McDonald's Pretended to Launch a Chinese Smartphone, Actually Launched New Chicken

In what would be the strangest news story of the week if it wasn't for Cooking Mama, McDonald's ran an advertising campaign in China teasing a new 5G smart device, which turned out to not be a cell phone but actually… chicken. As reported by Gizmochina, on April 13 McDonald's teased a new 5G product on its WeChat account, the Chinese social messaging service. The teasers look akin to many smartphone advertisements, with sleek designs hidden in shadow. Images in the advertisements suggested functions like facial recognition, cameras, and fast 5G capabilities. According to popular analyst Daniel Ahmad, speculation pointed to a new self checkout system. Whatever it was, it sure didn't suggest that you could eat it.

McDonalds is hosting a 5G conference in China to unveil its latest product.

It's teasing some type of smart product with slim bezels, the latest tech, facial recognition, high quality sound, camera and 5G. Speculation says it's some new self checkout product. pic.twitter.com/ETR4JJT5E4 — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 15, 2020

On April 15, McDonald's in China revealed what the new 5G device was: chicken. McCrispy Chicken, in fact. That’s crispy fried chicken with special spices and sauces. And while that all sounds really tasty, it definitely doesn’t seem to have anything to do with 5G. If you don’t speak Mandarin, then all of this makes very little sense. But if you do speak Mandarin, then you’ll know that the world Ji - pronounced like ‘G’ - is Mandarin for chicken. Yes, the entire campaign is a pun. As for the 5, well that’s the five chicken technologies, of course: taste, freshness, juiciness, crispy texture, and multiple sizes (leg, wing, and breast). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/22/5g-will-bring-google-stadia-virtually-anywhere-exec-says-ign-unfiltered"] For 5G tech that's actually real, check out of first look at TCL's upcoming smartphone that offers 5G for just $400. That may be more than a bucket of chicken, but you'll find it easier to browse Reddit on a phone instead of a crispy wing. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.