Pharrell Williams is famously credited with co-producing McDonald’s iconic slogan and jingle, “I’m Lovin’ It.” But, in an ironic twist, the music mogul had a rocky history with the fast-food chain as an employee — he was fired from all three McDonald’s locations where he worked.
Fired!
As a teenager in Virginia Beach during the 1990s, Pharrell admitted to being unmotivated and unproductive on the job. According to CNBC, he failed miserably as a fry cook despite being given multiple chances to work for the fast-food giant.
“I was lazy,” Pharrell, who now has an estimated net worth of $250 million and is the creative director at Louis Vuitton, once confessed about his time at McDonald’s. While his stint flipping burgers didn’t work out, it’s safe to say his creative endeavors more than made up for it.
In other interviews Pharrell has often reflected on how his relationship with McDonald’s has changed over the years, especially being tapped to help create the jingle.
“I thought it was ironic, and I thought it was very funny,” Williams, 51, said during an episode of First We Feast’s “Hot Ones” published in October. “They brought it to us and they asked us to make a song …. I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘Oh, I’ve got an idea for McDonald’s.’”
The original “I’m loving it” tagline came from a German advertising agency called Heye & Partner; the 2000 version featuring Justin Timberlake and co-produced by Pharrell’s former band mate Chad Hugo of the Neptunes defined a generation of advertising and still to this day is McDonald’s longest-running slogan.
However, McDonald’s originally sought a more hip-hop sound at first.
McDonald’s commissioned Pusha T to write a full-on song for the fast food chain with Justin Timberlake singing the hook, Hip Hop DX reported.
The song was first released, unrelated to McDonald’s so that it could first test the waters before tying it to the brand.
Pusha T and his brother No Malice of the Clipse had also gotten involved with the McDonald’s campaign initially, according to Pusha T on the “Joe Budden Podcast.”
Pusha T wrote the “ba da ba ba bah” hook, a role that is bittersweet considering that he was not given royalties and got underpaid in hindsight.
They were reportedly paid $1 million total or $500,000 each for their role before Pharrell and others got involved to refine the tune.
Timberlake was paid $6 million for his updated version, CNBC reported.
It’s not disclosed how much Pharrell made from making the jingle.