BT21 is coming to McDonald’s Happy Meals!
Fresh off last year’s BTS collaboration with their TinyTan figurines in Happy Meals, McDonald’s is partnering with their other character affiliate, BT21. McDonald’s Official Instagram posted a teaser featuring the characters’ shadows zooming through the universe, past stars that form a Happy Meal. In the sneak peek, it is revealed that BT21 x McDonald’s Happy Meals will launch on July 14. Like the TinyTan toys, they will be sold exclusively with Happy Meals.
Developed by LINE FRIENDS, BT21 is a set of creature characters representing each BTS member, created by the members themselves. Since its launch in 2017, the products have been popular, selling out at launch, and have been expanded to other companies, such as Converse and Olive Young.
The popular brand previously worked with McDonald’s in 2023, selling its characters standing atop chicken nugget containers, exclusively in Asia. The toy sold out quickly.
What are the BT21 Figures? Who do they represent?
BT21, whose name derives from BTS and the 21st Century, was created by each BTS member to represent them, giving them a name, look, and personality. There is even a lore. The brand has since launched into products, games, foods, ads, and even web series. BTS documented their process for creating their characters and continues to actively develop them.
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KOYA – RM
KOYA is a blue koala who is brilliant, sleepy, and thoughtful, with removable ears. RM thought koalas were cute. He painted KOYA’s nose purple to represent love (and ARMY). When KOYA is shocked, his ears fall off, but he can put them back on.
RJ – Jin
Jin has been drawing alpacas for years, especially since he’s been referenced as looking like one. So he decided to embrace it and make his character one with a red/orange scarf. He named it “RJ” because “AL” from ALpaca, but in Korean, it sounds like “R,” and the letter of his first name is J. RJ, like his father, enjoys eating.
Fun fact: Jin has displayed his giant RJ statue at home.
SHOOKY – SUGA
Inspired by Jung Kook’s drawing, SUGA gave his character the name SHOOKY. The brown, round cookie has arms and legs, one eyebrow thicker than the other, and one buck tooth. The character is known to be mischievous.
MANG – j-hope
Initially, MANG was a purple-bodied character with a blue horse mask over its face and a pink heart-shaped nose. j-hope wanted to explore the mystery of a character hiding their true self from the world. MANG is, like his father, a superb dancer. The name “Mang” translates to pony and is the latter part of the word Hope in Korean. In 2023, MANG revealed its face, showing the world it was a chipmunk. His smile is exactly the same as j-hope’s.
CHIMMY – Jimin
CHIMMY is a white puppy with black ears, wearing a yellow hoodie. Jimin wanted the character to represent the entire group because they were all like puppies – playful and active. CHIMMY’s face also resembles Jimin’s when they first debuted.
TATA – V
V likes drawing cute and unique characters, and had the idea of TATA in his head for some time before creating it. He created the character as an alien with a heart-shaped head, yellow lips, and a blue body dotted with yellow. The heart-shaped head represents the love he sends out into space. V gave the character its name because the sound was cute.
COOKY – Jung Kook
Jung Kook, whose fans have associated him with a bunny, sketched a rabbit as his character, naming it after him and his nickname, “Kookie,” but with a different spelling. COOKY is a pink rabbit with the right ear bent down, with one eyebrow thicker than the other. He is very strong and likes to work out.
VAN – ARMY
In addition to their own characters, BTS wanted to create a character that represented their fanbase – ARMY. Created by TATA, VAN is a robot with grey and white stripes on both sides of its body and XO eyes. VAN is sworn to protect the characters – just like ARMY.
What is the BT21 Lore?
According to LINE FRIENDS, “Hailing from Planet BT, Prince TATA dreams to spread love across the galaxy. Deciding that destiny is at hand, TATA summons guardian robot VAN to prepare for an interstellar journey to Earth. Shortly after arrival, the Prince concludes that the most effective means to win over the hearts of earthlings is to become a super, no… something much more ambitious. A UNIVERSTAR. Realizing that a collective effort is crucial, TATA & VAN scout for like-minded hopefuls to share in the dream. Soon they discover 6- KOYA, RJ, SHOOKY, MANG, CHIMMY, and COOKY- to become what will be known as the most influential pop-culture sensation the galaxy has ever witnessed. BT21.”
What can we expect from this collaboration with McDonald’s?
More to come on this BT21 x McDonald’s collaboration SOON!