--- title: McDonald’s is cashing in on nostalgia - The Hustle description: McDonald’s adult Happy Meals and returning Boo Buckets play into millennial nostalgia. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1501662625-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-11T000352.796Z.webp --- # McDonald’s is cashing in on nostalgia ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: October 11, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 In a gust of [spoopy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/what-does-spoopy-mean-slang-word-history) nostalgia, McDonald’s Halloween Boo Buckets [are back](https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1578012537408278529) in participating US stores Oct. 18-31. ![McDonald’s is cashing in on nostalgia](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1501662625-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-11T000352.796Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1501662625-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-11T000352.796Z.webp) After a successful test run in the NYC and Boston areas, the buckets first debuted in 1986, [per](https://nightmarenostalgia.com/2021/09/17/celebrating-35-years-of-mcdonalds-halloween-buckets/) horror blog *Nightmare Nostalgia*. The first run saw [three orange jack-o’-lantern buckets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmzI9Y4IoFU): McPunk’n, McBoo, and McGoblin. Buckets replaced the Happy Meal’s cardboard box and toy for several Halloweens to follow, and McDonald’s frequently iterated on their designs. - **1989: **McBoo was joined by the white McGhost and the green McWitch. - **1992: **The bucket lids got Halloween cookie cutters. - **Between 2010 and 2016,** the buckets featured pop culture tie-ins, including Mr. Potato Head, *Minions*, and *It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown*. McDonald’s occasionally tried other Halloween toys, but the pails have always been the most popular, [per](https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/en-us/our-stories/article/ourstories.pumpkin_pails.html) McDonald’s archivist Mike Bullington. #### **They could also lure millennials** The 2022 versions** **[riff on](https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/en-us/our-stories/article/ourstories.mcd-halloween-pails.html) the classic ‘89 buckets, which were *obviously *the best — and the ones millenials likely remember from childhood. As adults, millennials haven’t taken to McDonald’s like previous generations have. - In 2016, *The* *Wall Street Journal *reported that [80%](https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-knows-its-losing-the-burger-battlecan-it-come-back-1475769684) of millennials hadn’t tried a Big Mac, and that many preferred health-focused chains or newer options like Shake Shack. Still, McDonald’s is reportedly [selling out](https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-adult-happy-meal-sold-out-2022-10) of its “adult Happy Meal” collaboration with streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market. **BTW:** In ‘91, McDonald’s replaced the pails with vinyl treat bags, but a collector found the [lost designs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqkrXqbcNsA) for the buckets that never were. Topics: [Franchise](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/franchise-opportunities) Topics: [Food](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/food) [Franchise](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/franchise) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1244337807-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Texas-BBQ_20230928210924.webp) ### Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue - ![Think your industry is weird? 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