McDonald's Unveils New "Savory Chili WcDonald’s Sauce"

Playing on the appearance of "WcDonald's" in various anime (Japanese animation), McDonald's is set to release new "Savory Chili WcDonald’s Sauce" starting February 26, 2024.

The new sauce will arrive as part of a Japanese anime-themed campaign that also includes manga (Japanese comics)-themed packaging, an official WcDonald's anime, and an actual WcDonald's restaurant.

WcDonald's basically refers to a McDonald's stand-in whose logo is an upside-down "M" so as not to invite any trademark infringement claims from McDonald's while still acknowledging the ubiquity of the fast food chain in everyday life.

Available for a limited time nationwide, Savory Chili WcDonald's Sauce features a combination of ginger, garlic, and soy sauce with a slight heat from chili flakes.

WcDonald's manga packaging was designed in partnership with Japanese manga artist/illustrator Acky Bright and features WcDonald's Crew characters sketched by the artist. The packaging also includes a QR code that links to weekly digital manga drops featuring WcDonald’s customers and employees, including Hashirune (a WcDonald's regular), Mr. Bev (the jokester of the employees), WcDizer 3000 (WcDonald's mecha), and more.

The first-ever official WcDonald’s anime was created in partnership with major Japanese animation company Studio Pierrot. It consists of four episodic shorts about WcDonald's Sauce and WcNuggets representing four major anime genres: Action, Romance, Mecha, and Fantasy. The shorts and release schedule are as follows:

• The Race to WcDonald’s (releases February 26, 2024): "A rivalry strong enough to withstand the test of time as our two heroes embark on an epic race to WcDonald’s."
• Love from Across the Booth (releases March 4, 2024) - "Our two protagonists discover the WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets aren’t the only perfect pairing."
• WcNuggets Space Frontier 3000 (releases March 11, 2024) - "A team of WcDonald’s pilots must protect the last WcNugget against an ominous force."
• The Wisdom of the Sauce (releases March 18, 2024) - "Three women are transported to a distant land to unravel the mystery surrounding the elusive sauce before it's gone forever."

You'll be able to find the new shorts at WcDonalds.com or by scanning the code on a WcDonald's bag.

Finally, McDonald's will be offering the WcDonald’s Immersive Dining Experience in Los Angeles on March 9 and 10, 2024. The event will feature the "WcDonald’s universe" through the use of 360 projection mapping and tabletop projections inspired by the four WcDonald’s anime shorts as well as a set menu of WcDonald’s items. You can reserve your spot exclusively on OpenTable starting February 28, 2024 by searching "WcDonald’s Immersive Dining Experience" on the OpenTable app or website.

Photo via McDonald's.