For many years, McDonald’s has been known for its novelty collectible cups. Appearing to have first distributed them in the 1970s, the chain has since dropped promotional glasses sporadically, though the amount of releases have waned in the past two decades.
No one is sure why this is the case, though the glasses have attracted some controversy over the years. Since the beginning of the glasses’ release, there have been concerns about toxic chemicals used in the paints on the glass, with numerous iterations of the glasses needing to be recalled due to their presence of lead.
Now, McDonald’s has announced that they will temporarily be giving out painted cups as part of their “Collector’s Meal.” As noted by Angela Andaloro for the Daily Dot, “McDonald’s collector’s cups are available in six different designs. Each one highlights a different moment in McDonald’s memorabilia history.”
However, these glasses have also been met with controversy for a peculiar reason: they’re not glass at all.
A collectible glass that isn’t glass
In a series of two videos posted to her TikTok page that collectively have over 340,000 views, TikTok user @katarool issues a warning to those considering breaking their McDonald’s boycott to buy the glasses.
For context, McDonald’s has faced a boycott owing to controversy surrounding its continued operations in Israel during the country’s attack on Gaza following the events of Oct. 7. In January of this year, the International Court of Justice found that it was “plausible” that Israel was committed genocide in Gaza, and others have made similar claims in the months since. Israel has claimed that they are conducting a war against Hamas and that many of its actions are made in self-defense.
Returning to the TikTok, @katarool starts her video by saying, “If you’re a 90s kid that was planning on breaking your McDonald’s boycott one time to get the new collector’s cups that are coming out because it’s nostalgia, and it matches your vibes, and you have all the old cups, and you really want the new ones too, don’t do it. Don’t break the boycott. Don’t. It’s not worth it.”
The reason she says people shouldn’t buy the cups? “It’s plastic.”
As noted by the TikToker, the original cups are composed of glass.
“They’re like indented on the bottom with like hundred-year-Disney engravings on like, frosted glass on the bottom. All of the carvings are etched into the glass on these cups—and this is plastic,” she states.
In a follow-up video, she shows off some of the old glasses. They are, in fact, made of glass.
Curiously, McDonald’s fans who desire glass collectible cups can still get them—if they live in Canada. In Canada, McDonald’s are offering collectible glasses composed of glasses, though they are not painted and the designs differ significantly from their American counterparts.
@katarool I cant believe i got out of bed for a plastic cup. @McDonald’s #mcdonalds #90sbaby #nostalgia #boycott #maccas #dontdoit ♬ original sound – Looratak
@katarool #stitch with @Looratak @McDonald’s dug their final foot this morning. • • • • #mcdonalds #collector #happymeal #adulthappymeal #90sbaby #nostalgia #boycott ♬ original sound – Looratak
Commenters share the TikToker’s complaints
In the comments section, many users agreed with the TikToker’s distaste for the new, plastic collectible cups.
“Just like the Halloween buckets. Just super disappointing,” said a user, referring to McDonald’s previous promotion involving Halloween buckets.
“I’ll wait for it to pop up at goodwill,” added another.
“We had the Garfield mugs. those things were well made,” stated a third. “McDonald’s has enough money to give a quality product but they gotta be cheap.”
The Daily Dot reached out to McDonald’s via email and to @katarool via TikTok comment.
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