I’m a sucker for products endorsed by celebrities. The worst part is, usually whatever I get persuaded into buying isn’t even anything special, it just happens to have a name attached to it and I’m sold. Why? Because people LOVE feeling connected to a celebrity through their product.
A picture perfect example of this is the new Travis Scott meal at Mcdonalds. This meal isn’t much different from your regular quarter-pounder meal, except that it only has cheese, bacon and lettuce, and comes with a side of barbecue sauce to dip your fries in. Nothing super special, but it has been so popular that it is causing a quarter-pounder shortage across the country, forcing Mcdonalds to monitor their supply and prioritize shipping ingredients to certain locations. Demand for the Travis Scott meal has also contributed to an increase of its market value.
From a PR perspective, this isn’t necessarily a terrible problem to have, but it will require professionals to respond quickly and continue marketing efforts since the meal is only here for a couple more weeks. If they want to continue the hype and excitement behind the meal, they need to continue serving the product for the full duration that they promised their customers.
After all the covid-19 madness, many restaurants have struggled to stay on their feet and are taking similar approaches by presenting an affordable, fast meal. This campaign utilized a celebrity that is well-known by younger generations to bring in new customers who may typically not eat fast food. To advertise their new meal, Mcdonalds had Travis Scott promote it on his social media platforms to his millions of followers. TikTok creators have also started a trend where they go through the drive-thru and blast the Travis Scott song “Sicko Mode” on the car speakers to order. This in itself is a form of advertising because consumers want to go just to record a video of themselves doing it.
Overall, this is a positive story because it shows the success of the campaign efforts. They were able to raise their market value and their overall sales by offering a limited menu item endorsed and inspired by a popular celebrity.
If you were wondering, yes I purchased this burger the first week it came out, and yes it tastes the same (but it says ‘travis scott meal’ on the receipt) so yes it was worth it.