As you might have already heard, Travis Scott, the hugely popular rapper/singer/songwriter/producer/influencer extraordinaire, has collaborated with McDonald’s on the Travis Scott Meal, a $6 combo that includes a Quarter Pounder with Cheese that includes all the regular toppings plus shredded lettuce and bacon, medium fries with barbecue sauce on the side, and a Sprite, because, according to the McDonald’s website, “that’s how he likes it.” If you’ve been watching any network television the last week or so, you might have even seen ads featuring an animated Scott jumping around the combo meal tray, highlighting his favorite foods. This is the first time that McDonald’s has released a celebrity meal since collaborating with Michael Jordan almost 30 years ago, and the Travis Scott Meal has huge viral appeal among Gen Z. Unfortunately for McDonald’s workers nationwide, this has led to a rash of drive-thru prankings in which customers order the combo meal by blasting the Scott’s song “Sicko Mode” directly into the speaker instead of just, y’know, ordering the meal by its name.
According to BuzzFeed, many, many TikTok users have been posting videos of themselves ordering the combo meal this way, leaving fast food employees to decipher their intended purchases. In some cases, the employees are mildly entertained; in one video, you can hear a drive thru worker identify the song and say, “No you didn’t!” while laughing. But after a few shifts, the shenanigans appear to wear on some employees, and understandably so. Many simply wait for the opening bars of “Sicko Mode” to pass before asking if the customer would like anything else. Maybe this is why McDonald’s doesn’t collaborate with celebrities on novelty meal combos more often?
Other prank orders take even more effort to decipher, particularly if you’re not up to speed on your pop culture. I’d be completely lost if someone requested the “Kylie Jenner baby daddy meal” or the “Fortnite guy meal.” These pranks, like so much of TikTok, remind me that I am not a Young Person anymore. There’s nothing to do but take solace in the Travis Scott Meal, ordered loud and clear from the window of my car, with no phone filming my antics or the employees’ reactions.