Apparently, not everyone's lovin' it.
McDonald's (MCD) has rung up some impressive numbers with its "Famous Orders" campaign, which features celebrity sponsored meals.
DON'T MISS: McDonald's Expands Bold Breakfast Menu Experiment
Rapper Travis Scott’s collaboration with the company a few years back proved to so popular that it reportedly caused ingredient shortages.
In fact, with the introduction of the Travis Scott Meal in September 2020, McDonald’s saw an 11% gain in U.S. app installs from the prior week, according to the market data firm Sensor Tower.
The following year McDonald's teamed up with the K-pop sensation BTS to highlight their favorite order of medium fries, a medium drink, and Sweet Chili and Cajun dipping sauces inspired by recipes from McDonald’s South Korea.
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Concerns About Celebrity Lifestyles
But it seems that some of the fast-food restaurant chain's U.S. owners have raised concerns over the chain’s collaborations with celebrities including rappers Cardi B and Offset, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Some owners said a number of McDonald’s locations have declined to promote the current Cardi B and Offset meal because of concerns about being associated with the artists, the Journal reported, citing franchisees and email messages to other owners and the company.
Several McDonald’s franchisees have reportedly said that the artists’ lyrics and lifestyles aren’t aligned with the company’s brand.
Lyrics? You mean like the words to "WAP", Cardi B's 2020 hit that features guest vocals from Megan Thee Stallion and includes lines like...well, you'll have to look those up for yourself.
Some owners wrote that the chosen celebrities could erode McDonald’s family-friendly image, and urged other franchisees to remove advertising and merchandise associated with the Cardi B and Offset meal in their stores.
McDonalds said the negative comments "are not representative of the widespread support and excitement we’re seeing among owner/operators and their restaurant crew."
McDonald's Sees 'Record-Breaking Positivity' From Fans
"We partnered with Cardi & Offset because we believe they’ll help drive excitement for the brand, and we’ve seen significant buzz around this new campaign," McDonald's said in a statement.
"There was record-breaking positivity from fans on social on the day we announced the Cardi B & Offset Meal," the company added.
U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Tariq Hassan said in a statement that “Cardi and Offset are an iconic couple who have their own date-night tradition at McDonald’s that goes back years."
“We’re proud to share a little piece of that with customers across the US with our latest campaign, which is about love and celebrating the special moments we all share over McDonald’s," he said.
McDonald’s said Quarter Pounder sales doubled during the first week of the Travis Scott Meal, while the BTS Meal resulted in significant lifts in Chicken McNuggets sales.
Last year, AT&T retailer All Home Connections analyzed lyrics from artists who had songs in the top 200 on Spotify over the past 12 months and found that Travis Scott ranked #9 among the artists who swore the most.
Da Baby was Number 1 on the potty mouth hit parade, but Cardi B and Offset were nowhere to be found.
