Discontented Fast Food Encounters in Tokyo
In a recent turn of events, fast-food giant McDonald's has found itself in the midst of a controversy in Japan. The centre of the storm is the company's Pokémon card promotion for its Happy Meals, which has resulted in a shortage of the meals, upset children, frustrated parents, and negative comments on social media.
Natsuko Horii, the head of the agency, has criticised McDonald's for lacking creativity in their countermeasures. A user named Nagareboshi voiced their displeasure, stating that the situation has taken the smile off children's faces, making the Happy Meals more like an "Unhappy Meal."
The issue arose when McDonald's included toys from previous years with the meals instead of the promised new collectible cards. In an attempt to address the situation, McDonald's apologised for the chaos caused by the high demand for Pokémon cards and posted a notice in all stores, acknowledging their insufficient response.
The demand for the Pokémon cards was fuelled by scalpers who bought up the cards and resold them at high prices on Mercari, Japan's version of eBay. One Pokémon card, featuring Pikachu, was reportedly offered for around 28,000 euros.
In an effort to control the situation, McDonald's printed three million Pokémon cards for a three-day sales event in its 3,000 stores. However, the demand proved to be too high, causing the fast-food chain to sell out of Happy Meals within a day. In response, McDonald's limited the number of Happy Meals to three per customer for the second sales round.
However, this move was met with criticism from users like Haoti, who perceived it as merely an appearance of wanting to avoid food waste. Photos of wasted food from the unsold Happy Meals went viral, leading the consumer protection agency in Japan to order McDonald's to stop food waste.
Interestingly, Nintendo, in contrast, distributed the Switch 2 gaming console among pre-order customers in two rounds via lottery to prevent scalping and consumer frustration.
The name of the person leading the consumer protection authority in Japan who drew attention to McDonald’s and made demands of the company remains undisclosed. Despite the challenges, McDonald's continues to work towards finding a solution to satisfy its customers and maintain the reputation of its Happy Meals, which are marketed to "promote the growth and happiness of children."
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