Wendy’s, Uber Eats Harness Power Of Pop Culture Promotion

The PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X are the two big next-generation gaming consoles coming out this Christmas that parents and gamers worldwide are struggling to get their hands on. But Uber Eats and Wendy’s are pairing up to open up the possibility of winning one – and getting the chance to eat like a Twitch streamer in the process. The promotion is indicative of major QSR and CPG brands using pop culture and gaming to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

The fast-food giant and Uber Eats have launched what they are calling the “Never Stop Gaming” menu, along with a contest where winners can snag consoles and other prizes. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X were not specifically enumerated as prizes in that contest, but most media accounts are assuming those consoles are in the mix, as the contest announcement does mention a chance to win a “a next-gen gaming console.” Alongside the contest, customers will for five days have a chance to order from the special-edition menu, which features special signature meal combos from some of the biggest names in game streaming on Twitch: TFUE, FLIGHT, itsHafu, xChocoBars and Myth.

The release further notes that as part of the contest, Twitch gamers will “stream games of their choosing while giving fans exclusive prizes. They’ll be joined by the ultimate gamer, Wendy, who will also get in on the Twitch action.”

The new pair-up is in line with 2020’s ongoing trend. Powering food with a bit of pop culture cache has been a recurring theme this fall, and gamers have become less a small niche of enthusiasts and more a large and desirable consumer demographic to court.

As an example, musicians and food seem to be something of a secret sauce for food brands this year, as McDonald’s briefly offered the Travis Scott burger (a quarter-pounder with cheese with the rapper’s favorite additional toppings), which sold out in locations across the nation. In fact, the Travis Scott meal sold so well that McDonald’s locations began running out of quarter-pounders entirely.

In another piece of Travis Scott-connected news, the rapper had a concert first earlier this year when he performed virtually for 12.3 million fans on the video game platform Fortnite. Fortnite parent Epic Games went on to announce a three-week concert series this fall featuring performances by Dominic Fike, live from Epic’s new Los Angeles studio (custom-designed for in-game concerts).

Fortnite is betting that virtual concerts aren’t just a pandemic-dependent fad. The company hopes that even when arenas and theaters open again, musical acts of all kinds will play the Fortnite virtual stage in the same way they might play Cleveland or New York.

“This is a tour stop,” Nate Nanzer, Fortnite’s head of global partnerships, told The Verge. “If you’re on tour, you want to stop on the Fortnite stage. It’s a unique way to get in front of an audience that maybe you’re not reaching through other means.”

And Fortnite is good at reaching an audience. So good, in fact, that it has turned a “free” game into a multibillion-dollar business by successfully leveraging the magic of microtransactions with a highly enthused fanbase.

And if one should find themselves hankering for a bit of dessert after gaming, they can satisfy their craving with the latest CPG pop culture pair-up by munching a Lady Gaga Oreo.

What is a Lady Gaga Oreo? A bright-pink, vanilla-flavored cookie with a bright-green creme filling, decorated with designs taken from Gaga’s latest album, Chromatica. The limited-edition cookies will be available in six-packs at convenience stores starting in January, and fans can sign onto the “Lady Gaga x Oreo Stan Club” next month to be notified when the full-size packs are officially available, a spokesperson for Oreo told CNN.

Alongside the new Oreo, the performer and the cookie brand are launching “Sing It With Oreo,” a campaign that encourages fans to send musical messages to loved ones. Entering the contest comes with a chance to win Lady Gaga swag, concert tickets and a potential meet-and-greet (subject to COVID-19 restrictions). In addition to entering the contest, the Sing It With Oreo site also allows friends to create messages called “Oreograms” by recording a personal message that is then auto-tuned into a song to share on social media.

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