McDonald's leans on BTS' fandom to fuel Happy Meal sales
McDonald’s is launching a two-part BTS Happy Meal with TinyTAN toys, hoping to repeat the frenzy that made the 2021 collaboration a global phenomenon
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images
McDonald’s wants fans of K-pop group BTS to play with their food again — or at least what comes with it. In September, the company is rolling out a Happy Meal collaboration with the group featuring TinyTAN, the seven animated alter-egos of BTS’ members.
Suggested Reading
McDonald’s will stagger the release in two waves (and two different sets of toys) — a “Throwback Edition” starting Sept. 3 and an “Encore Edition” later in the month on Sept. 23 — to keep fans coming back for more. Each meal includes one of seven figurines, paired with themed packaging and a character card, nudging fans toward repeat visits if they want the full set. And beyond the toys, the chain is layering other ways to stoke the fandom: a “Magic Meetup” in Los Angeles on Sept. 27–28 will offer a mash-up of music, gaming, and Happy Meal nostalgia, while the packaging doubles as a portal to “TinyTAN Power Up,” a mobile game that lets fans tap along to their favorite tracks.
Related Content
One fan wrote in the BTS group on Reddit, “I feel like I personally manifested this, wbu??” Another added, “As a former fast food worker my thoughts are with the employees having to deal with people trying to collect all the figures.”
“This might sell out in like 2 days,” someone else said.
The campaign revives a playbook from 2021, when the BTS Meal — a 10-piece McNuggets combo with limited-edition sauces — turned into a global spectacle, driving U.S. comparable sales up 25.9% and global comps up 40.5%. The collaboration drove daily McNuggets sales up 250% and generated more than 11.5 million social mentions. In just its first month, the BTS Meal added an estimated $98 million in incremental sales, moved 1.2 million units in South Korea alone, and transformed paper packaging into collectibles fetching absurd prices on eBay.
As fast-food chains remain locked in a perpetual fight for cultural relevance, collaborations have become the blunt instrument of choice — from Grimace’s viral purple shake to celebrity meals with Travis Scott and Saweetie. But BTS is different: They’re a global franchise unto themselves.
What McDonald’s is selling with this Happy Meal isn’t just TinyTAN — it’s the chance to get the group’s fans, ARMY, to open another box tomorrow, and the day after that, until the set is complete. For now, ARMY gets another encore and McDonald’s gets another headline. In pop culture as in fast food, second acts are rarely easy, but when they come in a Happy Meal box, it’s hard not to bite.