Sorry, J Balvin Fans, Your McDonald's Merch Is Not Coming
McDonald's has been slaying it with the celebrity promotions, but its most recent one with popular reggaeton singer J Balvin suddenly took a disappointing turn. People who ordered merch from the McDonald's collab last fall recently received an email from Vibras Lab saying that there was an "issue with our supplies" that "did not meet our expectations with the products."
Business Insider has the scoop: Fans who ordered merch won't be totally left out in the cold, as they'll get a full refund, a beanie, and a note from J Balvin. It's not the slippers, sunglasses, and rings that people were expecting, but alas, this is as good as it gets. If you recall, the J Balvin meal was kind of a plain combo, featuring a Big Mac, fries, and an Oreo McFlurry. McDonald's earlier collab with Travis Scott, meanwhile, was a little more personalized, with a modified Quarter Pounder along with some barbecue sauce on the side for the the fries.
Neither Vibras Lab nor McDonald's disclosed any specifics about the merch snafu. Twitter is relatively quiet, save a response from this guy who wrote a pretty somber haiku reflecting his disappointment:
Buy J Balvin Merch Hold my money for 3 months. Sorry take a refund
— brandon gill (@derbygill) January 12, 2021
While I did not order any J Balvin exclusives, I feel your pain, @derbygill. There hasn't been any announcement yet on upcoming celebrity collabs, but whatever they turn out to be, I'm sure they'll do just fine. Personally, I'd like to see a collab between McDonald's and K-Pop sensation BTS. That group has seven members, and I would like each of them to get their own meal reflecting each member's favorite combo. And while we're daydreaming, let's add a special Halsey combo to the mix too, because I still, to this day, cannot get this song out of my head.