Lucky you: The Shamrock Shake is back at McDonald’s
McDonald’s is bringing back its classic Shamrock Shake to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but banish the thought of another run for the four chocolate-infused variants that it introduced last year. It’s mere blarney.
The minty Shamrock, a short-time fixture at the Golden Arches since it was introduced in 1970, returned Wednesday and will become as rare as a four-leaf clover after St. Patrick’s Day, March. 17.
In a high-tech touch, McDonald’s is introducing an official Shamrock Shake Finder app for smartphones. But missing this year is the Shamrock Shake-related quartet unveiled in 2017 — the Chocolate Shamrock Shake, the Shamrock Chocolate Chip Frappé, the Shamrock Mocha and the Shamrock Hot Chocolate.
McDonald’s officials say they were limited-timeonly beverages — but then again, so is the classic Shamrock.
The classic is an early example of a trend that has now swept the fast-food world — wild limited-time offer drinks that seemed perfectly suited to the age of Instagram, Facebook and other social media outlets. Starbucks has picked up the beat in a big way with drinks such as its autumnal Pumpkin Spice Latte.
The Shamrock brings in the green — as in money.
“McDonald’s definitely gets a profitable sales boost, especially between now and March, when everyone wants to be Irish,” said Burt Flickinger III, managing director of the Strategic Resource Group, a retail and consumer goods consultancy.
McDonald’s and Starbucks aren’t the only chains that look to seasonal or wacky drinks to get customers excited — and through the door. Other examples:
❚ Arby’s. The Liger Shake, an orange drink with brown stripes that refers to a mix of the lion and the tiger. The term was popularized by the movie Napolean Dynamite. ❚ Burger King. The chain found The Lucky Charms Shake and the Fruit Loops Shake.
❚ Shake Shack. The Will & Grace Shake, a reference to the popular television series that includes cinnamon, marshmallow, frozen custard, fudge, whipped cream and cinnamon sugar. There’s also another drink based on characters in the same show, the Jack & Karen Shake.
❚ Starbucks. The coffee chain rocked social media with two colorful drinks, the Unicorn Frappuccino and the Zombie Frappuccino.
All amount to “a seasonal reminder to get you to come in and get you to spend money you might not otherwise spend,” said Bruce Turkel, executive creative director of Miami-based branding firm Turkel Brands. “There’s a sense of urgency: If you want a Pumpkin Spice Latte or a Shamrock Shake, you better go now, because they’re only going to have it for this period of time.”
The fast-food chain caught some flak last year over a Shamrock Shake-related tweet, which included images of bagpipes and Stonehenge. Bagpipes are Scottish and the prehistoric stone monument is in England.
McDonald’s has placed a bigger emphasis on beverages. In September, it refreshed the McCafe lineup by introducing new handcrafted drinks — caramel macchiato, Americano and three flavors of cappuccino. And beyond its restaurants, McDonald’s is partnering with Coca-Cola to sell ready-to-drink caramel-, mocha- and vanilla-flavored McCafé Frappé drinks in stores.