1. Szechuan Sauce shakeup
What began as a prime marketing opportunity for McDonald’s quickly turned into a pop culture misfire. After the Cartoon Network show “Rick and Morty” featured the chain’slong-discontinued Szechuan Sauce in an episode, McDonald’s seized the moment on social media and gave away a limited amount of the sauce, later announcing it would bring back the sauce for one day in celebration of the chain’s new Buttermilk Crispy Tenders.
McDonald’s grossly underestimated the turnout the one-day promo would bring, however, and stores ran out of the condiment while there were still lines around the block. In response, angry “Rick and Morty” fans blasted the chain on social media. In an effort to soothe fans’ woes, the chain immediately issued an apology via social media and later stated that the beloved sauce would return to restaurants this winter.