McDonald's strikes collaboration with designer Anna Sui for Chinese New Year

What do McDonald's and fashion designer Anna Sui have in common? At first glance, not a whole lot. Regardless, in a multi-pronged campaign to launch a new $1 value menu and mark Chinese New Year, the fast food giant has tapped the designer to create limited edition red envelopes in the US.

The collaboration tries hard to tie in several different ideas: The upcoming lunar new year will usher in the Year of the Dog. Sui, is a popular Chinese-American designer. She has been tapped to create limited red envelopes, which are traditionally filled with money and distributed as gifts across China during the three-week holiday. 

McDonald's has launched a new $1, $2, $3 dollar menu, for foods like the McChicken sandwich, Sausage McMuffin with Egg, Triple Cheeseburger, and Happy Meal. 

The red envelopes feature Sui's rendition of popular Asian dog breeds like the Pug and Shiba Inu. And any gift money received by friends and family can be used to buy several meal deals at once.

That seems to be the overall gist of the campaign, anyway. 

The red envelopes will be distributed at a promotional event on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at precisely 1:23 pm, at the Japantown Peace Plaza in San Francisco.