McDonald’s, Olipop, and Nissan Dish on Their Buzziest Brand Collabs 

ADWEEK’s Social Media Week has come to a close, but the social and influencer marketing conversation is here to stay.

Brands big and small convened at the event in New York City this past week to discuss their social strategies, how they’re forging creator partnerships, and everything in between.

During a panel called “How Brands Are Getting Social Right,” marketers from McDonald’s, Olipop, and Nissan highlighted some of their biggest collaborations in the past year—and how they drove success.

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The Grimace effect

In 2023, McDonald’s reintroduced its fuzzy purple mascot, Grimace, by unveiling a purple milkshake to celebrate his birthday. Virality soon followed as people took to social media to mock the product with homemade horror skits.

The QSR chain, with help from its agency Wieden+Kennedy, leaned into this moment by incorporating the rotund character into more campaigns and collabs, including with the New York Mets.

After Grimace threw out the first pitch at a Mets game last summer, the moment coincidentally kicked off a win streak for the team. Fans then credited the character for the Mets’ sudden success, leading to an ongoing partnership.

“It was completely fan-led,” said Amanda Mulligan, McDonald’s head of social media and influencer marketing. “[They] coined it, ‘The Grimace Effect.'”

To maintain the momentum, McDonald’s worked with the Mets to create a custom, purple stadium chair for Grimace. He also rode the 7 train in New York City, the purple subway line with a direct route to Citi Field, the team’s home stadium.

Barbie x Olipop

Olipop also made a big splash through a collab with Barbie. Last year, the health soda brand partnered with the Mattel doll on a peaches and cream flavor to commemorate the toy’s 65th birthday and the relaunch of its 1984 Peaches ‘N Cream Barbie.

“We actually had formulated peaches and cream and never launched it, so it was this super serendipitous conversation,” said Steven Vigilante, Olipop’s director of strategic partnerships. “And all that stemmed from us putting Olipop into the Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice ‘Barbie World’ music video. So it was like one partnership that led to another partnership.”

The collaboration came a year after the 2023 Barbie movie turned the world pink. Per Vigilante, Olipop’s Barbie collab was its “most successful and largest flavor launch ever.”

World’s fastest Nissan Z

Last year, Nissan spotlighted its racing cars by partnering with auto builder and actress Emelia Hartford. The brand sent her its GT-R model, which she then built and raced, documenting the process on her social channels.

“She was able to build the world’s fastest Z and actually break the quarter-mile record twice so that was a fun one to watch come to life,” said Camille Zingoni, Nissan United’s influencer marketing lead.