McDonald’s made a weird move this month that actually kinda worked out. They collaborated with rapper Travis Scott to present the special $6 Travis Scott meal. The meal was a bacon and cheese quarter pounder, medium fries, barbecue sauce, and a sprite. Apparently, this is his favorite McDonald’s order.
I must admit, when I first saw this, I was a little confused. But it’s actually pretty genius when you think about it. Travis Scott is one of the most popular artists in the world right now, especially among young millennials and Gen Z’s, so why wouldn’t McDonalds use this opportunity to capitalize on the hype? If they can leverage Travis Scott’s personal brand to get this generation to connect to the McDonald’s brand, it seems like a no-brainer.
From the looks of my For You page on Tiktok, it looks like their strategy worked. I can’t tell you the amount of people who posted videos of them driving up to the drive-thru, saying “you know what I want,” and blasting the beginning of his popular song, Sicko Mode. All I was thinking when I saw these — besides “those poor workers”– was of all the free promo that McDonald’s was receiving.
The Travis Scott x McDonald’s Merch
Of course, Travis Scott had to benefit from this as well. In tandem with the meal, he launched an exclusive merch collection. It was very vintage-and-McDonalds-y. Anytime something is launched as an exclusive drop, people eat it up. Although there were lots of people criticizing this weird merch, there were just as many who jumped right on the website to buy it. There was a huge range of products, from the average merch like t-shirts and jackets to stranger items like a happy meal box, action figure, metal tray, and a giant chicken nugget body pillow. (My pillow will be here in a short 9-12 weeks).
I give this campaign a thumbs up on both fronts. A weird decision, but definitely the right one.
Hannah Michelle Lambert is the Social Media + Events Coordinator at Worthix, as well as the host of the monthly CX News Recap segment. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
