McDonald’s serves up 'Thai-kejut' thrills with a spooky comedy twist

McDonald’s Malaysia is serving up laughs with its new Thai green curry burger (Burger kari hijau Thai), blending elements Thailand is famous for, and that's horror, Muay Thai, and its distinctive language, into a cheeky social campaign.

The new menu features the Thai green curry burger, tom yum McShaker, pineapple McFizz, and popping candy McFlurry. All available for a limited time starting 20 October in West Malaysia and 23 October in East Malaysia.

Through a three-part social video series, the brand adds humour to its latest menu launch. “From horror to Muay Thai to comedy, each story is built around the big idea of ‘Kari kau hijau’, a playful twist on the local phrase ‘Mak kau hijau’ to celebrate our new Thai green curry burger,” said Chin Mei Lee, chief marketing officer of McDonald’s Malaysia.

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The phrase “Kari kau hijau” (Your curry is green) is a recurring punchline across all three shorts. In the first video, a UFO appears above a McDonald’s outlet, beaming down an alien that startles staff and customers. Glowing green and looking furious, the creature suddenly breaks into a smile and starts chatting in Thai, asking what everyone is eating. Upon trying the new burger, the alien gleefully exclaims “Kari kau hijau!”, prompting the entire restaurant to cheer before teaching customers common Thai phrases.

The second video takes a spooky turn. A McDonald’s delivery rider drops off an order at an eerie old house covered in vines, where he’s greeted by a ghostly woman in white. As he realises she’s munching on a burger behind him, he bolts in terror, yelling “Kari kau hijau!” as he speeds away.

The final clip turns the spotlight on Muay Thai. Two fighters face off in a ring — but instead of punches, they trade verbal blows like “Cita rasa Thai” ("Flavours of Thailand), “Ayam atau ikan?” ("chicken or fish?") and the ultimate finisher, “Kari kau hijau!”, which delivers a knockout. The video ends with both competitors sharing a laugh and enjoying the burger ringside.

“We leaned into genres our audience loves — horror and comedy — to bring this idea to life in a way that feels fresh, fun, and unmistakably local,” Chin told A+M. “In times like these, when there’s so much negativity around, we just wanted to do something small to put a smile on our consumers’ faces,” she added.

The campaign was developed in collaboration with Leo Malaysia, C27, and OMD.

Adding to the humour, McDonald’s Malaysia also partnered with MyFM announcer and content creator Mei Yan (@meiyannnn1) for a comedic horror skit. In it, Mei Yan keeps hearing mysterious “tuk tuk” sounds and encounters ghostly figures — only to discover that the source of the noise is a McDonald’s delivery rider bringing her the new Thai green curry burger, “the real taste of Thailand.”

Singaporean comedian Jaspers Lai (@jasperspaspers) also stars in his own parody short, “我没你那么肤浅” (“Please lah, I’m not that shallow!”). Playing one of his signature characters, Lai appears to be pursuing a handsome man, only for the twist to reveal his true love is actually the Thai green curry burger — delivered by a McDonald’s tuk tuk. The skit ends with a cheeky whisper from the rider: “This is true love.” The video has already drawn over 4,000 likes within a week of release.

Earlier this October, McDonald’s Malaysia launched its latest mushroom sauce menu items with a quirky local twist. For the introduction of four new mushroom sauce limited-time offer products, the brand rolled out the “Musim Cendawan” (mushroom season) concept, a celebration of all things mushroom, including a breakfast option.

Teasing the release of the new menu, the brand leaned into the side of mystery with a digital billboard feature. In the video, an outline of what seems to be a mushroom at first, but is later revealed to be a man with a mushroom-shaped hairstyle. With no clues given as to what the mushroom-headed man is about, the words "25 Sep 2025" and the iconic golden arches appears across the screen.

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