McDonald's is adding aTravis Scott meal to the menu starting on September 8.- The meal includes Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, and lettuce, medium fries with BBQ Sauce, and a Sprite, priced at $6.
- McDonald's US Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley told Business Insider that people under the age of 34 were "becoming more and more challenging for brands to reach." The Scott partnership can help McDonald's reach these millennial and Gen Z customers.
McDonald's is teaming up with Travis Scott via a new partnership with his Cactus Jack music label.
Starting September 8, McDonald's is adding Scott's favorite meal from the fast-food chain — a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, and lettuce, medium fries with BBQ Sauce, and a Sprite — to the menu for $6. It will be available through October 4.
Scott and McDonald's confirmed the deal, first reported by Business Insider, on Thursday.
—TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) September 3, 2020
In addition to announcing the meal, McDonald's said in a press release that Scott's label Cactus Jack designed custom T-shirts for McDonald's employees to wear during the promotion. McDonald's said the company and Scott would be "exploring opportunities to support charitable organizations during the monthlong program."
McDonald's Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley told Business Insider the fast-food chain started thinking about teaming up with Scott more than a year ago, in part because the company knew the rapper was a fan of the chain. The Scott partnership marks the first time McDonald's has put a celebrity's name on its menu since Michael Jordan in 1992.
"His ability to kind of see where culture is going and have a hand in where culture is going is really unique," Flatley said in an interview on Friday. "Then you couple that with his huge followership and his fans, social-media footprint, and ... 3 billion streams. He just has an incredible audience."
The partnership has caused some controversy within McDonald's, with some franchisees pushing back against a deal with the rapper. These franchisees felt that a deal with a rapper known partly for explicit lyrics was a departure from the chain's more family-friendly voice.
Flatley told Business Insider many other franchisees and employees were excited about the deal and that at a chain as big as McDonald's, differing opinions are the norm. The Scott partnership is key to remaining relevant and winning over younger customers, she said.
According to Flatley, people under the age of 34 are "becoming more and more challenging for brands to reach."
"How they engage with media is different," Flatley said. "They look to recommendations much more than any other generation has. They're very reliant on social media. They're very reliant on their friends."