A&W made its employees 'anti-celeb meals' to attract new workers as fast-food continues to struggle with hiring

• A&W is using real employees to poke fun at celebrity meal promotions.
• The anti-celeb meals are part of a hiring and retention campaign for the chain.

A&W is launching an "anti-celeb meal" hiring campaign in response to the recent celebrity partnerships from chains like McDonald's, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons.

The burger chain says the campaign, which puts A&W workers side-by-side with celebrity promotional images from competitors puts the "spotlight where it really belongs amid the industry's labor shortage crisis: on the people who keep A&W running" with four actual employees from central Kentucky stores. Hiring employees is one of the main issues A&W restaurants are facing, the company said in a statement.

Partnering with celebrities has been a boon to brands over the last two years. McDonald's kicked off the trend with the Travis Scott Meal, which was available for a month in the fall of 2020. It was the first in McDonald's ongoing Famous Orders lineup, consisting of a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, and lettuce, medium fries with BBQ Sauce, and a Sprite — Scott's favorite meal at the chain.

The spring BTS meal was also popular, driving traffic to restaurants giving McDonald's its busiest week of the year to date. More recently, McDonald's sold the Saweetie meal, featuring the TikTok star, followed by the current Mariah Menu.

A&W's hiring and retention campaign comes at a time of crisis in fast food thanks to chronically understaffed stores and supply chain issues.

Restaurant operators overwhelmingly said that finding staff was the number one challenge they face, with 75% agreeing in a survey from the National Restaurant Association. Of owners surveyed, 78% said that didn't have enough workers to handle business, which led to many closing dining rooms or seating areas to lower the number of customers they could serve.

Nearly half of operators said that they reduced dining capacities voluntarily. According to the survey, 61% of fast-food restaurants, and 81% of full-service restaurants said that they decided to shut parts of dining rooms in August because they didn't have the workers to serve those areas.

Business owners say they're unable to find staff and in some cases even cite a lack of desire to work, while workers say they can demand better pay and benefits in the tight labor market. This mismatch has led to restaurants decreasing hours and closing dining rooms.

Customer demand for fast food is higher than ever, but without enough workers, companies have to turn away business. A&W said that this hiring campaign was designed to stand out from all the other campaigns on the market right now. All 625 A&W locations will get yard signs, t-shirts, and other marketing assets to go along with the campaign, which will replace typical menu item-focused advertising.

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