McDonald's let Kai Cenat run unscripted Twitch debates on the Chicken Big Mac

Launch the Chicken Big Mac by sparking debate rather than running ads — the brand's first open-ended, unscripted livestream partnership, with no delay buffer and no script sign-off.

Ask Twitch 'Is a Big Mac with Chicken still a Big Mac?' and hand Kai Cenat creative control of totally unscripted, zero-delay livestream debates.

Kai Cenat hosted multiple livestreams sampling the sandwich with guests John Cena, Miranda Cosgrove (as iCarly), Fanum and Serena Williams, leading the debate so fans could give their own hot takes across four platforms.

Over 80M social impressions, 9B earned media impressions and 5M total fan engagements across four platforms — some of the strongest engagement metrics in the brand's history, per the agency. Sales rose day after day in the 14 days after launch, leading the brand out of a QSR-wide slump; fans tuned in for 45-minute streams in a world where people skip 6-second ads.

For the first time in US history, McDonald's turned the Big Mac into a Chicken Big Mac. To launch it in October 2024, Wieden+Kennedy New York posed a consequential question — is a Big Mac with chicken still a Big Mac? — and took it to where debate lives: Twitch.

The brand blurred the line between stage and stands, handing creative control to Kai Cenat, described as the most influential content creator in the streamer's world, to lead the content and invite friends into a live, totally unscripted discourse — with McDonald's signing off on zero delay. Cenat hosted multiple livestreams with guests John Cena, Miranda Cosgrove in her iCarly character, Fanum and Serena Williams, sampling the sandwich and steering fans to their own hot takes.

Across four platforms the collaboration generated over 80M social impressions, 9B earned media impressions and 5M total fan engagements — some of the strongest engagement metrics in the brand's history. Official sales data was pending, but in the 14 days after launch sales increased day after day, leading McDonald's out of a slump felt across QSRs that year. In a world where people skip 6-second ads, fans chose to watch 45-minute livestreams.

The question is genuinely contested, which is why the debate format fits: the product's identity was arguable by design.

Ceding control was the news: an unscripted, zero-delay brand partnership with a streamer was a first for McDonald's.

The guest list spans Cena's wrestling audience, iCarly's nostalgia, Fanum's streaming core and Serena's sports mainstream.

Streaming entertainment positioned the brand where its buyers already were — emerging medium, native length, no skip button.

On platforms built for argument, hand the brand's biggest question to the platform's biggest voice — and resist scripting the answer.

The campaign closed in October 2024 with official sales data still pending; the reported 14-day sales trend ran upward every day. No further results were reported in the coverage.