HangtimeKyul × McDonald's

HangtimeKyul and McDonald’s are partnering up to celebrate AAPI Month.

There are so many awesome things about this campaign, I don’t even know where to start! Luckily, our amazing Artist Relations Manager, Rachel Robillard, was there to walk me through all of the best things about this campaign.

Breaking Through

Breakthrough and emerging indie artists don’t always get a lot of attention from brands, even though they have the most loyal fan bases. Some brands “get it” though—and we love working with brands like McDonald’s that see the value in partnering with a rising star.

This was Hangtime’s very first brand deal—and when MAX Artist Relations Manager Rachel Robillard reached out to him about the partnership opportunity with McDonald’s, he wasn’t sure she was the real deal.

(he told Rachel later that he figured out that she was legit when he saw that one of his own favorite Bay Area artists who has also worked with McDonald’s, Chow Mane, follows her on IG 😀)

Bay Area Strong

We’ve been working with McDonald’s for a while and our Bay Area campaigns showcase Asian artists from diverse backgrounds who have strong ties to the Bay Area. Rachel and our artist team surfaced HangtimeKyul using our Artist Matching Engine to find artists whose audiences were a great fit for this McDonald’s campaign.

When the team started talking to Hangtime, everything they learned about him made it very clear that he was the perfect fit for McDonald’s. Hangtime was the first person in his family to go to college and school is very important to him (a value shared by McDonald’s). He is a member of the tight-knit Bay Area artist community and loves the work that McDonald’s has done with other Bay Area artists. Best of all, loves the brand and has lots of memories about his family going to McDonald’s when he was growing up.

Dreaming Big with McDonald's

Like a lot of indie artists, HangtimeKyul has a day job to support his music career—and he’s had hard days when he’s thought about giving up on music. He shared with Rachel that the affirmation and support from this brand partnership with McDonald’s is a big inspiration for him to keep following his dreams.

This campaign features HangtimeKyul’s previously unreleased song, “Big Scholar.” He’ll be dropping his new song on all the digital and streaming music platforms alongside this campaign, so stay tuned for the full release! 

Driving Culture

Our work with McDonald’s in the Bay Area celebrates the diversity within Asian culture there with artists from a wide range of backgrounds. I love this HangtimeKyul x McDonald’s partnership—and all of the stories behind it. And I love that instead of chasing culture, McDonald’s continues to drive culture by partnering with the breakthrough artists on the vanguard of culture. 

MAX Team Shout-Outs

Also worth mentioning: this campaign features our own Desmond Ng, Program Manager at MAX, in his McDonald’s campaign debut! You can spot Desmond playing video games in one of the social videos for this campaign—we’ll miss him when he leaves us for Hollywood fame and fortune.

One last shout out to Rachel Robillard, who had so many stories about this campaign production and who shared (with Hangtime's permission, of course) all of the amazing screenshots of her conversations with HangtimeKyul during production. Rachel, seeing how passionate and driven you are to help indie artists get the recognition they deserve is inspiring!

Get to Know HangtimeKyul

HangtimeKyul, an up-and-coming musician, made himself known with the song “HANDS OUT,” released in 2020. The project blends melodic vocals and bars over hyphy-influenced Bay Area production, reflecting HangtimeKyul's life experiences and journey toward success. Hits like "Mexico" highlight his storytelling prowess and musical versatility. It's praised for its positive and uplifting impact, showcasing HangtimeKyul's potential in the music industry​​.

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