Grimace has been a part of our lives since we were children thanks to the marketing power of McDonald’s. But even though the Macca’s gang and their group dynamic are more familiar to us than the people in our own friendship circle there’s always been one question that has loomed over this group of pals: what exactly is Grimace?
He’s a large, happy, purple thing but what is that thing? Is he the embodiment of an upturned purple shake from a long-forgotten promotion? Is he one of the purple hills from the censored version of the D12 song Purple Pills come to life? What is he?
According to the manager of a McDonald’s in Canada, Grimace is a taste bud. That’s not a Canadian mix-up where they call everybody ‘bud’, he’s being serious. This isn’t just any McDonald’s manager saying this, by the way, this is Brian Bates, award winning Outstanding Manager of the Year.
Bates was interviewed by the Windsor Morning where he dropped the bombshell.
“Grimace is a taste bud. That’s what he is, a taste bud. He is an enormous taste bud, but a taste bud nonetheless.”
I suppose that makes as much sense as everybody else in the gang. You’ve got a clown, a thief and a bird that loves the breakfast menu. But if McDonald’s is happy to have a giant goofy taste bud rolling around why not bring back a couple of long forgotten McDonald’s mascots. What’s Mayor McCheese been up to since he retired from office? What about Officer Big Mac? Why’d that Big Mac cop ever leave the force? Were there some corruption issues in McDonaldland that caused the Mayor and the top cop to stand down? Answer my questions!
Grimace being an enormous taste bud kind of makes sense if you try not to think about it too much. Bates believes that Grimace’s happiness represents that “McDonald’s tastes great.” Sure, but there are plenty of things that can smile and enjoy the taste of a Filet-o-fish and a Sprite with no ice, he doesn’t have to be a giant, walking, talking taste bud. He could just a be a purple monster. He’s not though. He’s a taste bud. Grimace is a taste bud.
