How McDonald’s Became Part of the KPop Demon Hunters Universe

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KPop Demon Hunters conquered the world in 2025. The animated fantasy film’s blend of comedy, action, and supernatural horror broke Netflix viewing records and won two Academy Awards.

Eager fans thought they had to wait until the sequel drops in 2029 for more action. Little did they know that McDonald’s and Wieden+Kennedy New York had collaborated with Netflix on a new official chapter in the epic rivalry between Huntr/x, the girl band demon hunters, and the demon-in-disguise boy band, Saja Boys.

Inspired by McDonald’s “Famous Orders” platform of celebrity-curated meals, the campaign injects the fast-food joint into the KPop Demon Hunters universe — a battle between the bands to attract fans to their respective meals. Will they pick Saja Boys’ breakfast of Spicy Saja McMuffin and hash brown, or team Huntr/x’s chicken nuggets with Ramyeon McShaker Fries?

Featuring the real characters and cast of the hit movie and animated by the film’s creators, “Battle of the Fans” pictures the bands promoting their meals at an exclusive fansign event. Bringing the phenomenon into the real world, fans can ‘pick a side’ and buy either meal, with each featuring a QR Code Card directing them to exclusive content, merch, and social media.

The global campaign spans the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America, and includes a Rolling Stone digital cover takeover, high-fashion billboards in New York’s Soho, a yet-to-be-announced secret collaboration, and an immersive event in Los Angeles.

The idea was to turn fandom into participation, explained JJ Healan, McDonald’s vice president, U.S. marketing, brand, content, and culture, to ADWEEK: “Across different media, you’ll see both bands trying to convince fans to try their respective meals.”

“By making McDonald’s the stage for the battle, every touchpoint — from ordering to unlocking content — becomes a way for fans to engage with the rivalry. It creates a ‘no dead ends’ loop where physical actions drive digital experiences, and vice versa,” she continued.

McDonald’s always aims to do something new to ensure it remains the definitive place where cultural stories come to life Healan explained: “McDonald’s democratizes access, bringing fandoms closer to their favorites. The biggest bands in that universe would absolutely have their own McDonald’s meal, and it would become a competition between them.”

Working with the Netflix team

A sequence in the movie in which the two bands compete in the Idol Awards while engaging with promotional press and fighting demons served as the “creative unlock” for the entire campaign.

“It’s a montage built around the song ‘Take Down’ where the two groups are fighting each other and one-upping each other with different elements. A billboard here… a subway wrap there,” said Eric Helin, global executive creative director at Wieden+Kennedy.

The film is all about promotion, said Wieden+Kennedy copywriter Aaron Araya: “It’s very self-aware in that sense. They are very much idol celebrities with idol celebrity duties. They do press and sell products. We thought it would be really cool if we made it real and brought them to McDonald’s in the same way.”

Convincing Netflix wasn’t difficult, Araya added: “McDonald’s is really keen on working with brands that make sense to the brand. It’s not partnership first, it’s creative idea first.”

Given the green light, Wieden+Kennedy shared a pen with the teams at Netflix and Sony to develop a storyline faithful to the original IP.

“Any hint of inauthenticity is just deadly,” said Helin. “We were laser-focused on staying true to the fandom and the subculture.”

The team ensured the “stewards of the brand and the story” dictated the direction throughout.

“They made sure we didn’t deviate in a way that would be inauthentic. We welcomed it as we understood that the success of this relies on its ability to truly touch on the things that the fans of this IP love,” said Araya.

It looks like it paid off. Since the collaboration was announced last week, fans have reacted fanatically on TikTok, Reddit, and YouTube, praising the campaign’s fidelity to the source material and flooding the internet with fan art.

“The amount of fan art that we’re starting to see is crazy,” Helin said. “Just a constant stream of people reinterpreting the work.”