Tuesday, July 27, 2004

The Grimace Letter

Back in 2002, I sent McDonald's an email regarding an issue that had been troubling me for years. My inquiry was as follows:

When I was a child I remember Grimace being called the Evil Grimace,
and he used to steal milkshakes from unsuspecting children. At that time he had six arms.

Later on in life, and without any reasonable explanation, his arms were reduced to four and he was no longer "evil".

Today, he has two arms. What gives?

Thanks,
David A. Moreno


It took a few months, but I did get a reply:

Hello David:

Thank you for writing to McDonald's about Grimace.

Over the years the image of Grimace has changed because we want this character to represent McDonald's in a positive manner. Grimace personifies the child in everyone. He's a big, fuzzy, purple fellow, and is Ronald's right-hand man and closest friend.

Everyone in McDonaldland loves Grimace because of his innocent, loving nature. He's enthusiastic, eager and easily pleased. Grimace walks with a rolling gait, and can't be classified as any particular kind of animal.

Once again, David, thanks for thinking of Grimace. We look forward to serving you for many years to come.

Mark
McDonald's Customer Satisfaction Department
ref#:1082645


Maybe it's just me, but that didn't really answer my question.

And I soon realized the errors of my ways: Grimace never had six arms. Maybe it was just imbedded in my mind because of an old commercial in which Mayor McCheese raised his hand and yelled, "I second that motion!" Grimace then raised his hands one at a time and replied, "and third it, and fourth it, and fifth it, and and and sixth it!"

Ah, Grimace...

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