McDonald’s had a promotional fail last weekend and some people aren’t lovin’ it.
On Saturday, the fast food chain brought back its 1998 Szechuan sauce — which is part of an on-going joke on animated series “Rick and Morty” — for just one day. Fans of the Adult Swim cartoon lined up for hours to sample the exclusive McNugget accompaniment, but each location reportedly received about 20 packets each.
This left many empty handed and, much like a burger left under a lamp, pretty heated.
On Sunday, McDonald’s responded to the backlash with a statement on Twitter.
“Between the costumes, the memes, and the cross-state travel, you, the fans, showed us what you got. And our super-limited batch, though well-intentioned, clearly wasn’t near enough to meet that demand.”
They continued:
“Szechuan Sauce is coming back again this winter,” the restaurant vowed. “We’re bringing more — a lot more — so that any fan who’s willing to do whatever it takes for Szechuan Sauce will only have to ask for it at a nearby McDonald’s. We want to make this right. You’re some of the best fans in this, or any, dimension … and we plan to deliver on that promise as soon as possible. Stay tuned.”
For those who do not watch “Rick and Morty” and are bewildered by the uproar, Szechuan sauce was offered at McDonald's in 1998 to help promote Disney’s “Mulan.”
In April, at the end of the season premiere episode of “Rick and Morty,” the character Rick announced to Morty that getting the defunct condiment is his life’s mission.
“I want that Mulan McNugget sauce, Morty,” he said in the episode. “That’s my series arc, Morty! If it takes nine seasons!”
Fans of the show petitioned and pressured the chain to bring it back, and McDonald's gave in last week, just like it did again on Sunday.
Now if someone could just pressure the restaurant into providing portal guns in their Happy Meals, that would be great.