Recently, I had the opportunity to briefly talk with a McDonalds Corporate Public Relations person. I would like to publicly thank Ms. Lisa Grey for her time in answering the following questions.
What makes this
promotion different from the promotions of years past?
This promotion is very exciting. All of the Teenie Beanies with
the exception of Rocket are retired.
Are Teenie Beanies
still the number one best selling Happy Meal Toy?
Yes, without a doubt. The Teenie Beanies are very popular and
are still our # 1 selling toy!
Did McDonalds make
any Teenie Beanie Happy Meal boxes for this promotion?
No, I do not believe that they did. As far as I know all we have
are the Happy Meal bags.
How popular do you
anticipate the International Bears to be?
I expect the bears to be very popular. They are a Special LIMITED
Edition and rules will vary per establishment.
How does McDonalds
feel about not being able to debut their own product? Teenie Beanies
were sold on auction sites, through secondary markets and even
publicized before they were released.
McDonalds did not authorize any items or news about the promotion
before the release.
I guess the total count
of Teenie Beanies is as much as a guarded secret as the secret
sauces in McDonalds Big Macs. When I asked Lisa about the total
amount produced, she wished not to comment. I did not press the
issue and moved on!
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I also revisited my favorite McDonalds outside of Potomac Mills
Mall in Woodbridge, VA- I spoke with David the store manager about
the current promotion.
David has informed me that although the promotion started off a little slow it is definitely increased in volume and collectors are arriving in droves.
David also anticipates them selling out the entire line with no problem at all! He is very proud that his store chose to follow McDonalds guidelines. They offered product as designated and have serviced many who had missed out on previous items.
David has also informed me that this promotion has gone smoothly with the exception of collectors who want to purchase items out of their designated order. There have been NO fights and very few rude customers.
He is still amazed at the amount of collectors who are awaiting his arrival to open the store in order to purchase their Teenie Beanies. "This promotion is crazy, it's good to see a toy make so many collectors happy".
I was unable to speak with David in-depth. The store was very crowed and I had to wait over an hour just to ask these few questions. I will visit him again later this week for additional information.
A special thanks to Ms. Lisa Grey and David for their participation in this update. McDonalds sure knows how to hire nice people. Everyone I've spoken with during this promotion has been very pleasant and cooperative.
