Shamrock Shake

The green “Shamrock Shake” is a specialty of McDonald’s restaurants, usually available only around St. Patrick’s Day. McDonald’s states that the shake was introduced in 1970, but its trademark has a date of “March 1971” and a print ad appeared on March 12, 1971. A restaurant in Fond Du Lac (WI) also offered a “Shamrock Shake” in March 1971.
 
McDonald’s “Shamrock Shake” is similar to its vanilla shake, but with added green coloring. Proceeds from Shamrock Shake sales have helped build Ronald McDonald Houses for families with ill children receiving long-term treatment.
 
There are no shamrocks in a shamrock shake. “I asked the teenager working at McDonald’s if the shamrock shakes were made with fresh shamrocks. He went to ask the manager.” is a joke.
       
   
Wikipedia: Shamrock Shake
The Shamrock Shake, a green, mint-flavored milkshake, is a seasonal dessert sold at McDonald’s during March to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
 
Origin
The Shamrock Shake was first introduced in 1970, and is credited with helping pave the way for other seasonal drinks, including Starbucks Coffee’s pumpkin spice and eggnog lattes. Shamrock Shakes were widely available across Canada and the United States until the early 1990s. They are still available at select American stores during the month of March. The Shamrock Shake typically appears in late-February. For the 2010 version whipped cream and a cherry were added as toppings. The price of a large shake has doubled in the last decade from $1.80 to around $3.60 in the Midwest.
 
About McDonald’s
The Shamrock Shake®
The real story behind the minty green treat
Since first launching in the U.S. in 1970, the Shamrock Shake has built an almost cult-like following who eagerly await its yearly return to the menu at select McDonald’s restaurants for those magical few weeks leading up to the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. But the beloved minty green treat has another legacy that even its most loyal fans may not know.
 
It all began with a little girl, a football team, and a visionary doctor. When Philadelphia Eagles tight end Fred Hill’s 3-year-old daughter, Kim, was being treated for leukemia in 1974, his life changed. He and his wife, Fran, camped out on hospital benches and sat in cramped waiting rooms during Kim’s three years of treatment. The Hills watched other parents and families of seriously ill children do the same thing. Many of the families had to travel long distances for their children to receive medical treatment and couldn’t afford hotel rooms.
 
The Hills knew there had to be a solution. Fred rallied the support of his teammates to raise funds. Through Jim Murray, the Eagles’ general manager, the team offered its support to Dr. Audrey Evans, head of the pediatric oncology unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Evans had long dreamed of a “home away from home” for families of children being treated at her hospital.
 
Murray called Don Tuckerman, a friend from the local McDonald’s advertising agency. “What’s your next promotion?” he asked. “St Patrick’s Day,” Tuckerman said. “Shamrock Shakes.”
 
It was perfect: The milkshakes were green - the Eagles’ color! With the support of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc and regional manager Ed Rensi, Tuckerman launched a week-long promotion around the Shamrock Shake, with all profits to be donated to the cause.
 
Enough funds were raised to help buy an old four-story, seven-bedroom house Evans had found near the hospital. It opened in 1974 as the first Ronald McDonald House.
     
McDonald’s USA
Shamrock Triple Thick® Shake (12 fl oz cup)
Serving Size: 12 fl oz cup
(...)
Ingredients (Allergen statement in ALL CAPS.)
Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream: Milk, sugar, cream, nonfat milk solids, corn syrup solids, mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, dextrose, sodium citrate, artificial vanilla flavor, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, disodium phosphate, cellulose gum, vitamin A palmitate. CONTAINS MILK. Shamrock Shake Syrup: High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, sugar, natural flavor (plant source), xanthan gum, citric acid, sodium benzoate (preservative), yellow 5, blue 1. 
 
Wikipedia: St. Patrick’s Day
Saint Patrick’s Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a yearly holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (circa AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It began as a purely Christian holiday and became an official feast day in the early 1600s. However, it has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Ireland’s culture.
 
It is a public holiday on the island of Ireland; including Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.
 
Wikipedia; Shamrock
The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland. It is a three-leafed old white clover. It is sometimes of the variety Trifolium repens (a white clover, known in Irish as seamair bhán) but today usually Trifolium dubium (a lesser clover, Irish: seamair bhuí).

The diminutive version of the Irish word for “clover” (“seamair”) is “seamróg”, which was anglicised as “shamrock”, representing a close approximation of the original Irish pronunciation. However, other three-leafed plants — such as black medic (Medicago lupulina), red clover (Trifolium pratense), and wood-sorrel (genus Oxalis) — are sometimes designated as shamrocks. The shamrock was traditionally used for its medical properties and was a popular motif in Victorian times.
 
12 March 1971, Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune and Press, pg. 9, col. 5 ad:
Green Shamrock
SHAKE!
(McDonald’s—ed.)
   
16 March 1971, Fond Du Lac (WI) Commonwealth Reporter, pg. 5, col. 2 ad:
ROBBY’S
GOES GREEN
WITH
SHAMROCK SHAKES
ON ST. PATRICK’s DAY
 
10 March 1972, Logansport (IN) haros-Tribune and Press, pg. 10, col. 5 ad:
McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes
 
Google News Archive
9 March 1973, Lawrence (KS) Daily Journal-World, pg. 7, col. 3 ad:
McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark SHAMROCK SHAKE
Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: A FLAVORED, DAIRY BASED SHAKE FOR CONSUMPTION ON OR OFF THE PREMISES. FIRST USE: 19710300. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19710300
IC 042. US 100. G & S: RESTAURANT SERVICES FEATURING A DAIRY BASED SHAKE. FIRST USE: 19710300. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19710300
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73369607
Filing Date June 14, 1982
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition October 25, 1988
Registration Number 1521154
Registration Date January 17, 1989
Owner (REGISTRANT) MCDONALD’S CORPORATION CORPORATION DELAWARE ONE MCDONALD’S PLAZA OAK BROOK ILLINOIS 60523
Attorney of Record SHEILA LEHR
Type of Mark TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20090602.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20090602
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE