Whataburger’s Birthday Shake is made of birthday-cake-flavored vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and orange sprinkles and will be available for free all day (or while supplies last) to rewards members through the Whataburger app. (Happy birthday to us, while we mine your data. ...) The shake will also be dyed Whataburger orange, so if a limited-edition flavor doesn’t entice you, perhaps an Instagrammable moment will.
A statement released to the press compared this special to “inviting hundreds of thousands of your closest friends to your birthday party.” The potential drive-thru line ramifications have us feeling a little uneasy, but we’re otherwise all about it.
Whataburger isn’t the first fast-food restaurant to party like it's their birthday. McDonald’s found unlikely viral success last year with its “Grimace’s Birthday” campaign, during which Mickey D. guilt-tripped the nation into wishing the B-tier mascot a happy birthday with money.
Whataburger is upping the birthday game with a pledge to donate $74,000 worth of teachers’ wish-list items. The brand’s followers on X will be able to nominate teachers who need classroom supplies throughout the day on Thursday, and Whataburger will oblige until all of the money is spent.
Suddenly, last year’s quest to give a sad purple blob a nice birthday seems a little hollow. We’ll keep you posted on how Grimace or any other fast-food restaurant or mascot tops this moving forward.
The free Birthday Shake offer is exclusive to the Whataburger app, with one shake per rewards member. More information can be found on Whataburger’s website.
