McDonald's just showed how brands can use retro gaming to make pretty much anything look cool. The fastfood giant has cooked up a trio of TV ads that turn its new Street Fighter 'Street Burgers' into signature special attack moves in a pixel-perfect homage to Capcom's classic arcade game.
Made for McDonald's Japan, the campaign boasts authentic-looking animation, including custom sprites in the style of Street Fighter II. It's hitting fans with a major dose of nostalgia (see our picks of the best retro gaming consoles and the best retro handheld game consoles if you're inspired to relive more classics, after the burger, of course).
McDonald's initially teased the collaboration with Capcom on social media with mystery images showing what looked like 16-bit console scenes with the main figures cut out to leave black silhouettes. But there wasn't much chance of anybody mistaking the shape of the hair in the post below.
pic.twitter.com/91XOXXUoDzOctober 15, 2025
A day later, all was revealed in a series of three animated ads in which we see Akuma launch a roasted garlic bulb at Ryu and Guile throw a sonic boom of mayonnaise at Chun-Li. All to communicate a trio of Street Fighter Street Burgers inspired by popular street food.
There's a Ryu-branded burnt garlic mayonnaise and egg teriyaki hamburger, while Chun-Li puts her name to fried chicken with sweet and sour mayo, inspired by a popular dish at Chinese restaurants in Japan. Finally, there's the Torichi, a triple-cheeseburger. That's for Ken, obviously.
The burgers will be available at select McDonald's from 22 October, so there's still time to organise that trip to Japan. Meanwhile, there’s also a burger voting contest in Street Fighter VI and a new McDonalds-themed costume for Vega. Alas, it seems a missed opportunity to insert Ronald or Grimace into the game like KFC did with Colonel Sanders.
What's the message to take from all this? That nostalgia is big in branding in 2025, and retro gaming is perfect to harness that. Gaming nostalgia plus comfort food is a strong match – I can see people collecting the burger wrappers like game merch. Sure, the chosen characters might not have their physiques if they really ate at McDonald's, but it feels more appropriate than those Burger King baby ads.
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