Welcome to WcDonald's — McDonald's New Anime-Inspired Campaign

The golden arches of fast food have had an interesting 2024 so far. McDonald's sales have seen a considerable dip partly due to consumer boycotts gaining traction as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues to unfold in the Middle East. Amid these boycotts and controversies, the chain continues to roll out new promotions and campaigns that border on the bizarre. One upcoming promotion comes in the form of their new self-made anime-style event known as WcDonald's.

As part of the campaign, many popular McDonald's products have been relabeled appropriately with upside-down golden arches to make a W instead of the traditional M. Drinks, burger wrappers, and sauce packs have been changed to reflect the campaign throughout its duration. The new name has even extended to the restaurant's social media accounts. But where does the name come from and what does the anime campaign entail? We break down everything you need to know about McDonald's new WcDonald's campaign.

On Feb. 26, McDonald's began rolling out its new anime line with WcDonald's. Not only does this campaign affect its traditional fast food offerings like the newly-released Savory Chili Sauce, but the restaurant is also going the extra mile by releasing new anime shorts and one-off manga chapters. The shorts are animated by Studio Pierrot, known for their work on shows like the anime Naruto and Bleach anime series. The manga chapters are illustrated by manga author Acky Bright.

In terms of the new name, "WcDonald's" has been a bit of an inside joke for anime fans for decades. This parody name has been used as a facsimile for McDonald's in various anime to evoke the well-known brand while narrowly avoiding copyright claims. The earliest example of WcDonald's appearance in anime comes from the 1983 series Cat's Eye, but the fake brand has been used in other anime and manga ever since.

As of early 2024, McDonald's is fully embracing the parody as part of the fast food chain's culture and has crafted an entire world around it. The campaign is expected to last until March 24.

If you're interested in checking out McDonald's take on anime, the 30-second shorts are readily available. All of them are available on the McDonald's app, but you can also view them on the official McDonald's YouTube. There are even options for English and Japanese dubs of the shorts.

Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time that McDonald's has pulled off anime-inspired ad campaigns. In late September 2023, the chain rolled out several ads in Japan on Twitter with character designs inspired by "lofi hip hop" anime tropes.

Will you be checking out WcDonald's while it's still in stores?