Every Lunar New Year, brands flood feeds with the usual suspects: red-and-gold visuals, auspicious puns, limited-time bundles, and a race to be the snack you bring to the reunion dinner. McDonald’s Singapore does all of that—but in 2026, it also turns a familiar seasonal menu into something you can literally take home, hug, and (let’s be honest) show off on social.
Enter Prosperity Pals: a trio of plush toys inspired by McDonald’s Singapore’s iconic “Prosperity” items—the kind of product idea that looks adorable on the surface and quietly brilliant in the funnel. The move lands right as the “Prosperity” lineup returns—Prosperity burgers and Prosperity Twister Fries—and it adds a new layer of ritual to a ritual-heavy season.
The headline mechanic is disarmingly simple: each plushie costs S$8.80 with the purchase of any meal, while stocks last. That price point matters. It’s low enough to feel like an impulse add-on (a “why not?” at checkout), but high enough to signal it’s not just a freebie. In loyalty terms, it’s a value exchange you can feel.
The campaign design: simple entry, smart sequencing
McDonald’s doesn’t drop everything at once. It structures the plushies as a staggered, three-part release, rolling out the collection across multiple dates: Twister Fries plush from Jan 29, 2026; Drink Cup from Feb 2; Prosperity Beef Burger from Feb 5.
That sequencing is more than calendar decoration—it’s a repeat-visit engine. A single drop creates a spike. A phased release creates a habit. Suddenly, “I want the full set” becomes a reason to come back (or re-open the app) again and again.
Then comes the “superfan” layer: an exclusive boxed set containing all three plushies, redeemable by MyM loyalty members via the McDonald’s app on Jan 26 at 3pm, for 2,688 rewards points. Marketing-Interactive frames this as a deliberate behavioral threshold—something you earn through consistent engagement rather than a one-off purchase.
This is the play: two audiences, one collectible idea.
Casual customers get an easy on-ramp: pay a small premium with any meal and you’re in. Loyal customers get recognition through exclusivity, scarcity, and a gated reward path. Marketing-Interactive calls this a “dual-tier” approach—and it’s exactly what many loyalty programs struggle to execute cleanly: giving newcomers a reason to start, without making regulars feel like they’re getting the same prize with extra steps.
Plushies aren’t “cute”—they’re post-purchase media
Plushies do something traditional promotions can’t: they live beyond the moment of consumption. A burger disappears. A plush stays on a bed, couch, desk, or car seat. That’s brand exposure without paying for another impression, and it’s surprisingly aligned with how people actually build emotional memory around brands—through physical cues, not ad slogans.
Marketing-Interactive puts it bluntly: plushies can act as an extension of the brand “long past purchase,” used to “shape behaviour, reward loyalty and drive retention.” In other words, this isn’t just merchandising. It’s brand persistence.
And McDonald’s doesn’t rely only on plushies. It stacks the seasonal offer with festive artifacts that already carry cultural meaning: limited-edition red packets bundled with Prosperity Special meals (while stocks last), plus a “Return Reward” card to pull the customer back again. It also offers the Lohei Treasure Box from S$28.80, a shareable bundle built for groups and gatherings—exactly how people eat during Lunar New Year.
This is a tight seasonal system: something for the individual collector, something for the family table, and something for the wallet-minded customer who loves a “deal inside a deal.”
The cause layer: small donation, big brand signal
A subtle but important element sits underneath the festive fun: McDonald’s Singapore says it will donate 10 cents for every Prosperity Special meal sold to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Singapore.
Will a 10-cent donation change purchase intent for everyone? Probably not. But it does change the story people tell themselves about the purchase. It gives the campaign a socially positive frame without turning the whole promotion into a guilt-driven fundraiser. In a season that’s already about goodwill and community, that’s smart alignment.
Why this works (and what advertisers should steal)
McDonald’s Singapore’s Prosperity Pals campaign is a good reminder that “loyalty” isn’t a points ledger. Loyalty is a set of behaviors: repeat visits, app opens, redemption actions, and social sharing. This campaign presses multiple buttons at once:
It gamifies completion. The three-drop structure turns collecting into a journey, not a one-time reward.
It creates clear tier value. Casual buyers don’t feel excluded; loyal members get a distinct, earned upgrade.
It makes seasonal marketing tangible. Red packets, plushies, and share boxes fit Lunar New Year rituals, so the promotion feels less like “advertising” and more like “festive stuff you’d want anyway.”
It builds app leverage. The MyM boxed set redemption is app-native and time-specific, which can drive urgency and digital habit.
There’s also a meta-lesson in the trend context: Marketing-Interactive notes the market has seen a wave of plushie launches, with experts warning about saturation unless the collectible feels intentional and “earned.” McDonald’s clears that bar by tying the plushies to a beloved, recurring menu and by designing the mechanic around repeatable behavior—not just a one-and-done giveaway.
If you run campaigns in retail, QSR, or any category where purchases are frequent and habits matter, this is worth studying. The “Prosperity Pals” aren’t just adorable. They’re a retention strategy disguised as a toy—and that’s exactly why it works.