerce sites.

Social media was awash with complaints about families unable to be served and unverified pictures of plastic bags full of uneaten food.

The campaign was going to last for three days, but many stores ran out of cards on the first day.

Some people dubbed the Pokemon event the “Unhappy Meals” campaign.

Similar problems have hobbled previous McDonald’s campaigns in Japan, including a collaboration with the Chiikawa manga series that was bedevilled by online resales.

After the Pokemon debacle, McDonald’s Japan

issued a public apology

and pledged to take steps to prevent such issues in the future.

In the absence of One Piece cards, Japanese Happy Meal buyers will receive toys that accompanied the popular meal in the past, the company said.

Pokemon cards bearing the “little monsters” are extremely popular among children, but also attract adult superfans and collectors, with billions printed and some selling for millions of dollars.

There have even been cases in low-crime Japan of shops that sell the cards – which represent monsters and their attributes – being broken into and physical fights breaking out. AFP