On Monday and for a limited time only, McDonald’s will resume serving Szechuan dipping sauce, a Chinese-inspired condiment first introduced into Happy Meals in 1998 as part of a marketing campaign to promote the animated Disney movie “Mulan.”
Basically glorified ketchup, the sauce is unremarkable aside from the fact that it occasionally starts riots.
?20 MILLION SZECHUAN SAUCE CUPS NOW AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE!?
FINALLY get the sauce!? Celebrate w/ some Buttermilk Crispy Tenders (or other qual. purch.), a cup of Szechuan, and The Sauce: a podcast about the surreal, true Szechuan story. Listen now at https://t.co/Gcrq5kM71E pic.twitter.com/rHnvwEdQ71
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) February 26, 2018
The sauce isn’t gourmet, but it is in high demand because it features prominently in the Adult Swim show “Rick and Morty.” A cynical and hilarious animated mashup, the comedy is best described as one part “Back to the Future” and two parts “Futurama.” For reasons not worth getting into here, the alcoholic anti-hero super-genius of the show wants himself some Szechuan sauce. Adults fans wanted the same.
A leftover packet, that had probably been rolling around in the backseat of a minivan for the better part of two decades, was going for $99,000 on eBay. Gallon jugs of the stuff given out by McDonald’s to fans on Twitter sold for as much as $15,000. And when the fast-food chain started a limited release last October, fans camped outside overnight.
But when those adults couldn’t get the sauce because supplies ran out, they acted exactly like, well, adults who still watch cartoons: They threw tantrums.
Crowds formed at McDonald’s across the country. Cops were called. One fan jumped onto the counter of McDonald’s, ripped off his shirt screaming, and then flailed around on the floor. Shock theater maybe, the whole thing was captured on camera and definitely ugly. The clip below is absolutely cringeworthy.
The aforementioned anti-hero who stars in “Rick and Morty” is cynical and miserable. Aside from being a super-genius, his chief skill is making everyone around him miserable. He is, of course, not an object for emulation. But because audiences can’t discern the difference between describing a character and prescribing behavior, fans act out. They shouldn’t.
Oddly enough, McDonald’s offered an apology after the first juvenile fiasco, asking the unruly and rioting “neckbeards” for forgiveness. They promised to deliver more sauce. Now they delivered.
But this time, can everyone enjoy the Happy Meal condiment like an adult?
You spoke. We’ve listened. Lots more #SzechuanSauce and locations. Details soon. And that’s the wayyy the news goes! pic.twitter.com/ooIrbZBsOw
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) October 8, 2017
