McDonald’s Canada launches late-night meal collab with Drake brand OVO

Posters of Drake's brand OVO and McDonald's have been spotted around the city, with a release date of Feb. 17.

TORONTO — McDonald’s Canada has cooked up a collaboration with rapper Drake’s brand.

The fast-food giant has launched a new late-night munchies meal with OVO.

The star of the meal is the Nite Sprite, which mixes Sprite with blue raspberry syrup and comes in a black paper cup with the OVO owl on it.

It is being sold alone or as part of the Afters meal, which also includes a Junior Chicken or a McDouble paired with a poutine.

The meal was teased with cryptic posters bearing only the OVO and McDonald’s branding last week but was quietly released with no further marketing from either brand Tuesday.

By Wednesday, eBay had at least a dozen listings for the cups, which were mostly priced under $40. Some consumers were also on social media complaining they ordered the meal or Nite Sprite and the drink had been served to them in a regular cup instead of the co-branded one.

Others reported seeing a “stylish new collab” ad in their McDonald’s app that showed a black hoodie and pants as well as an electric blue puffer vest. The ad and some of the items had the McDonald’s name splayed across the OVO owl and were accompanied with a note telling customers they could redeem 4,000 McDonald’s points for a 15 per cent discount on OVO merchandise sold online.

But McDonald’s Canada spokesperson Kristen Hunter said in an email to The Canadian Press, “At this time, there is no merchandise or discount available as part of this program.”

“Our understanding is that the image a small number of app users briefly saw was a glitch and has since been resolved,” she added.

The meal the company is selling makes no mention of Drake, who has long been celebrated in Canada because of his Toronto upbringing, music and early fame on the TV franchise “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” but has garnered less favourable attention lately.

He has released little new music, fallen off the Billboard Hot 100 chart and feuded with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, making the McDonald’s collaboration a test of how enduring Drake’s popularity is.

While McDonald’s is still a giant in the fast-food world, it has also faced criticism in recent years with customers complaining that dining at the chain is becoming too expensive.

“If you’re that consumer, you’re driving up to the restaurant and you’re seeing combo meals could be priced over $10 and that absolutely is shaping value perceptions and shaping value perceptions in a negative way,” McDonald’s global CEO Christopher Kempczinski conceded on an earnings call last year.

“We’ve got to get that fixed.”

In response, the company has been trying to offer more value items and recently froze the price of a cup of coffee at $1 and some of its meals at $5 for at least the next year.

But to drive sales, cultivate new customers and upsell existing patrons in an ultracompetitive, cost-sensitive environment, it’s also turned to the popular partnerships playbook.

McDonald’s Canada collaborated with country star Shania Twain and the animated Grinch brand on meals last year that came with cowgirl key chains and socks, respectively.

Competitors countered. Tim Hortons made breakfast boxes with actor Ryan Reynolds, Burger King offered a SpongeBob-themed meal and Wendy’s offered menu items inspired by the Wednesday TV show.

The OVO partnership targets late-night sales, but the meal will be sold at lunch and dinner as well.

Customers during the later part of the day are harder to lure in because many dine at home or opt for eats at full-service restaurants or bars.

However, these customers can often be enticed into spending more than someone popping in for a breakfast or snack earlier in the day.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press