The Two Legends Who Hung A Fake Ad Of Themselves At McDonald’s Got PAID BANK

A few months ago, Jehv Maravilla and Christian Toledo walked into a McDonald’s in Texas and noticed the ads dotting the restaurant didn’t feature any Asian-Americans.

While some people might have sent a strongly worded letter to the chains corporate office, the two students decided they’d right the wrong in their own way by pulling a reverse Thomas Crown Affair.

After staging a photo shoot, the University of Houston students (who are both of Filipino descent) printed out a massive poster and hung it on an empty wall in the restaurant, where it remained for almost two months after nobody noticed the game was afoot.

In order to pull off the stunt, the two students channeled their inner George Clooney and Brad Pitt to pull off whatever the opposite of a heist is, which involved tracking down a McDonald’s uniform at a thrift shop and posing as an employee.

After the tweet went viral, more than a few people suggested McDonald’s should embrace the prank and give them some credit for their impressive effort.

It turns out the company was listening.

Maravilla’s and Toledo’s caper recently came to the attention of dream maker Ellen Degeneres, who invited the duo to appear on her show.

The two recapped the prank and explained how it came to fruition, saying they were inspired by Crazy Rich Asians despite being self-professed “crazy middle-class Asians.”

It’s virtually impossible to appear on Ellen without being met with a grand surprise and this was no exception.

At the end of the segment, Degeneres revealed McDonald’s had decided to compensate them for their troubles by giving them each $25,000. 

Maravilla and Toledo will also be the face of a new marketing campaign with a focus on increasing diversity so I think it’s safe to say the prank paid off in at least a few ways.

I’m totally not jealous. Nope. Not one bit.