McDonald’s Japan’s recent Pokémon card promotion quickly turned sour. Instead of joyful families, stores were overwhelmed by scalpers buying Happy Meals by the dozens—and tossing aside untouched food. That kind of waste sparked outrage everywhere.

Cards Over Meals: A Costly Trend

The campaign was supposed to run for three days, but ended after just one. What went wrong? Hungry collectors—or resellers—snatched meals solely for the collectible Pokémon cards. The food? Often abandoned on sidewalks, in parking lots, and even inside stores. It’s the kind of scene no one planned for.

Scalping and Shelves in Disarray

Even with a five-meal limit per person, scalpers found ways around it—placing multiple online orders or sending others as proxy buyers. The result: empty shelves, frustrated customers, and tens of thousands of yen worth of waste piling up.

A PR Nightmare for McDonald’s

McDonald’s Japan issued an apology and pulled the plug early, acknowledging the chaos and waste. They promised stronger measures in future campaigns—like tighter purchase limits and controls on bulk online orders—to protect both food and fans.