McDonald’s Japan Is Giving Away Gold Chicken McNuggets

Back when I worked at Wizard: The Comics Magazine in 2000 or so, there was a staff scavenger hunt.

I mostly remember it because I still have a VHS tape, which we had to find a way to play without doing so at the office or at the homes of any member of the team.

I also remember that the hardest thing to get was a single, uncooked Chicken McNugget. For health code reasons, the local McDonald’s were reluctant to part with one. I have no idea how we eventually managed to convince them, but as I remember it, our team was the only one that did.

Well, now there’s an even more difficult-to-acquire Chicken McNugget out there…but this one is worth more than just your body weight in salmonella.

In Japan, McDonald’s is promoting a contest in which the winner can take home an 18-karat goldMcNugget. According to Rocket News, the prize is part of a new campaign that involves searching for clues left by a yellow-suited “Nugget Thief” at stores around the country.

Apparently this isn’t entirely unprecedented; they recently had a gold fries giveaway. They’re also going to be rolling out some new, limited-edition dipping sauces for McNuggets along with the contest. The idea is to win back some customers who have been driven away by some health and safety scandals in recent years.

To win, customers have to follow McDonald’s Japan on Twitter and watch for clues from the “Nugget Thief,” who will be leaving evidence and information on the campaign website and in and around McDonald’s restaurants across the country, according to the report. Customers can use the clues to tweet as to the Thief’s true identity by tweeting with the hashtag #怪盗ナゲッツ, which literally translates to “Mysterious Nugget Thief.” One entrant will win a package of gold McNuggets. A number of others will win a book of 39 coupons for free McNuggets.