We've All Become God's Madmen...

I'm posting these now so I don't forget in a few weeks, but I can hardly believe it's already been nearly a full year since The Clone Wars had its midnight debut in theatres worldwide. Thanks to

robopresident, I was able to be present at the Quail Springs Mall (Edmond, OK) screening with all the other fans, just as I had with all the prequels (well technically I was at the Star World Promenade in Tulsa for the first prequel, but Quail Springs soon afterwards became the tradition).

All my life I'd imagined how cool it'd be when McDonald's would finally decide to do a SW tie-in, and I remember being convinced they'd do it for the prequels, after inexplicably skipping out on them for the Special Editions. I was forgetting the earlier precedent Burger King set with their original trilogy tie-ins; unfortunately Burger King hadn't been known for their toy line up until around 1998 so they were never a consideration I'd pondered for the new films. They ended up landing the franchise rights for the last prequel, and did a great job of making Happy Meal-esque toys and collectible watches. But what would a real McDonald's campaign look like?

So not only was it beyond believable that a seventh Star Wars film bridging Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith was coming to theatres with midnight screenings and a small modicum of hoopla (small because as the first four television episodes stitched together, in the long-run it only represents 1/96th of the whole 100-episode bridging storyline told weekly on The Clone Wars series), but also because this was the first time McDonald's had licensed the saga and were making toys available through their Happy Meal. It also meant all kinds of window clings, marquees, and poster art to advertise the event, turning every McDonald's in the world into a veritable spaceport for a 3 week run last August! And best of all, since the main throughline had already been told on the big screen, it meant we got toys from all six films, not just from one trilogy! Good things come to those who wait...

I was there, camera in-hand, documenting it all; some one had to do it for posterity! I even asked for a few unused, non-fry grease-spotted Happy Meal boxes to save as Holy Grails of the occasion. I hadn't been this excited about an in-store campaign since McDonald's did the same thing with one of my other favourite films ever, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 2 1/2 years before! Too bad they didn't follow suit with Prince Caspian...

( Click here to see all the sweet decor! )

Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: They Might Be Giants - Factory Showroom (1996)