Pringles and Halo have joined forces to bring you crisps that taste like a ‘Moa Burger’, so you can enjoy the same flavours as Noble Six during your mid-game snack.
It’s hard to be surprised by a marketing collaboration anymore in a world full of cross-promotions and co-branding partnerships (just think of this recent Colourpop x Animal Crossing makeup collection), but this one feels like a whole new level of unexpected. As it turns out, the latest collab to keeps your eyes out for is Halo x Pringles.
The unexpected new business partners are releasing a limited edition Halo-branded Pringles flavour, which has just hit the shelves of Walmart. The ‘Moa Burger’ flavoured crisps are inevitably a tool to promote Halo Infinite, which is expected in late 2021 after a poorly-received gameplay reveal in 2020 and various development road bumps.
For those who are understandably lost, the ‘Moa Burger’ flavouring is a reference to an in-game ad in Halo: Reach – restaurants on the planet Reach serve up burgers made from the giant flightless birds that inhabit the land. While these emu-like birds may appear to be perfectly fitting alien creatures, they were actually a real species in New Zealand, which went extinct within 100 years of human settlement after being over-hunted by the Māori.
It seems their fictional forms might meet the same fate, with their supposedly delicious meat being served up at World Cuisine kiosks all across the inner colonies of Reach. These new Pringles will feature an inspired blend of flavours like garlic, sweet ginger, and savoury beef, with a hit of capsicum and chilli.
Get the limited-edition @Pringles Moa Burger exclusively at @Walmart now! Our latest shipments from Reach have arrived, so be sure to grab them while you can. pic.twitter.com/7NAR8Oth7J
— Halo (@Halo) March 3, 2021
It’s important to be aware that these crisps are also the wavy edition of Pringles, so this bold flavour will feature an extra crunch. Senior director of marketing for Pringles, Gareth Maguire, claims they “had to create a flavour that would deliver on a taste fans could previously only imagine” and reckons the flavour they created “appeals to everyone”.
Maguire also boasted that Pringles pride themselves in “creating insanely accurate flavour combinations”, but a bird that tastes like beef rather than poultry doesn’t sound entirely accurate. Not that there’s any way to confirm the flavour of a fictional food, so Pringles is definitely allowed some artistic licence.
Taste Testing the Moa Burger Pringles…. @halo @Pringles @Walmart pic.twitter.com/hG5PbvBQAG
— Krysta 💤Professional Napper💤 (@KonanXD_) March 4, 2021
Due to Halo Infinite’s delayed release, there have already been various other untimely marketing campaigns for the game – Microsoft has partnered with Butterfinger to offer free DLC alongside purchases of the candy bar, as well as teaming up with Monster Energy to give fans double XP when the game is released.
It appears that the Pringles cans don’t contain any digital items, but they could make a nifty collector’s piece.
Since hitting supermarket shelves, the chips have been unboxed, tasted and reviewed online by many Halo fans, even catching the attention of late-night TV host Stephen Colbert. Colbert cracked jokes about the wacky collaboration during a segment of The Late Show:
“If you’ve ever been blasting away at creatures in Halo and thought, ‘I wish I could eat them’. Great news. Pringles and Microsoft – yes, you heard that right – have announced a new Halo potato chip that tastes like a space ostrich.”
The limited edition Pringles are a Walmart exclusive, so it’s currently looking unlikely that we’ll see them outside of the US. Halo fans across the world who have caught a craving for the ‘Moa Burger’ are understandably disappointed, but there’s still plenty of time left before the game’s release for the flavour to roll out internationally.
