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Some McDonald's franchise owners have spoken out against the fast-food giant's recent collab with Cardi B and Offset.
Last month, the couple teamed up with McDonald's to create a promotional Valentine's Day duo meal, and even appeared in the restaurant's Super Bowl commercial.
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The deal included Cardi B's favourite order - a classic cheeseburger with BBQ sauce and a large Coca Cola - and Offset's go-to - a Quarter Pounder with a large Hi-C Orange.
But since the promo went live, some store owners have voiced their concerns over the collaboration, claiming that it doesn't follow the Golden Arches Code.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Golden Arches Code states that the company should steer clear of 'musical partnerships associated with content that includes offensive language in the lyrics'.
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They also shouldn't create promotions with brands that feature unsavoury content or movies with sex and violence.
And it's fair to say that both Cardi and Offset love a song with offensive language and cuss words - just as much as they enjoy a McDonald's.
It wasn't that long ago that the rapper had half of America in a frenzy with her song with Megan Thee Stallion, 'WAP'.
Some franchise owners have already started taking down advertising and merchandise associated with the Cardi B and Offset promotion, and are apparently urging others to consider doing the same.
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They've also claimed that the collaboration doesn't match McDonald's family-friendly values.
UNILAD has approached representatives for McDonald's and Cardi B for comment.
While the Journal couldn't determine exactly how many franchise owners were against promoting the Cardi/Offset meal, they did find that most concerns were seemingly being raised in the Southeastern and mid-Atlantic states.
However, McDonalds said on Tuesday (28 February) that the promo had received 'widespread support and excitement' from owners and restaurant staff. The company added that the promotion was meant to 'focus on love and celebrating special moments'.
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McDonald’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer, Tariq Hassan, said: "“Across our marketing, we’re focused on putting McDonald’s at the center of culture.”
This is far from the first time that McDonald's has done a collaboration with a musician, letting them pick their go-to orders and offering them as a nationwide promotion for fans.
In 2020, McDonald's teamed up with rapper and singer Travis Scott.
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His meal included a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon and lettuce, medium fries, BBQ sauce, and a medium Sprite.
McDonald's collaboration with Travis marked the first time a celebrity was featured on the restaurant's menu since 1992, when Michael Jordan teamed up with the brand.
The star-driven promotions largely tend to consist of food that's already available on the McDonald's menu, meaning it can build hype around the brand and draw more customers into stores without much additional spending.
According to the Journal's research, though, about 65 per cent of franchise owners didn't support that collaboration either.
Since then, stars like Saweetie, J Balvin, and BTS have teamed up with the fast-food company, introducing their own go-to meal orders.
Commenting on the celebrity collaborations during a 2021 investor call, McDonald's US President Joe Erlinger said: "Nothing had a greater impact on our digital business than the introduction of this program last year."
Ali Condon