Celebrity partnerships are nothing new in the restaurant world. In fact, you could say they go together like French fries and ketchup. McDonald’s began their celebrity-filled journey with Michael Jordan in the 1990s with his signature meal. That’s a strategy the quick-service company would use again during the pandemic. To boost sales, McDonald’s partnered with Travis Scott for a Famous Order meal. That collaboration caused the restaurant to run out of quarter-pounders. It worked so well that the chain has partnered with other celebrities including SaWeetie and J Balvin.
Within the past year, it seems like the celebrity partnerships have cranked up a notch. In the past week, we’ve seen news from Krispy Kreme and Hailey Bieber, Ice Spice, Ben Affleck and Dunkin’, Reneé Rapp and Sweetgreen, and The Jonas Brothers and Friendly’s.
They’ve launched and been successful for the brands. McDonald’s has mentioned in earnings reports that their celebrity meals have brought the chain business and traffic, something people are trying desperately to get with the trade-down effect. Jack in the Box and Snoop Dog are another example of traffic increases.