How an ordinary order of McNuggets became a global event: the BTS Meal

Ten McNuggets, fries, a Coca-Cola, and two sauces. At first glance, nothing that should cause lines, store closures, or people saving the empty packaging. And then in May 2021, McDonald's unveiled the BTS Meal, and a completely ordinary order turned into a global campaign that sparked genuine mania in some parts of the world.

The BTS Meal was part of McDonald's Famous Orders series, in which celebrities got to showcase their favorite order. Travis Scott and J Balvin had their own menus before BTS, but the BTS collaboration was the first to go global, launching in almost 50 markets. In most countries, the meal included ten Chicken McNuggets, a medium fries, and a Coca-Cola, along with Sweet Chili and Cajun sauces inspired by the ones served at McDonald's in South Korea. The sauces were actually the biggest novelty, since customers in many markets, including the US, hadn't been able to order them before.

Interest very quickly made it clear this wouldn't be just another promotional offer. More than 1.2 million BTS Meals sold in South Korea in under a month, and average daily McNugget sales rose 250 percent during the promotion. Long lines formed in Malaysia, while things got more serious in Indonesia. So many delivery drivers showed up to pick up orders at once that, combined with the pandemic restrictions at the time, some locations had to temporarily close.

The packaging became its own story. Purple bags, cups, and boxes carrying the BTS x McDonald's design didn't end up in the trash for a lot of people after lunch, fans kept them as keepsakes instead. They soon started showing up on resale sites too, where empty bags, boxes, and sauce packets were listed for amounts far higher than the meal itself had cost. A special clothing line and other merchandise inspired by the collaboration arrived alongside the food, so the whole campaign spread well beyond McDonald's restaurants.

McDonald's clearly understood exactly how BTS rolls out its own projects, too. The campaign had its own schedule of teasers and promotional content that resembled the rollout of a new music release, and its timing lined up with the release of Butter, which had come out just days earlier. The members appeared in ads for the BTS Meal, and the collaboration stayed all over social media worldwide for weeks.

Behind all the fun was a very concrete business result too. McDonald's listed the BTS Meal among the promotions that contributed to strong sales results that quarter, with especially high interest in McNuggets and a massive response on social media. What started as just another celebrity collaboration became one of McDonald's most talked-about campaigns of that period.

The funniest part of the whole story might be that the BTS Meal itself wasn't actually anything complicated. There was no special BTS burger or secret recipe, just McNuggets, fries, a drink, and two Korean sauces. And yet, for a few weeks in 2021, that was enough for the same meal to be ordered around the world, for people to wait in line for it, and for a purple paper bag to be carefully carried home instead of tossed in the trash.