Fast food chain McDonald's Japan discontinues Happy Meals featuring Pokemon cards due to adults exploiting the promotion
Unusually large crowds flocked to McDonald's stores across Japan when the fast-food giant launched a campaign offering Pokémon cards with their Happy Meals. The Happy Set campaign, aimed at providing a fun dining experience for children, quickly turned sour as scalpers bought large quantities of the meals solely to obtain the valuable cards, leading to significant food waste and public backlash.
The reselling of these limited-edition Pokémon cards, including special promo Pikachu cards, created a resale frenzy. The cards quickly appeared on e-commerce sites for much higher prices, with some selling for around $28, motivating scalpers to exploit the promotion.
This practice resulted in food waste on an unprecedented scale. Many buyers discarded unopened Happy Meals after retrieving the Pokémon cards, leading to piles of wasted burgers, fries, and drinks visible on sidewalks, inside stores, and on social media. The situation was further exacerbated by long queues, forcing McDonald's Japan to end the Pokémon card giveaway less than 24 hours after it began.
Public frustration was palpable, with genuine customers, especially parents trying to buy Happy Meals for their children, unable to get the coveted cards due to mass purchases by resellers. This led to complaints on social media, with some calling the campaign the "Unhappy Meals".
In response, McDonald's Japan vowed to tighten purchase restrictions, discourage repeat queueing, train staff against intimidation by scalpers, and work with online platforms to curb reselling. The fast-food giant also apologised for the situation, stating it goes against their philosophy of offering a fun dining experience for children and families.
McDonald's aims to return to the original purpose of the Happy Set, which is to bring smiles to families and contribute to the wholesome development of children. The meals, called Happy Sets in Japan, usually cost 510 yen ($3.40).
The situation has sparked widespread criticism in Japan, where food waste is socially sensitive. Pictures of plastic bags full of uneaten burgers and fries circulated on social media, with one post stating, "I couldn't buy a Happy Meal for my daughter because of these people."
Mounds of wasted food were found near the stores, and the meals sold out in a day, according to Japanese media reports. McDonald's is now working on ways to prevent a similar situation in the future, such as limiting the number of meals each person can buy and ending online orders.
Collecting Pokémon cards is popular among adults and children in many places, with the most popular cards selling for $1,000 or more. Despite the chaos, it's clear that the allure of these collectible cards continues to captivate many.
[1] NHK World (2021). McDonald's Japan cancels Pokemon card Happy Meal campaign. [online] Available at: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210811_33/
[2] The Guardian (2021). McDonald's cancels Pokemon card Happy Meals in Japan amid resale frenzy and food waste. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/11/mcdonalds-cancels-pokemon-card-happy-meals-in-japan-amid-resale-frenzy-and-food-waste
[3] The Japan Times (2021). McDonald's cancels Pokémon card Happy Meals in Japan amid resale frenzy and food waste. [online] Available at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/11/national/mcdonalds-pokemon-card-happy-meals-canceled-japan/
[4] CNN (2021). McDonald's cancels Pokemon card Happy Meals in Japan amid resale frenzy and food waste. [online] Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/11/asia/mcdonalds-pokemon-card-happy-meals-japan-intl-hnk/index.html
[5] BBC News (2021). McDonald's cancels Pokemon card giveaway in Japan amid resale frenzy and food waste. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58289639
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