McDonald’s is collabing with hip-hop artist Saweetie for its next celeb meal deal.
The fast-food chain announced yesterday that the ‘Saweetie Meal’ would arrive on August 9. The limited-edition menu item includes a Big Mac, 4-piece chicken nuggets, medium fries, medium Sprite, and BBQ and sweet n’ sour sauce. McDonald’s has renamed its signature Sweet N’ Sour sauce for the collaboration.
These celebrity music meal collaborations have been massively successful for McDonald’s. Sales at US stores jumped 25.9% in the past quarter. The company says the BTS meal and its new crispy chicken sandwich helped drive that growth.
McDonald’s introduced a limited-edition line of merchandise and ran commercials for that promotion. Prior to BTS, McDonald’s also partnered with Travis Scott and J Balvin for their meals. The Travis Scott meal proved so popular that it strained the McDonald’s supply chain in some locations.
“McDonald’s and I run deep – from growing up back in Hayward, California, all through my college days – so I had to bring my icy gang in on my all-time favorites,” says Saweetie. “Depending on the mood I’m in, there are so many ways to enjoy my order.”
McDonald’s revived its celebrity promotions with musicians and artists. The Travis Scott meal was the first time McDonald’s did a celeb promotion since 1992 with Michael Jordan. McDonald’s says it sees more of these celebrity-promoted meals in its future.
“The Famous Orders platform was based on a simple idea: what united all our customers, including famous celebrities, is everyone has a go-to McDonald’s order,” says CEO Chris Kempczinksi. “The Travis Scott, then J Balvin Famous Orders broke records in the US. This quarter, the BTS Famous Order took that ambition globally, connecting our marketing, core menu, and digital strategies in 50 markets.”
McDonald’s is embracing Saweetie’s reputation as an Ice Princess. Her meal will be served in “icy new packaging inspired by her style.” It will be available for order at any participating Mcdonald’s, but prices vary by location.
The BTS Meal was an important lesson for McDonald’s since it allowed the multi-national company to consolidate its marketing across the world. Expect larger collaborations like that with global stars since synchronized marketing provides massive benefits.
Will McDonald’s embrace other K-pop bands like BLACKPINK as much as it has embraced hip-hop stars? Saweetie is on deck for August and you can enjoy the “Best Friend” rapper’s meal through the rest of the month.