Is Travis Scott America's New Sweetheart?
Travis Scott is easily one of the world’s most successful music artists right now. Over the past six years fans have watched his songs fly up the charts, his merch selling off the shelves, and his tours rack in over $50MM. And despite some controversial lyrics, his incredible popularity has not been lost on companies who have been smart to capitalize on the brand he’s built for himself.
Something that is incredibly impressive is the shear range of brand categories Scott has helped build success with. Don’t believe us? Take a read for yourself below! In this blog, Hollywood Branded explores Travis Scott’s Top Brand Partnerships.
Travis Scott & Yves Saint Laurent
In 2016, Travis Scott took his love for luxury to a new level with a campaign for luxury clothing line, Yves Saint Laurent. The rapper appeared in the brand’s #YSL03 video campaign dressed head to toe in YSL, surrounded by some pretty incredible visual effects.
The partnership didn’t end there, though. In 2018, Scott partnered with the brand yet again as the face of their men’s runway collection. Featured in a series of black and white photos, Scott modeled embellished velvet blazers paired with sleek black jeans, and another with a white t-shirt paired with a denim button down and metallic, chainmail jacket. It’s clear from the campaign that clothing was really a perfect blend of YSL’s sleek aesthetic and Scott’s high-end streetwear.
The again in 2019, the fashion house and the rapper took it a step further, incorporating the brand into his music video for his song, “Can’t Say.” The video was produced, and of course styled by the brand, who dressed the rapper in striped button downs and a red velvet military jacket.
Travis Scott & Fortnite
Fortnite, the video game developed by Epic Games, has been breaking the mold with their live events. EDM artist, Marshmello started their live concert movement in 2019, offering a glimpse of what was to come earlier this year with Travis Scott.
The Travis Scott Fortnite concert began with the game teasing out the show by allowing players to see a stage being set, growing more and more complete over the course of the week, until they could eventually see multiple inflatable Travis Scott heads around it.
The experience for players was truly out of this world, literally. The entire Fortnite island was Travis Scott’s stage, and he emerged onto the screen in giant form, stomping around the premises while players were able to run around the island to see different angles. To the delight of the players, the island visuals changed with each new song performed, constantly keeping everyone entertained. Throughout the show, there were giant spacemen, cyborgs, underwater moments where the crowd was submerged, rollercoasters, until finally at the end everyone was literally flying around this Travis Scott-ified Fortnite planet.
All in all, the set lasted about 15 minutes, which was apparently all it took to have critics and fans raving. According to a tweet from Fortnite’s official account, over 27.7 million unique players in-game participated live, with an estimated 45.8 million total views, as the game held five different Travis Scott concerts. This is certainly an impressive number for any live event, especially one performed through a video game.
With its clear success critically, visually, and numerically with its large audience, this partnership with Travis Scott set the tone for all games looking to push past traditional gameplay. The performance allowed the game to be more of a meeting place for those 15-minute sets, something games are striving for.
And the best part of this WHOLE thing!? It was done from home, during a pandemic, in quarantine.
Travis Scott & McDonald's
Most recently, in September of 2020, Travis Scott was the face of a multi-layered partnership with America’s favorite restaurant, McDonald’s. The partnership included a custom meal, co-branded merchandise, and a commercial spot featuring Travis Scott’s, dare we say it, real voice!?
What initially stood out the most about this partnership was the fact that it included a custom Travis Scott meal on the menu. This is so striking because it’s something that hasn’t been done since McDonald’s partnered with Michael Jordan for a custom meal in 1992. The great thing for McDonald’s is that while the meal had a new title of, “The Travis Scott Meal,” there was nothing ‘new’ about it, which saved the franchise from the large expense of generating a new meal with new ingredients. It was simply Travis Scott’s favorite McDonald’s order from when he was a kid – easy and nostalgic!
The meal was also complimented by a huge merch drop that included a large variety of products, everything from life-size cut outs to a chicken nugget pillow to vintage-inspired apparel. Aside from the sheer range of products, it was the number of different products that was so impressive. Over 95 items were available for purchase! And in true Travis Scott fashion, EVERYTHING sold out in days.
If you’re interested in learning even more about this partnership, check out our blog where we did a deeper dive into everything Travis Scott and McDonald’s!
Travis Scott Is A Brand's Best Friend
We’ve now mentioned a luxury apparel brand, a video game, and America’s fast-food chain as Travis Scott’s most notable brand partnerships to date. If that doesn’t speak to his range of appeal, I’m not sure what would! He’s shown that his appeal spans not only generations, but races, genders, and income levels. It’s no small feat to appeal to both brands and such a plethora of fans. It’s incredibly indicative of the rapper’s popularity and proof that his career is really only beginning.
Many are speculating that, given the success he’s so easily brought other companies, it’s only a matter of time before Scott branches out on his own, formulating his own brand. The beauty here is that the musician clearly is not limited to any one lane. The world is truly his oyster right now, and we’re excited to see what he does with it!
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While Travis Scott is certainly having a moment right now, there are a lot of celebrities and celebrity-driven events (albeit with COVID restrictions) happening right now that present very fruitful opportunities for you brand. Take a look at the below to see if any of them are a fit for you!
