McDonald’s partners with Doodles for collector cups, online promotion

McDonald’s is bullish on Doodles, the media franchise that began as a non-fungible token (NFT) project. “McCafé x Doodles Holiday cups coming 11/18,” McDonald’s and Doodles have both confirmed in recent posts on X.

McDonald’s hooks up with change agent

According to the advertising trade press, the McDonald’s-Doodles campaign is called “GM Spread Joy.” It will feature limited-edition McCafé cups with Doodles-inspired artwork and a chance to win digital wearables and animated content accessible on the McDonald’s app. The McDonald’s app will create a “pack ripping experience” that mimics collectible card sets.

The campaign is being supported by #GMSpreadJoy social media challenges on TikTok and Instagram as well. McDonald’s chief marketing officer Tariq Hassan said in a statement:

“Beyond the web3 scope, we chose Doodles because they are an agent of change in the cultural landscape, and they span beyond digital assets — an entertainment brand in itself with a fearless community we cannot wait to interact with and more importantly, bring to more people across the U.S.”

Related: McDonald’s debuts McNuggets Land in The Sandbox

A sweet life after the NFT boom

McDonald’s posted a rather cryptic animation on its X account on Nov. 12. It was quickly recognized as a reference to Doodles, causing sales of Doodles NFTs to surge.

“The Doodles community is about to get a lot bigger,” Doodles said when it reposted McDonald’s next X post. It is good timing for Doodles, which released the first Doodles animated film, Dullsville and the Doodleverse, on Sept. 13.

Doodles NFTs debuted on OpenSeas in October 2021 and quickly became a top seller. Its NFTs are still available on the site for prices ranging from 2.85 Ether (ETH) to 299 ETH.

By mid-June 2022, Doodles had generated over $500,000 in secondary sales when popular musician Pharrell Williams would join the project as chief brand officer. Williams’ music, along with the voices of rappers Lil Wayne, Coi Leray and Lil Yachty, appears in the new film.

Doodles held a funding round in September 2022 and established a valuation of $704 million. In March 2023, it announced a reorientation from NFT project to media franchise. It has also entered into deals with Arizona Iced Tea, Adidas and footwear brand Crocs.

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