The Grimace Effect
Client: McDonald’s
Project:
Reactive Social
Role: Copywriter, Content Creator
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Art + Design: Mike Devine
★ 2024 Ad Age Social Post of the week
Case Study
Press
The New York Times
Ad Age
Vulture Magazine
NPR
The world’s favorite purple mascot added a new category to his resumé: sports icon.
When Grimace threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field on Jun 12, the Mets embarked on an unprecedented 7-game winning streak. What followed was a season no one expected, resulting in the team’s first NCLS in 9 years. The Grimace Effect will forever live in infamy.
💜 Live tweeted games from Grimace’s POV
💜 Worked with the Met’s X account to create a Grimace theme
💜 Put up a massive Citi Field billboard
💜 Appeared in the Mets 2025 schedule release video
💜 Convinced the Empire State Building to shine purple for him
💜 Installed a commemorative purple seat in Citi Field in Grimace’s honor
🚊 Wrapped the MTA 7 trains heading to Citi Field with custom Grimace x Met’s designs so fans could ride a literal Grimace Train
Our reactive stunt resulted in
9.6 billion social + PR impressions, brought in 2x our average positive brand sentiment, and gave Mets fans hope like never before.
Fun Fact: The Mets had the best winning percentage (.704), the most runs per game (6.1), and the best on-base percentage (.340) in the NL since Grimace’s first pitch.