On February 19th, the official X (formerly Twitter) account for Japanese McDonald’s shared a teaser of yet another anime collab, featuring a silhouette teasing Hatsune Miku. The tweet featured text that read “This year’s Shakashaka Potato will feature this person!” Shakashaka Potato is french fries exclusive to Japanese restaurants. To take things further, on February 20th, the McDonald’s account shared a new image, filling out the silhouette with an actual image of Hatsune Miku. The translated tweet confirms that McDonald’s and Hatsune Miku will be collaborating with something to do with the Shakashaka Potato. The tweet jokingly clarifies the new flavored Shakashaka Potato will not be green onion flavored.
McDonald’s doesn’t go into full details about what the collaboration will be, but it will happen on Miku Day, a day that celebrates all things Hatsune Miku. Miku Day is officially recognized as March 9th, a pun on Miku’s name based on the Japanese language. “Mi” is often translated as three, whereas “Ku” can be pronounced as nine in Japan. March 9th is often shortened as “3 9”, which can be pronounced as “Mi Ku,” giving us Hatsune Miku’s day. The Hatsune Miku collaboration with McDonald’s is likely going to be Japanese exclusive as Shakashaka Potatoes are only sold in Japan.
[RELATED – Pokemon TCG Cards are Now Back at McDonald’s]
Why is McDonald’s Partnering Up with Hatsune Miku?
McDonald’s is one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world and is known for collaborating with multiple different companies. The fast-food chain has been known for working with Japanese corporations to create cross-promotion material, inventing limited-time food items and Happy Meal Toys. McDonald’s worked with Studio Khara to bring exclusive figurines based on Neon Genesis Evangelion to the fans. The fast-food company has also partnered up with Konami and Sanrio to deliver Hello Kitty plushes dressed as Yu-Gi-Oh monsters. McDonald’s has even recently released exclusive Pokemon cards with Happy Meals.
Hatsune Miku is a Vocaloid celebrity; she’s a completely virtual persona created through a voice synthesizer. She is one of the most popular icons from Japan and has collaborated with several other companies beforehand. Crocs Inc. has partnered with Miku to create specially-themed footwear, and Epic Games has put the character in its global video game hit, Fortnite. Hatsune Miku’s latest collaboration with McDonald’s is simply the latest in a long line of cross-promotion with the brand. Given how popular McDonald’s and Miku are in Japan, it makes plenty of sense for both brands to work together.
Source: McDonald’s Japanese X (formerly Twitter) Account
The post McDonald’s Japan Confirms Hatsune Miku Collab for “Miku Day” appeared first on ComicBook.com.
