Grimace's Birthday
McDonald's is getting into the video game business as part of a campaign that celebrates the original character Grimace's 52nd birthday. The hairy purple blob inspired a side-scrolling platformer that runs on mobile, desktop, and surfing on the nostalgia trends of 2023, on Game Boy Color in pure retro gaming fashion. The game was released for free across the aforementioned platforms.
A curated database of branded gaming examples.
Three hours a night grinding WoW with your guild. Fortnite with your mates after work. Candy Crush on the commute. Whether or not you’d call yourself a gamer, you are still playing. Gaming has become an unprecedented cultural force. Massive attention, deep engagement and yet, little money invested. Need more convincing?
Source: GroupM, GEEIQ, Newzoo, 2024
Source: Dentsu & GWI, State of Gaming 2024
I’ve spent the past few years on both sides of the fence: with gaming brands, and with non-gaming brands trying to work out what to do about gaming. Along the way I kept examples. What started as a Google Doc is now an index of close to 200 of them. This is it.
I hope you’ll find it useful, reach out if you want to chat.
JonathanFounder & Principal, Office of Applied Imagination
