‘Camp McDonald’s’ Opens As A Gathering Site For Deals, Food Hacks, Concerts

Forget swimming in the lake and gathering around the campfires; let’s huddle around Camp McDonald’s, a first-of-its-kind virtual summer festival held by the fast-food chain.

McDonald’s is bringing a whole new meaning to summer camp into its app this July 5, with menu hacks, meal deals, limited merchandise, and the crown jewel of the summer: a lineup of your favorite artists performing on the app.  

These campgrounds are not what you remember summer camp to be like—down at the food hall, you will find deals on all the hottest menu items; as well as food hacks such as Apple Pie McFlurry and McFlurry sandwiches, which customers are encouraged to build themselves.

McDonald’s is also providing gear for the summer with merchandise releases every Thursday from collaborations with different brands, including clothing labels Free & Easy and Ma®ket, and South Korean beauty brand Innisfree. And as you walk around the grounds, you might even bump into Kid Cudi.

Every Sunday, a virtual concert will be held on the app including headliner, Kid Cudi, BIBI, blackbear, and Omar Apollo, among others. For a US$1 entrance fee, you will get front-row seats to your favorite artists.  

Camp McDonald’s marries a host of different marketing tactics that McDonald’s has used in the past and pushed them all into the same camping zone. Partnering with celebrities has been done by McDonald’s before with the introduction of its Famous Orders platform that saw celebrities turn their personal McDonald’s orders into meals.

The virtual performances take inspiration from pandemic times when live music venues closed their doors to the public. McDonald’s is banking on these to draw people into its app and to connect with a younger generation with its own version of a music festival.  

It only begs the question of what else McDonald’s has lined up under its Golden Arches.  

[via Marketing Dive and PR Newswire, cover image via PR Newswire]