No, Ellie the Elephant is not in a romantic relationship with Grimace.
This month, the New York Liberty’s mascot, a fashion icon known for her dance moves on the court, was spotted hanging out with McDonald’s mascot Grimace, “a large, purple, rotund being” who also happens to be a major Mets fan.
While the sightings, captured in paparazzi-style photos, sparked dating rumors, Marketing Brew can exclusively confirm that they are not romantically involved, according to Liberty Chief Brand Officer Shana Stephenson. Instead, it’s strictly business: McDonald’s tapped Ellie to help promote this year’s McDonald’s All American Games, an east-versus-west-style competition between high school basketball players that Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan once played in that are taking place at the Liberty’s home court at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this year.
“I’ve seen the rumors, the speculation around the true nature of their relationship, but this was a collaboration forged through friendship,” Stephenson said.
With the success that Ellie and the Liberty both had in 2024, does the mascot even have time for romance? This year, with Grimace and beyond, Ellie is all business.
Courtship
Ellie and Grimace’s friendship does have one thing in common with many celebrities’ romantic tie-ups: “It was all very strategic,” Stephenson said.
Late last year, longtime McDonald’s ad agency Wieden+Kennedy reached out to the Liberty with the idea to announce the All American Games at Barclays by having Ellie show Grimace around her home. Stephenson said her team loved the concept of an Ellie-Grimace collab, in part because Grimace’s star was also on the rise.
“Grimace, similarly to Ellie, had a phenomenal year last year, particularly in New York through [McDonald’s] partnership with the New York Mets,” she said. “They had a lot of virality around their campaign and their partnership.”
Naturally, when Ellie and Grimace soft-launched their blossoming friendship on Instagram, the news quickly got attention from news outlets like People, the Today Show, and TMZ, which ran a sponsored post imitating the kind of breathless coverage human celebrity dating rumors might normally attract.
While the relationship may be platonic, Stephenson told us it’s meant to be long-term. After the original post, the McDonald’s, Ellie, Barclays, and All American Games accounts shared a video of Ellie and Grimace at Barclays officially announcing that tickets went on sale, and Stephenson said there’s more content to come beyond the All American Games and leading up to the start of the WNBA season in May.
Monkey Elephant business
Grimace isn’t the first mascot to come knocking on Ellie’s door. She’s also collabed with New York Islanders mascot Sparky the Dragon to promote the WNBA’s Commissioners Cup, and she regularly makes the guest list for mascot birthday parties (which, yes, are apparently a thing), Stephenson said.
Get marketing news you'll actually want to read
Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.
Prior to McDonald’s, Ellie has also been involved in brand deals with companies including Bumble, Xbox, Glowbar, and Olipop (and its mascots). As her star status continues to grow, Stephenson said the Liberty’s marketing organization is working on creating a rate card for partners unique to Ellie.
For now, there aren’t hard-and-fast rules on whether a brand has to have a broader sponsorship with the Liberty to work with Ellie, but Stephenson said the team is discussing the structure of Ellie’s deals during the current offseason.
“Knowing the value the New York Liberty has as current WNBA champions, we just have to be very thoughtful, very strategic, about how we work with a lot of these requests and opportunities,” she said. “This is new territory for us. We’ve never been in this situation before where we’ve had a mascot who is in such demand. It’s very different than pitching the team, pitching the franchise, pitching players.”
While the Liberty is new to navigating the mounting fame of their mascot, Stephenson previously told us that Ellie represents the team’s “biggest opportunity for growth.” The team is looking to expand the mascot’s visibility and monetization opportunities even further—a goal that McDonald’s and Grimace are helping to achieve, Stephenson said, considering their global reach. Her team is also working to keep Ellie’s character fresh so fans don’t get bored.
In other words, Ellie is working on herself this year.
“Ellie is just focused on handling her business right now,” Stephenson said. “I don’t think Ellie is really on the hunt to be in a relationship with anyone.”