Kanye West, world-famous musician, entrepreneur and husband to reality TV star Kim Kardashian, really likes McDonald’s. And especially its fries. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based burger giant on Wednesday got some unexpected love from “Yeezy” on his Twitter feed.
It was a popular tweet, liked and retweeted more than 100,000 times. Then again, when you have more than 25 million followers, just about everything you say on social media is going to be popular one way or the other. Still, McDonald’s didn’t let that tweet go unnoticed.
@kanyewest We Kanye as much as Kanye Kanye
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) August 31, 2016
Kanye’s tweet did have a big impact on social media, apparently. McDonald’s Twitter mentions increased 900 percent in the hour afterwards, according to CNBC. We in the media world would call that “free advertising.” And lest you think this was a one-time thing for Kanye, before that he wrote a poem — yes, a poem — about the chain for a zine included in New Orleans singer Frank Ocean’s new album.
The poem is called “The McDonald’s Man." While it’s not quite I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, it does include lines like this:
Everyone was jealous of them French fries
Except for that one special guy
That smooth apple pie
For those of you who are curious, feel free to watch rapper Joey Bada$$ recite said poem.
McDonald’s, for what it’s worth, loved the attention given to its fries and pies but wasn’t entirely keen on a line in the poem suggesting it uses “artificial meat” in its McRib.
As for those of us who watch Wall Street, it appears investors were not terribly impressed, either with the poem or the tweet. The stock fell slightly Wednesday, though I did detect a 10-cent increase in McDonald’s in the 30 minutes after Mr. West made his tweet. And it is down nearly 10 percent since July, because despite Kanye’s love for the brand there remains concern among investors about sales in the restaurant business. And that includes McDonald’s.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter at @jonathanmaze