Grimace was redesigned as a purple figure in 1972.
The character’s early concept was different from the friendly, simple figure familiar from later McDonald’s advertising. The redesign gave Grimace a large purple body and a more approachable personality, making him better suited to McDonaldland’s family-oriented cast.
After the change, Grimace became one of McDonald’s most recognizable characters alongside Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, and Mayor McCheese. His simple shape and vivid color made him easy to identify in television commercials, restaurant displays, toys, and other promotional materials.
Grimace is sometimes described as a milkshake or as another specific menu item, but McDonald’s character descriptions have not always been consistent on that point. The stable branding fact is his 1972 redesign as a purple figure, not a single universally fixed food identity.