McDonald's New Grimace Shake Inspires a Darkly Hilarious TikTok Challenge

In honor of McDonald's most perplexing mascot, the fast food chain rolled out a special Grimace Birthday Meal earlier this month featuring a limited-edition purple shake inspired by the character's "iconic color and sweetness." In addition to the milkshake, customers can also choose from a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, along with a side of fries. But it's taken off in a way the chain probably didn't expect.

MdDonald's began offering the meal on June 12, which is evidently Grimace's special day. "I finallyy [sic] got my own grimace meal and purple shake," Grimace tweeted on the day the meal became available, after "taking over" the chain's Twitter account.

But suffice to say it's the purple shake that has really captured the rapt attention of the internet, and not just because of its enigmatic flavor profile. Some say it's a sort of vanilla-berry mix, but exactly which kind of berry is also up for debate.

On TikTok, the fascination has evolved, or perhaps devolved, into a #GrimaceShake trend, which has amassed upwards of 500 million views within just a day or two of surfacing.

In many of the early videos, TikTok users announce to the camera that they've procured the new Grimace shake and are going to give it a try. But shortly after taking a sip, the video cuts to the user pretending to be passed out, with purple shake leaking out of their mouths or perhaps even sputtering up the concoction, as you can see in a few examples below.

As the trend began picking up steam, others got, shall we say, more creative with it.

"Hi guys, today we're going to be trying the new Grimace shake from McDonald's," said another user. "Happy birthday Grimace!" After taking a sip, however, the camera cuts to a scene resembling Blair Witch-style found footage, with the user leaking purple shake, covered in purple handprints, with a purple creature lurking nearby.

Another similar video features a TikToker who winds up tied up in the woods after sampling the shake, while a search team with flashlights ostensibly approach.

And yet another user found herself sacrificed at the foot of a pentagram after tasting the shake.

Of course, the shake is perfectly safe to drink—if not exactly a health food—and the viral marketing is probably not what McDonald's had in mind. Still, experts say it's likely to drum up sales.

Grimace was first introduced in 1971 as part of the original lineup of McDonald's characters, which at the time included Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar. To this day, no one is entirely clear on what the big purple blob-shaped mascot is supposed to be, although some theories suggest a milkshake or a taste bud.

If TikTok users are to believed, perhaps it's something far more nefarious.