McDonald’s ran a limited-time Pokemon card promotion in Japan that ended way earlier than planned because so many people showed up for it. The promo was supposed to last three days, but wrapped up in less than 24 hours. That’s gotta sting if you missed out!
Each Happy Meal came with a pack of Pokémon cards, including a guaranteed Pikachu promo card, plus a random one from five other options. Sounds cool, right? But the huge rush caught McDonald’s off guard, leading to an early stop at many stores.
They issued an apology saying, “We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet the expectations of our customers who were looking forward to the product due to the early end of distribution. Please refrain from contacting stores regarding stock availability.” Kind of a bummer for collectors and kids who planned to grab some.
Over on X/Twitter, videos and photos showed crazy lines snaking outside McDonald’s locations. One spot had hundreds waiting just for the cards. It’s wild how a fast food collab can cause such a frenzy.
On the flip side, there were also images of huge orders of Happy Meals abandoned on the street, some with untouched food inside. Some folks bought a bunch just for the Pokemon cards and tossed the meals. Yikes, that’s rough on food waste.
Pokémon cards are hot right now, especially the Trading Card Game. Scalpers and resellers have made grabbing new sets tricky no matter where you are, so promos like this get snapped up fast. It’s no surprise that the Pikachu chase card is already popping up on eBay for way above the original price.
I wonder if McDonald’s and The Pokémon Company will try this promo outside Japan or release the Burger Pikachu card in English? Guess we’ll have to wait and see if that’s on the menu.
