Fast Food... With A Famous Twist
Each year in late November, Mariah Carey’s holiday hit, "All I Want For Christmas Is You," begins its annual rise in streams. The song has broken records and topped charts, and year after year gets fans in the holiday spirit.
This year, Mariah has gifted fans, her "Lambily," with some tasty treats to make the holiday season a little more fun. In this blog, Hollywood Branded discusses Mariah Carey's 2021 Holiday Food Collaborations.
All Mariah Wants For Christmas Is You… To Enjoy Her Famous Food
Each year in late November, Mariah Carey’s holiday hit, "All I Want For Christmas Is You," begins its annual rise in streams. The song has broken records and topped charts, and year after year gets fans in the holiday spirit. This year, Mariah is making the holiday season even more fun for her fans, her “Lambily," with a few food collaborations. Fans can enjoy a special Mariah x McDonald’s partnership and a limited edition Mariah cake at MilkBar.
Mariah leveraging her celebrity status to promote food products is a genius marketing tactic that has been done by many big names before her. Loyal fans will flock to McDonald's and MilkBar simply because her name is attached, while existing customers will be excited by the new varieties.
The Mariah Menu At McDonald's
McDonald’s is no stranger to celebrity collaborations. In recent years, they have partnered with big names like Travis Scott, J Balvin, and Saweetie. These celebrity meals have been huge successes, with Travis Scott's even including a clothing line. McDonald’s latest partnership comes just in time for the holidays and features Mariah Carey, who, according to McDonald’s VP of U.S. Marketing, “goes with the holidays like ketchup and fries.”
Mariah’s collaboration takes the “Famous Orders” trend a step further. From December 13 through Christmas Eve, the Mariah Menu will offer McDonald’s app users a free item in “fun and festive packaging” with any $1 purchase. In a statement about the partnership, Carey shared “Some of my favorite memories with my kids are our family trips to McDonald’s, and of course, each of us has our go-to order… Bringing together some of our favorite food from McDonald’s with my all time favorite season is a holiday wish come true.”
Along with the food, Mariah and McDonald’s are releasing apparel that fans can win by placing orders including a black beanie featuring Mariah’s signature and a short-sleeve black T-shirt featuring a photo of Mariah eating a cheeseburger with extra pickles—her signature order. Celebrity collaborations with McDonald's have been wildly successful in the past, so it will be exciting to see how this one plays out!
Photo: McDonald's / Mariah Carey
Mariah x MilkBar
Mariah has been busy leading up to the holiday season! Earlier this year, Mariah launched a liquor brand, Black Irish, naming it after her parent’s heritage. Her Irish cream liqueur joins a long line of celebrity alcohol brands, although the brand has faced some setbacks after being banned in Ireland due to trademark disputes. In order to celebrate the launch in the US, the pop star has partnered with award winning dessert chain, MilkBar, to commemorate the release of the Irish Creme line.
Inspired by Black Irish, Carey says the cake is “perfect for holiday parties or simply for indulging your sweet tooth.” The “tasty morsel” that Mariah knows everyone will enjoy consists of “a double chocolate chip cake with cheesecake, gooey caramel, coffee milk crumble, and caramel frosting.” Priced at $80, the cake is a “chart topping confection”, according to MilkBar, and will feed 8-12 people. This limited edition cake comes as a part of MilkBar’s Weekly Holiday Lab Drops, which includes a new treat from their experimental kitchen each week. Although the cake is now sold out on MilkBar’s website, fans who were able to get their hands on the limited edition dessert rated it highly, with an average of 4 stars!
Photo: MilkBar
What Will Mariah Gift The Lambily Next?
Some call Mariah Carey the Queen of Christmas because of how "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is the musical shift from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Mariah and her team are smart for leveraging the power she has over the holiday season and using it to promote Black Irish and keep fans engaged with the Mariah Menu. After using food collaborations to engage fans of all ages this year, it will be exciting to see what she does next!
Want To Learn More About Celebrity Partnerships?
Celebrities endorse everything from candidates to cookware. If you think endorsements are exciting, check out some of our other celebrity partnership blogs:
- Celebrity Fast Food Collaborations of 2020
- Top Celebrity Beverage Endorsers
- 4 Top Crocs Celebrity Partnerships
- Travis Scott’s Top Brand Partnerships
- Unexpected Celebrity Endorsements (Part 2)
Want to learn more about celebrity partnerships? Watch this webinar to learn how to create celebrity-driven social campaigns that engage consumers!
