McDonald’s is the world’s most popular burger chains and was recently combined with the world’s biggest boyband BTS.
It seems that the idea was so much thrilling that it caused complete and utter chaos in the country.
Numerous Indonesian branches of the fast-food chain experienced an awful amount of demand for the newly launched BTS Meal.
The K-pop boyband inspired meal box became so popular that there were fears it could cause a new Covid hotspot.
“We temporarily closed four of six McDonald’s stores here in Semarang for a couple of days,” Fajar Purwoto, the Indonesian city’s public order agency head, said.
“I don’t want Semarang to be in the Covid-19 red zone again.”
For some people, this all may seem a bit of an overreaction, just over a meal box. The meal offers items that any other normal meal box would offer.
It comes with a meal consisting of 10 chicken nuggets, chips, a coke and two sauces (sweet chilli and Cajun, for those who are interested).
But that is underestimating the massive pull of the seven-member K-Pop wonder that is BTS.
Their last single Butter broke global records when it premiered last month.
They have millions of fans across the globe who are loyal and protective towards them. Using their brand in the wrong way can mean trouble, as one South Korean MP found out this week.
Ryu Ho-Jeong, the country’s youngest MP, used an image of tattooed BTS member Jungkook on Tuesday to make a point about easing restrictions on tattooing.
As per South Korean laws, only doctors are permitted to do tattoos.
This made fans angry that she had used the picture, saying she had dragged the star into politics.
Hence, she apologised on Thursday, after facing extensive criticism on social media.
But when fans approved of their partnership with McDonald’s which is currently being set in 49 countries, it can mean massive success.
The country has not yet been recovered from Covid-19. So, people did not go to the McDonald’s branches themselves.
Instead, they used delivery services – sending drivers to the outlets in masses.
Some drivers in the capital Jakarta waited for more than two hours to collect their orders.
A total of 32 branches were closed temporarily across the city. More branches were being shut down in other parts of the country.
However, McDonald’s confirmed people that the meal will still be available for the next month so there is no need to “rush and worry about running out of this product”.
Indonesia’s Covid cases are currently rising, with 7,725 infections reported on Wednesday – the highest since 26 February.
