From Furby to Grimace, brands cash in with nostalgic reboots

NEW YORK: Furby and Polly Pocket are making a comeback — and don't forget Surge soda and McDonald's Grimace — as businesses deepen bets around consumers' nostalgia for decades-old brands.
In the most recent quarter, McDonald's pointed to the fuzzy purple blob Grimace as a particular source of better-than-expected profits.
A berry-flavored milkshake built around the character, who first appeared in the 1970s, lit up social media and boosted sales in the United States where the limited-edition drink was available.
"Grimace has been everywhere the past few months — all over the news, and more than three billion views on TikTok," McDonald's Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said last month.
The strong sales are evidence of the "knock-on" benefits to McDonald's from the advertising blitz, according to Matt Smith, a trends manager at audience insight company GWI.

"It was not only a success online but it drove people to buy the shake in the restaurant and to buy other products," Smith told AFP.
Popular characters like Grimace are also easy candidates for T-shirts, which amount to "free advertising, essentially, for McDonald's," said Neil Saunders of GlobalData Retail.
"That's the icing on the cake."