Fast-Food and Celebrities| The Rise of Celebrity Fast-Food Meals In The 2020s
Fast-food is evolving in the 2020s. After a stale period of business during the Covid-19 pandemic, fast-food brands were eager to start racking in dollars, once again.
Young consumers have always been a primary target market for fast-food brands. Marketers (in the fast-food industry) knew that they needed to spice up their campaigns. They needed to ignite a desire for fast-food in customers.
And what better way to do so, then to endorse celebrities.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s has a history of creating celebrity endorsed meals. In 1992 McDonald’s released the iconic McJordan Special. A Micheal Jordan inspired meal, that featured a meaty hamburger — covered in BBQ sauce and packing a strong punch of flavour.
This meal helped McDonald's ingrain itself into the culture. They utilised the star-power of a well-renowned and phenomenal basketball player, to entice more customers to the brand.
In the 2020s McDonald’s is executing a similar strategy. They kicked off the 2020’s with a Travis Scott meal, released in September of 2020. The Cactus Jack meal ( Travis Scott’s name for the meal) wasn’t anything special. A medium Sprite, a side of fries, and a Quarter Pounder burger to top it off.
But that didn’t matter.
Similar to the Micheal Jordan collaboration, it’s all about the branding. When fans of Travis Scott see that McDonald’s is selling a Travis Scott themed meal, they will buy it. McDonald’s sales rose by 4.8%, as a result of the collaboration.
But, sales isn’t the only advantage. McDonald’s is boosting their relevancy.
When McDonald’s Chief marketing and customer experience officer — Tariq Hassan, was questioned about the Cardi B and Offset endorsement, he commented that:
“ These types of deals have kept McDonald’s at the center of culture”
A very true comment. The celebrity endorsements create a buzz of excitement about McDonald’s. More media coverage. More Social media attention. More visibility.
This is where the real fruit lies in celebrity meals.
The Surge of Fast-Food Celebrity Meals:
McDonald’s may of started something, that they can’t control.
First-movers and second-movers, is a well known concept in business. First-movers are businesses that launch new products or services to the market.
Second-movers are those who imitate the design of the first-mover, attempting to gain the same success as the first-mover.
This here is a prime example.
McDonald’s introduced celebrity meals, the campaigns were successful. What followed, were several other fast-food brands, who thought it would be a good idea to do the same.
In January of 2021, US singer Shawn Mendes partnered with Mexican fast-food chain, Chipotle.
Shortly after (in 2021), fried chicken chain, Popeyes, would collaborate with US hip-hop artist Megan Thee Stallion.
In 2022 KFC would partner with Kentucky raised hip-hop artist, Jack Harlow.
There’s a plethora of other fast-food chains, releasing celebrity meals as well. And McDonald’s hasn’t slowed down in partnering with celebrities. In Febuary of 2023, they partnered with US celebrities Cardi B and Offset, to promote a Valentines day meal.
Celebrity endorsements remain as a lucrative marketing strategy for fast-food brands.
With the growing prominence of social media in today’s culture, we’re likely to witness more fast-food brands utilise this captivating marketing strategy.
