The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2020–2023
McDonald's Famous Orders turns celebrities' real meals into cultural events
Facing a generation that had written it off, McDonald's let stars like Travis Scott and BTS launch their real go-to orders — and won the Iridium Effie.
McDonald's US
What it had to solve
McDonald's had lost relevance with multicultural young customers, a group no ad alone could win back; celebrity deals felt inauthentic, and the brand also needed to build a mobile ordering habit.
How it works
By 2020 McDonald's had a youth problem: multicultural young customers had counted the brand out, and no traditional campaign was going to change that. The insight behind Famous Orders was simple and product-true — everyone has a go-to McDonald's order — so the work would feature real orders from real fans, including the most famous ones.
McDonald's US and Wieden+Kennedy New York launched the platform in September 2020 with the Travis Scott Meal, the first menu item named for a celebrity since the McJordan Special in 1992. The Quarter Pounder meal sold through the app and through Scott's cultural world; Sensor Tower measured an 11% jump in U.S. app installs and a 17% lift in daily active users in its first week. J Balvin followed with a meal and a free app-ordered McFlurry, then BTS in 2021 with custom packaging across markets.
The results were both cultural and commercial. App installs rose 23% in the BTS Meal's first week with daily active users up 12%, and usage ran about 20% higher than during Travis Scott's launch week. McDonald's credited the platform and the Crispy Chicken Sandwich for 15% same-store sales growth in Q2 2021 versus 2019, and the app habit it built set up the MyMcDonald's Rewards loyalty launch.
In December 2023 Effie Worldwide named the case the most effective campaign in the world: Famous Orders took both the Restaurants Global Grand Effie and the Iridium Effie, awarded to the single most effective entry of the year, and McDonald's had already topped the Global Effie Index as the world's most effective brand in 2021 and 2022.
Why it lands
- The insight was product-native — 'we all have a go-to order' — so the celebrity collaboration promoted an actual menu item fans wanted, not a sponsored product they could see through.
- It chose stars for their cultural credibility with the lost generation, not their ad polish, which made each drop feel like a fan event the audience discovered rather than an ad they were served.
- Every activation quietly rewired behavior toward the app and digital ordering, turning short-term hype into a durable channel and laying the groundwork for the loyalty program.
- The proof was judged independently: hundreds of millions in incremental sales and an Iridium Effie from the global effectiveness jury, plus repeated #1 rankings in the Effie Index.
What it did
Effie named Famous Orders the most effective campaign in the world: McDonald's US won the Iridium Effie and the Restaurants Global Grand Effie in December 2023, with the case credited for a cultural reappraisal among youth and hundreds of millions of dollars in incremental sales.
What you can take
When a brand loses a generation, borrow the credibility of the people they follow — sell the product they actually love, not a sponsored version, so each drop feels like culture, not advertising.
Since then
Famous Orders became a platform, not a stunt: Travis Scott was followed by J Balvin, BTS, Saweetie and more, and the app habit each drop created set up MyMcDonald's Rewards, McDonald's first nationwide loyalty program. Sensor Tower measured first-week app installs climbing from +11% for Travis Scott to +23% for BTS. In December 2023 Effie Worldwide crowned the work the world's most effective campaign — Iridium Effie and Restaurants Global Grand Effie for McDonald's US and Wieden+Kennedy New York — after ranking McDonald's the most effective brand in 2021 and 2022.
Sources
- 'McDonald's Famous Orders' Named Most Effective Campaign in the World
- Effie Worldwide names McDonald's 'Famous Orders' most effective global campaign of 2023
- How McDonald's boosts mobile growth with Famous Orders platform
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card