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A look at all the celebrity meals McDonald’s has featured since 2020A look at all the celebrity meals McDonald’s has featured since 2020

The quick-service restaurant chain just announced its fifth such meal collab

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, Managing Editor

February 13, 2023

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In September 2020, McDonald’s announced its first celebrity-branded meal since 1992, and in the two and a half years since, the quick-service restaurant chain has had four more such collaborations.

At first, the marketing move may have seemed to simply be on-trend; McDonald’s was far from the only chain working with celebrities and influencers early in the pandemic. Others included Chipotle and Dunkin’, not to mention all the virtual brands that launched around that time with famous faces associated.

But it turned out that McDonald’s collaboration was part of a much larger marketing strategy unfolding at the time, as the brand had made a big Q2 2020 marketing investment that continues to pay off. Its next celebrity meal launched just a few weeks later, followed by one in May 2021 (complete with a merchandise line) and another that July. Now the latest rendition is launching for Valentine’s Day.

In this gallery, learn more about the five Famous Meals McDonald’s has served lately.

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McDonald’s

About the Author

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Managing Editor

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister is a managing editor for Informa’s Foodservices Vertical, specifically Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, and Foodservice Director.  Leigh Anne works on all of the brands’ special reports, including Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Top 500 report and Restaurant Hospitality’s Best Cocktails and Best Sandwiches contests. She also manages the group’s digital engagement team, and was the managing editor for Supermarket News until December 2024.

Leigh Anne lives in New York City, but also claims Phoenix, Dallas and Cleveland as hometowns. Leigh Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she also studied European history. 

Email Leigh Anne at [email protected] 

Leigh Anne Zinsmeister’s experience: 

  • Group Managing Editor, Informa’s Foodservices Vertical (Aug. 2021-present)

  • Group Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (Feb. 2020-Aug. 2021)

  • Digital Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (April 2018-Feb. 2020)

  • Digital Content Producer, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (June 2016-April 2018)

  • Community Moderator, Mail Online (March 2014-June 2016)

  • Wire Editor, Gannett’s Phoenix Design studio (The Arizona Republic, The Reno Gazette-Journal, The Statesman Journal, The Great Falls Tribune, The Visalia Times-Delta, The Tulare Advance Register, The Salinas Californian, The St. George Spectrum, The Desert Sun, The Coloradoan) (Jan. 2012-March 2014)

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