McDonald’s snags BTS for its next celebrity meal

McDonald’s has teamed up with BTS, one of the world’s biggest musical acts, for its next celebrity-inspired meal. The band, which got its start in South Korea and is now a popular K-pop supergroup worldwide, is the latest musical act to have meals on the McDonald’s menu, following meals promoted by Travis Scott and J Balvin in 2020. McDonald’s teaming up with BTS shows the breadth and reach of both the world’s largest restaurant company and one of the biggest pop groups worldwide. The official video for its 2020 song “Dynamite” has been viewed more than 1 billion times on YouTube in eight months. The signature meal for the seven-member band includes a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium fries and a medium Coke, and comes with two dipping sauces, sweet chili and cajun. Those sauces will be new to the U.S. and were inspired by recipes from McDonald’s South Korea, the Golden Arches announced Monday. The meals suggested by Travis Scott and J Balvin helped McDonald’s draw fans of both singers to its U.S. restaurants. Now, the BTS meal is set to have a bit of a global tour, hitting 50 markets starting May 26 in the U.S. and a handful of other markets. South Korea gets the item on its menu the next day. While marketing details weren’t shared, McDonald’s is likely planning for a massive hit and should be making sure that its franchisees are stocking up on McNuggets and sauce. In September, demand for the Travis Scott meal featuring a Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon was so high that some locations were running out of ingredients. “The band has great memories with McDonald’s,” its label, Big Hit Music, said in a statement. “We’re excited about this collaboration and can’t wait to share the BTS Meal with the world.” McDonald’s in a statement said to anticipate “even more surprises in the coming weeks,” but specifics for the marketing of the upcoming meal weren’t shared. Wieden+Kennedy New York handled marketing for the Travis Scott and J Balvin meals. “BTS truly lights up the world stage, uniting people across the globe through their music,” Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s U.S. chief marketing officer, said in a statement. BTS is quite familiar to working with brands. The group had a music video last year called “Ioniq: I’m On It” featuring the Hyundai Ioniq. Other brands BTS has collaborated with include Fila, Skechers, Samsung, Starbucks Korea and Baskin-Robbins. Mattel released seven BTS dolls, one for each of the band's members, and an Uno card game featuring the group. The law firm Loeb & Loeb announced that it handled the global endorsement and license deal for BTS in its campaign with McDonald’s.

McDonald’s snags BTS for its next celebrity meal

Featured Stories