McDonald’s Sparks Surprising Debate With Viral Anime Ads

McDonald’s Japan has released some special anime inspired advertisements on social media, and they have sparked a surprising debate that has gone viral after seemingly coming out of nowhere! McDonald’s and anime have shared a lot of special collaborations in the past as the fast food juggernaut has teamed with some major franchises through either its Happy Meals or other promotional efforts. But this went to a new level recently as McDonald’s started taking its team ups with anime all over the world with its upcoming promotions for the likes of its “As Featured” where the franchise highlights its cameos in different media. 

Although its latest anime inspired ads shared with fans on McDonald’s Japan’s official X (formerly known as Twitter) page are not a part of the special “As Featured” collaboration, two of them have sparked a massive debate among users on the site that have called attention to the central family dynamic and more. The first of the ads caused the most pick up, and it seemingly came out of nowhere as it’s a family enjoying McDonald’s food with some lo-fi beats backing it up. 

What Is McDonald’s Anime Ad Debate About? 

These McDonald’s ads showcase anime inspired people going about smaller moments in their lives while eating the restaurant’s food while urging customers to enjoy these moments before they’re gone. Something about the core message seems to have activated a small part of the audience, and has taken the promotions viral in a wild direction. This “debate” shortly became wildly aggressive in nature with a minority, and has led to several quotes from users that are far removed from the vibes of the ads themselves.

McDonald’s team ups with anime are likely far from over as they will continue to showcase these inspired promotions in Japan, and most likely all over the world. Anime is continuing to grow in popularity as it becomes more accessible (with live-action adaptations such as One Piece taking over Netflix serving as greater examples of anime and manga’s popularity), and that will lead to more ads like this in the future. All the attention it garnered will make it even more desirable, negative or otherwise as well. 

How do you feel about these McDonald’s anime-inspired ads? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!