The chain has recruited John Cena as a platform ambassador and is also partnering with 16 different entertainment and lifestyle brands
McDonald’s much-awaited McValue platform rolls out nationwide starting today and the chain is pulling out all the stops to promote its largest menu overhaul in years.
The chain has named actor and professional wrestler John Cena as its “McValue ambassador” who will appear in social media campaigns promoting the new menu, which includes a buy one, add one for $1 offer (including at breakfast), the $5 Meal Deal, app exclusive deals, and local deals. In a statement, Cena called the McValue menu “an absolute game changer.”
Additionally, the chain is spending more than $3 million during the first few weeks of 2025 to promote the menu in partnership with 16 different entertainment and lifestyle brands. The promotions include one free month of YouTube TV, 20 minutes of free WiFi on American Airlines, and a Tinder Gold Premium Access subscription, all accessible for users who interact with ads about the McValue menu.
This investment comes on the heels of McDonald’s announcement that it is spending $100 million in marketing and support to recover from its E. coli outbreak in October.
The McValue platform is an evolution of the $5 Meal Deal launched in late June to win back lower-income consumers who began pulling back in the first quarter. The promotion helped gain traffic from that demographic for the first time in over a year, according to executives, while Numerator data shows that McDonald’s gained market share as well.
The offering also kickstarted an intense value environment across segments throughout the duration of 2024 that seems to be continuing so far in the New Year with value announcements from Applebee’s, Checkers and Rally’s, Subway, KFC, Friendly’s, Del Taco, Wayback Burger, and others.
For McDonald’s, the platform is the chain’s biggest menu change since its $1, $2, $3 Dollar Menu launch in 2018.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
