In brief
Following significant complaints regarding the dumping of food and resale of Pokémon cards, McDonald's Japan has decided to postpone its One Piece children's toy promotion. The decision comes after an overwhelming response to a prior Pokémon campaign led to considerable waste and customer frustration.
McDonald's Japan has decided to delay its forthcoming children's toy promotion featuring the popular manga "One Piece" after it faced backlash over its recent Pokémon card giveaway, which resulted in significant food waste. The fast-food giant's announcement on Thursday came in response to complaints from customers regarding the mass dumping of uneaten food and the resale of Pokémon cards for profit.Earlier this month, McDonald's offered limited-edition Pokémon cards with its "Happy Set" meals, prompting customers to form long queues and engage in bulk purchases. Many establishments ran out of cards within just one day, leading to images circulating online that depicted bags of food discarded on the streets. Concerningly, some of the sought-after Pokémon cards quickly made their way to online auction sites, where they began selling for hefty sums—one Pikachu card was listed for more than £25,000 (approximately $33,000).In light of these events, McDonald's Japan issued a statement indicating that the One Piece promotion scheduled for launch on August 29th has been postponed as part of a broader review of its Happy Set offerings. Meanwhile, the chain will provide toys that were featured in previous promotions instead.Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency has urged McDonald's to reevaluate its sales strategies and to take decisive measures to mitigate food wastage. This isn't the first instance of the fast-food chain experiencing difficulties with promotional campaigns; previous collaborations, such as with the "Chiikawa" manga series, faced similar issues.After the debacle surrounding the Pokémon promotion, McDonald's Japan expressed its commitment to preventing such occurrences in the future and announced an upcoming cap on the number of Happy Set meals customers could purchase at one time. The popularity of Pokémon cards, appealing to children and adult collectors alike, has raised questions about the balance between engaging promotions and responsible customer management.
