Godzilla has never really become a major part of American culture.
The monster has starred in numerous movies over the years, ranging from low-budget rubber suit films to several attempts at a massive blockbuster. 2014's "Godzilla," for example, starred A-list(ish) talent in Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, and Ken Watanabe, but it was largely a box office disappointment.
The film made $200 million domestically and $524 million globally. That might have been enough to eke out a small profit, but it's a relatively small return on the film's massive cost. That did not stop what is now Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) -) from trying again by pairing the Japanese favorite against a monster Americans like more.
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"Godzilla vs. Kong," which came out in 2021, did even worse at the box office bringing in only $100 million domestically and $369 million internationally for a disappointing $470 million global take. That happened despite another top-tier cast including Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry
Despite its box office failures in the U.S., Godzilla remains wildly popular in Japan. That's why McDonald's (MCD) -) has used the monster (and sometimes hero) as the inspiration for three new burgers unique to its stores in Japan.
Image source: Shutterstock
McDonald's unleashes a monster
In the United States, McDonald's has generally not marketed around offering the largest burger. That's an area where Wendy's (WEN) -) has generally been the market leader: Its signature Baconator stands as the most decadent regular offering from fast food's big three burger chains.
That's not the case in Japan where McDonald's has often gone big as a marketing strategy. It's doing that again with its latest Godzilla promotion.
"These three Godzilla Burgers are McDonald’s Japan’s/humanity’s last chance at stopping the monster’s rampage. Each is, as you’d expect, an extra-meaty, super-filling sandwich, starting with the Delicious Spicy Thick-cut Beef and Rough-chopped Potato, with both beef and potato patties and a spicy mayo sauce plus cheddar cheese," Sora News 24 reported.
The chain, at least in Japan, uses a loose definition of "burger," as neither of the other two members of the Godzilla lineup are actually hamburgers.
"Plan B to curb Godzilla’s wrath and hunger is the Smokey Pepper Chicken, a fried chicken cutlet with thick-cut bacon, cheese, crisp sliced onion, and smokey mustard. Finally, there’s the Cheese Double Teriyaki, a brute-force approach that forgoes getting cute with the ingredients and just hitting Godzilla with two pork patties smothered in teriyaki sauce accompanied by cheese and lettuce," the news website shared.
McDonald's wants to go global
In 2023, McDonald's made an effort to learn from its operations all around the world. That's something CEO Chris Kempczinski talked about during his chain's third-quarter earnings call.
"Over the past year, we've been more intentional about sharing and scaling world-class ideas that drive impact globally. Central to our continued strength is how we maximize our marketing to stay relevant to customers," he said.
Those efforts include using the same promotions (albeit not the Godzilla burgers) all around the world.
"In August, we launched As Featured In, in over 100 markets, making it our largest global campaign to date," he added. "The campaign celebrates the most memorable McDonald's references across the world of entertainment with over 20 McDonald's integrations that span across Hollywood, Bollywood, anime, and independent film. It's also another proof point of the impact and power that a One McDonald's Way approach to marketing can have to drive engagement, allowing our markets to remain globally consistent but locally relevant."
