# Grimace Shake

> The Grimace Shake horror trend reached 2.4 billion TikTok hashtag views.

- Owner: McDonald's
- Kind: Meme & format
- Sector: Food & beverage
- Seed date: 2023-06-13
- Peak date: 2023-06-28
- Spread Score: 59 (Notable), v1.2
- Mechanics: Remixable template, Creator relay, Platform jump, Press loop, Mascot persona, Challenge

## Summary

Frazier posted a horror tasting on June 13. Twelve days later, TikTok remixes cascaded into fan art on X. McDonald's pretended not to see them; its CEO later called Grimace the theme of the quarter.

## Timeline

- 2023-06-06 — McDonald's (X) — McDonald's announced a Grimace meal and purple shake; the campaign included a Brian Cox-narrated TV spot. (8.6M X impressions as of 2026-10-12 (live))
- 2023-06-12 — McDonald's (Retail) — The Grimace Birthday Meal and Shake became available at participating U.S. restaurants.
- 2023-06-12 — TheReportOfTheWeek (YouTube) — TheReportOfTheWeek reviewed the birthday meal before the horror format appeared.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/grimace-shake

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Grimace Shake.” Case HIS-00197. Spread Score v1.2: 59/100. Updated 2026-10-12. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00197