Exploring Chance The Rapper’s Undeniable Influence on the Food & Beverage Industry
Chance The Rapper is one of music’s most important cultural figures.
Chance is a fully independent Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, producer, business owner, festival organizer, event producer, film producer, influencer, community organizer, spokesperson, brand ambassador, mentor, philanthropist, TV host, and A-list celebrity, all on top of his status as a devout Christian, vocally loving husband to his childhood sweetheart (now wife), and proud father to his two children, aged 6 and 2.
Culturally speaking, Chance — real name Chancellor Bennet — is a multi-generational figure who straddles the line between Millennial and Gen Z, with enough wisdom to lead even his elders on important political matters, but enough cultural relevance to guide and influence those younger as well.
As an independent artist, Chance has achieved more success than most major label artists could conceivably hope for and he is among the most commercially successful independent artists in American history.
He is, quite literally, walking music history.
Yet as popular, influential, and outspoken as Chance is, there is one thing that people may not immediately know about him:
Chance the Rapper loves food. And, I mean, he really loves food.
He raps about it, he sings about it, he speaks about it, he tweets about it.
Chance has done major partnerships with leading food delivery services, hosted numerous food drives and giveaways, and was featured in a Super Bowl ad all about — you guessed it — food.
The man clearly loves him some grub. Yet there’s something deeper to these culinary inclinations than a fascination with finger foods or fast casual eats.
Chance The Rapper is an outspoken influencer in the food space and serves as a model for how creators and brands can coexist in an ecosystem of culinary experimentation.
These days, consumers and brands are exploring creative ways to approach food in the digital world and IRL, and discovering new means of engagement. Whether it be viral TikTok recipes to try at home or socially-conscious food influencers or even a mysterious Pink Sauce gone wrong, the food space is full of consumer-fueled wonder and innovation. Yet, there still exists room for creators with outsized cultural influence to drive adoption, change, and bottom-line results in the food and beverage industry.
Take these 3 instances of Chance The Rapper utilizing his cultural influence to bring innovation to the food industry as an illustration of this view:
1. Chance inspires a well-received change to the Wendy’s menu.
2. Chance partners with Kit Kat for an unconventionally artist-driven campaign that he proposes and co-produces himself.
3. Chance partners with Doritos and the Backstreet Boys for a high-profile Super Bowl ad that places creativity at the forefront.
First, let’s talk influence:
Chance The Rapper meets Wendy’s.
As an artist with an outsized social platform, Chano’s voice — and his abundance of fantastic ideas — regularly reach and influence the masses, often with relatively little effort. Matched with his keen sense of humor and a knack for comedic timing, Chance’s ability to spur conversations online is significant and, simply put, when Chance speaks (or tweets), people listen.
In the case of his beloved Wendy’s, Chance posted a humorous prayer to his Twitter account, pleading that Wendy’s bring back the universally well-liked spicy chicken nuggets to their menu. The organic tweet from Chance went viral on Twitter, leading to hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets practically overnight. Wendy’s took notice. The company responded with some humorous social media fodder of their own, posting a clever proposition for Twitter users to engage with the brand’s own tweet in exchange for the menu item’s return — a move that would drive awareness and also gauge consumer interest in Chance’s proposal. Consumers responded positively to both Chance’s prayer and the company’s proposition and spicy chicken nuggets were returned to the menu to much fanfare and media attention.
When artists have an authentic relationship with — or to — a brand and actually enjoy their products as consumers first, they can be some of the best advocates for other consumers and can lead brands to make product decisions that are popular among consumers, well-received in the market, and that positively impact the bottom line — no to mention creating a feel-good story for all.
Next, let’s talk creativity and creator-led campaigns:
Chance approaches Kit Kat with an offer they can’t refuse.
In 2016, Chance The Rapper was fresh off the release of his Grammy-winning album, Coloring Book (the first streaming-only album to ever win a Grammy) and a string of releases that would lead him to become MTV’s Artist of the Year… all after becoming a first-time father just a year prior.
Suffice to say, Chance could seemingly do no wrong.
In the midst of all his success, Chance had the idea to produce a commercial for Kit Kat using a simple and wholesome play on his own name: Chance wittily became “Chance The Wrapper” for a Halloween-themed campaign wherein he superimposes his face onto the wrapper of a Kit Kat bar and joyfully reimagines the brand’s iconic jingle with a more stylistic take of his own.
As a creator with a skillset far beyond music, Chance came up with the concept himself, proposed it to the brand himself, and played a central hand in the production and execution of the ad, all of which he would later discover is highly uncommon for an artist of his stature (or any stature for that matter).
Most artist’s brand partnerships are conceived, casted, and produced by creative agencies or teams of brand marketers (for typically good reason) and are rarely as artist-driven or authentic to an artist’s brand and message as Chance’s first major run. And though Chance was on a musical and personal high at the time of this collaboration, a fact which surely enabled him to bypass some of the industry norms which he would have typically encountered as an artist in search of a brand collaboration, he was still relatively unproven as an influencer capable of driving significant sales outside of the music industry.
That said, empowering artists to have a hand in the creative process and to find ways to engage with brands that feel authentic to their brand AND to who they are as people typically leads to more successful partnerships. It also leads the artists and creators to be better promoters because they develop more personal connections to the brand and to the work.
As we have seen time and again, investing in artists and their fan bases early is a key opportunity for brands to gain powerful supporters with outsized cultural influence AND to build rapport in the creative community.
Now, finally, let’s talk collaboration and scale:
Chance The Rapper and Doritos go BIG.
In 2019, Chance collaborates with snack food brand Doritos for a Super Bowl commercial that remixes and re-contextualizes a pop cultural hit from the past while putting his artistry and creativity at the forefront. The ad shows multiple sides of the man we know as Chance — as an artist, a dancer, an influencer, and a quasi-comedian (respectfully). The major musical moment remixes a classic Backstreet Boys record while recreating scenes from the song’s iconic video, featuring the Boys themselves. Chance adds a silly, self-written verse and shows off his formidable dance moves on a global stage.
With Chance at the peak of his stardom and the Backstreet Boys a perennial symbol of pop cultural success, the clever ad was a hit not only because of its attendant scale, but because (A) it was light-hearted and fun while combining enough noteworthy elements to bring the work to a scale worthy of a Super Bowl audience, (B) it was cute, funny and unconventional, and (C) it was an unexpected collaboration between a star of today and stars of the past.
Time has proven that consumers will always love a well-executed ‘surprise-and-delight’ moment. In the case of Chance and Doritos, the pair’s collaboration is just further proof that allowing creators to flex their creativity, even on the world’s largest metaphorical stage, will always be a winning recipe.
How’s that for “hot stuff”?
Now, considering these three ways that Chance The Rapper has utilized his cultural and creative influence in the food and beverage industry, each of which have driven significant consumer interest, cultural receptivity, and sales for their respective brands, let’s quickly discuss the intersection between food and one of Chance’s other primary interests: social justice.
In 2021, Chance collaborated with Ben & Jerry’s, a company well-known for its cultural and political awareness, to create his own flavor of ice cream called Mint Chocolate Chance, inspired by his love of mint ice cream and brownies. Chance and his team negotiated this partnership such that proceeds from sales of his debut flavor would divert back to the rapper’s non-profit organization, SocialWorks, that does community and political organizing in his hometown of Chicago and beyond. This subtle collaboration is a perfect example of a campaign being developed based on both the cultural cachet and literal taste of an influential artist, while simultaneously creating an opportunity to engage the artist’s personal interests and ambitions. The product in this case, Mint Chocolate Chance, activates Chano’s personal brand and distinct taste palate and the business arrangement appeals to his and the brand’s social and political priorities, ones that both mirror and influence those of his fans. I’d call that a win-win-win situation.
And as a final note on Chance and his food industry dominance, let’s look at one other collaboration of his that ties in his social justice background:
Chance The Rapper teams up with Postmates.
As the brand revealed in a profile on the rapper in 2019, Chance spent more than $30,000 on the food delivery app between the years of 2014 and 2019, including over $4,000 in tips. With orders ranging from $1 worth of cilantro to cheeseburgers to baby formula, it’s clear Chance has somewhat of an addiction to not only food, but convenience. As a result, Chance brokered a partnership with Postmates where a percentage of sales from orders at his favorite restaurants would go to his non-profit, SocialWorks, for a limited time. This model of collaboration seems to be a trend for the rapper and, taken with the collaborations and campaigns illuminated above, shows five different ways a creator, not only as a superstar, but at any level, can utilize their platform to catalyze adoption, innovation and engagement in the food and beverage industry in particular and with branded partnerships at large.
Here at Translation, we have a long history that proves that this recipe for success is not exclusive to the food and beverage category. We have tapped into this ethos as a partner to ambitious brands including WhatsApp and Beats for campaigns ranging from Escúchanos Míranos to Dark Mode.
As a marketer or brand leader, you must be sure you’re investing into artists and creators not only as promoters, ambassadors, and marketing drivers, but as consumers, creatives and, most importantly, people. Further, as a marketer or leader who may be taking a chance on artists of any stature, consider the aforementioned trends and opportunities that, when well-considered and well-executed with experienced strategic partners, will create successful long-term partnerships and undoubtedly drive desired results. As an ambitious brand marketer or leader, this is a Chance you must be willing to take.
For more from Chance, check out the podcast SelectConversations, exclusively from UnitedMasters or visit our website.
