Travis Scott: Kylie Jenner’s Baby Daddy. Stormi Webster’s Father. A McDonald’s Meal.
Yes — we know Travis Scott the rapper, Travis Scott on Fortnite, and Travis Scott the snack, but now he’s legitimately a meal at your local McDonald’s.
Scott’s last studio album, Astroworld, was released over two years ago on August 8, 2018, and despite collaborating with various artists, things have generally been pretty quiet in the entertainment world since the pandemic started.
Similarly, there have been virtually zero late-night hangouts with friends or nights out on the town, and, consequently, less midnight McDonald’s runs. But lo and behold, the Travis Scott meal was handed to us.
As a Travis Scott fan and a McDonald’s indulgent, when I saw “The Travis Scott Meal at McDonald’s” trending #1 on YouTube on September 8, I was more than ecstatic.
On a Monday afternoon at work, I realized I left myself no time to eat and was starving. Thankfully, a McDonald’s was close by, and my co-worker was making a run.
My order? The Travis Scott Meal.
The Travis Scott Meal consists of a Quarter Pounder, medium fries with barbecue sauce, and a Sprite, all for $6.
Even with my obsession with McDonald’s, the Travis Scott meal was something new — I never get a burger. Of course, French fries are a standard side, but I always gravitate towards ranch over barbeque. Since I’m an aquaholic, the Sprite was a novel purchase as well.
While my opinion may be slightly biased since I was juggling work, the Travis Scott meal was….average. Mediocre. Ordinary. I “CAN’T SAY” it was astronomical. It wasn’t “wonderful.” I didn’t get “goosebumps.” It was your typical, run-of-the-mill, fast-food burger.
“WHO? WHAT!” How dare she?!?
Now, I’m not trying to step on any ragers’ toes here. But objectively? It was a pretty basic McDonald’s meal. If you look at the ingredients in the Travis Scott burger, you’ll see that it’s nearly identical to the Quarter Pounder, which includes a beef patty, American cheese, thick-cut applewood smoked bacon, ketchup, pickle slices, onions and mustard.
There’s an additional ingredient to the Travy Patty formula, and that’s…drumroll please…shredded lettuce.
While the lettuce was a pleasant addition, what’s most fascinating about this collaboration is not the “drool-worthy” fast food, but it’s ingeniousness. Who knew that we needed a Travis Scott x McDonald’s partnership? This is monumental for both brands, since McDonald’s last celebrity collaboration was nearly three decades ago in 1992 with Michael Jordan.
I doubt they were, but if McDonald’s was struggling before, they certainly aren’t now. Locations have reported ingredient shortages for the Quarter Pounder, a menu item that already existed. McDonald’s didn’t even need to create a new meal with Travis, saving them money from the start.
And, with his crazy fanbase, the money doesn’t end there. CactusJack (the record label founded by Travis Scott) released a whole line of merchandise, including three waves of hoodies, t-shirts, sweatpants, a McNugget body pillow, a basketball, and a life-size cutout of Travis Scott himself. These pieces ranged from $25 to $300. Since I’m a sucker for loungewear, I was considering paying these hefty prices, but alas, all of the products are sold out.
Travis Scott fans have even begun stealing promotional posters and reselling for as high as $500.
Matters get even more frenzied as a new TikTok trend grows in popularity, where people tell McDonald’s drive-thru employees “CactusJack sent me” and “You know why I am here,” while blasting Scott’s hit song “SICKO MODE” (while these are amusing, please respect fast-food employees).
Despite the message in “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD,” Scott made himself larger than life when he partnered with a fast-food chain of 13,816 franchises in the United States (2020) and 36,000 worldwide. It’s so authentically fitting for his brand. If you look at his previous brand deals — Nike shoes, General Mills’ Reese’s Puffs cereal, Fortnite — you’ll see that McDonald’s is the ultimate addition for Scott.
While it’s concerning to think about the amount of chaos one individual can cause, I cannot help but fathom over how much money both businesses are making and how genius this marketing move was for both Travis and McDonald’s — where billions and billions of people are served.
And, in case you need more convincing as to why you should try the Travis Scott meal, the next time you find yourself in the McDonald’s drive-thru or merely want to admire the charming icon himself, here’s a reminder.
(Disclaimer: Her Campus at UCF does not support or endorse Ellen’s recent actions.)