BTS x McDonald’s

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
May 26, 2021

I never paid that much attention to McDonald’s previous celebrity collaborations (Travis Scott, J. Balvin). But when the hamburger chain announced that its latest celeb partnership would be with BTS, it made me happy. I know it’s easy to trash talk fast food. And while fast food usually is something we reserve for road trips, I will buy it on occasion for my son as a treat, just as my parents did for me.

Back when we were new immigrants, McDonald’s was one of the few places my parents could afford. On weekends after my parents ran their errands, they would stop at McDonald’s to get my father a strawberry shake and me a Big Mac meal that – at the time – I could never finish. I was that little and the burger was that big.

In elementary school, there would be one day a year when I didn’t bring a sack lunch. That was when students were allowed to order a McDonald’s meal. (I think it was always a burger and fries.) We drank our warm milk (ewwwwwww) from those containers that never quite opened all the way and happily munched on our delicious crispy fries. It was something we kids looked forward to every year, because it was a fun treat.

That’s kind of how I feel about the BTS Meal that is in limited release, starting today. It’s a fun treat that I’m looking forward to enjoying with my family in a few hours for our lunch.

I saw an early preview of the group’s McDonald’s commercial the other day (which you can see here) and it’s everything you’d expect from BTS. Bold splashes of color, big smiles and, also, a little “Butter.”

Some details, before I get to the interview portion:

💜 The BTS Meal: 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium fries, medium Coke® and two new-to-the United States dipping sauces: Sweet Chili and Cajun. McDonald’s said they were inspired by the sauces used at South Korea’s McDonald’s restaurants.

💜 Tonight (7 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. CDT/4 p.m. EDT), BTS and McDonald’s will drop a collection of new merchandise (hoodies, socks, pouches) that will be available via the Weverse Shop app. My fave item is the cute tote bag. But, honestly, if they add a photo of V wearing the purple robe, I will have to buy it, thank you very much.

💜 Starting today for the next four weeks, McDonald’s will unveil new BTS digital content that will only be available via its McDonald’s app. Supposedly, it will offer a “behind the scenes look at BTS.” I wasn’t able to get a sneak preview of this content to describe it to you all. (I tried!)

(I did not conduct the following interview. I just transcribed this from a short video Q&A BTS did with McDonald’s – which was serviced to the press – to promote their BTS Meal. They all were charming, appeared to be well rested and were excited about getting a McDonald’s meal named in their honor.)

Q: What has BTS been up to these days?

Jungkook: Us these days? Well, we are singers. So we always strive to produce great stage performances and great music. And right now, we are speaking to McDonald’s.

Jimin: McDonald’s.

V: Other than that, recently we’ve been working on some songs. We are producing tracks, prepping an album and getting ready to approach ARMY with better music.

Q: What does it mean to have a meal named after you?

RM: It truly means so much to have a meal named after us. We are super excited to share our go-to order with everyone. I can’t still believe that we have this purple package and our name on it. We truly have so many memories and connections – mentally or physically – so many connections with McDonald’s. We’re so honored and happy, and we’re lovin’ it.

j-hope: I’m so honored. In fact, I always really liked McDonald’s as a brand. You can get so many different types of hamburgers and so many Happy Meal toys. I am so proud and happy to collaborate with McDonald’s – a hamburger brand that I liked since I was a kid. I am extremely happy to present our McDonald’s meal set to the world.

Q: When you think of McDonald’s, what do you think of?

Jungkook: McDonald’s is like a friend who has always been there for me. Burgers, fries and soft drinks – this is the definition of happiness.

Jimin: For me, I think of the memories from high school. In my first year of high school, I used to go to hagwon [after-school classes that are common for Korean students] and it took me two hours to get from home to class. I had to take an express bus. My allowance was $4.50 a day and there was a McDonald’s at the express bus terminal. So I would always, always eat there every day on my way to hagwon.

SUGA: When I was young, there was a McDonald’s at a mall near where I used to live. And when you’re young, when your parents tell you to tag along to the mall by saying they would get me McDonald’s French fries, then I would go.

Q: What’s your favorite band memory at McDonald’s?

Jin: There was a McDonald’s about 10 minutes away from our dorm where we used to live before we debuted.

RM: It’s open 24 hours…

Jin: … So we would go there when we were hungry and ask each other, “How was your day?” and have a good time. McDonald’s is a place where we shared lots of memories. That’s McDonald’s.

Jungkook: I miss that.

Jin: Since we have dear memories with McDonald’s from our trainee days, we didn’t hesitate to partner up when the opportunity came up.

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