There was no traditional advertising pitch.
There was no formal meeting with McDonald’s executives.
There was no talent agent negotiating their first commercial appearance.
Instead, there was an empty wall, a camera, some McDonald’s food, approximately $100, a thrift-store uniform and a willingness to attempt something ridiculous.
The friends created the opportunity themselves.
Afterward, they used some of the attention to continue discussing inclusive marketing. The Houston Chronicle later reported that they visited schools in the Houston area to speak about the subject.
Their story therefore moved through several stages that none of them could have planned:
First, they were customers.
Then they became pranksters.
Then they became viral celebrities.
Then they became paid McDonald’s advertising talent.
All because they wondered why a blank wall could not feature people who looked like them.
A Prank With an Unlikely Ending
Most unauthorized advertisements do not end with the company paying the people responsible for them.
Most people who walk into a restaurant wearing a second-hand employee uniform do not leave with a future advertising contract.
And most $100 jokes do not lead to $50,000 in combined payments.
That is what makes the story of Jevh Maravilla and Christian Toledo so memorable.
Their plan succeeded because the poster looked convincing enough to belong.
But the larger story succeeded because their idea communicated something that many people understood immediately.
They were not merely trying to fool McDonald’s employees.
They were making themselves visible in a place where they felt people like them were missing.
The empty wall gave them the opportunity.
Their creativity did the rest.
Fifty-one days after installing the poster, Maravilla revealed the secret to the internet.
Within weeks, the two friends were sitting on national television learning that McDonald’s would pay each of them $25,000.
Within months, they appeared in a genuine McDonald’s advertisement.
The fake models had become real ones.
The unauthorized poster had started a genuine conversation about representation.
And two friends who simply wanted to fill an empty wall ended up receiving $50,000 from the very company they had playfully pranked.
Sometimes a blank space is just a blank space.
And sometimes, if the right people notice it, it becomes an opportunity.
Sources and Further Reading
CNN / CNN Wire reporting (2018) — Contemporary reporting on Maravilla and Toledo, their Filipino backgrounds, the creation of the poster, its approximate cost, the 51-day timeline, and McDonald’s initial response.
ABC13 Houston (KTRK), September 18, 2018 — Reporting on the pair’s appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the $25,000 payment to each participant, McDonald’s planned campaign, and the removal of the original poster during renovations.
Houston Chronicle / Chron, September–November 2018 — Local reporting on the original Pearland prank and the friends’ subsequent appearance in McDonald’s national advertising.
Eater Houston, September 18 and November 21, 2018 — Reporting on the Ellen appearance, McDonald’s $50,000 combined payment, the planned charitable use of the original poster, and Maravilla and Toledo’s eventual appearance in the Triple Breakfast Stacks campaign.
Inside Edition, September 2018 — Interviews and reporting detailing the creation of the approximately 60-by-50-inch poster, the $7 second-hand McDonald’s shirt, the July 13 installation and the friends’ motivations.
CBS News / CBS Local, September 20, 2018 — Independent confirmation of the 51-day viral-post timeline and the $25,000 payment to each friend.
Nielsen, “Asian-American Consumers are Predictive Adopters of New Media Platforms, Online Shopping and Smartphone Use,” May 2018 — Contemporary demographic and consumer research providing context on the growing influence and purchasing power of Asian-American consumers.
Nielsen, “Representation Matters: Engagement, Awareness and Likability of Asian American Content,” 2017 — Research examining audience engagement with programming featuring Asian-American actors and characters.
Nielsen, “After Oscars triumph, Asian American viewers look to advertisers and media companies for more representation,” 2023 — Later research documenting continuing demand among AANHPI audiences for greater representation in media and advertising.
International Journal of Advertising, “The prevalence and portrayal of Asian Americans in advertising: a comparative content analysis over three decades,” 2024 — Academic research examining the frequency and portrayal of Asian Americans in advertising, including U.S. advertisements from 2010–2019.