Faze Clan and McDonald’s drop new campaign to encourage diversity in gaming

By Jeff Beer

The Golden Arches continues to faze up, announcing today the launch of “Spotlight,” a new campaign with gaming and entertainment content platform Faze Clan. “Spotlight” will focus on elevating diverse voices in gaming and feature Faze gaming streamers and personalities FaZe Swagg and FaZe JSmooth talking about what being a Black gamer means to them. The two Faze members will also host three livestream events to connect with diverse, up-and-coming streamers—and promote the guest streamers with their own fan communities. The ultimate goal is to create a ripple effect of broadening the game streaming spotlight.

“Everything we do is for our community and our fans, and the Spotlight campaign is no different,” says Faze Clan CEO Lee Trink. “The idea is a creative collaboration born out of conversations between the teams at Faze and McDonald’s, with the goal of shining a light on aspiring, diverse gamers from the Faze Clan and Nuke Squad communities. We hope it opens doors for up-and-coming talent, inspiring and shaping the future generation of gamers.”

In an email to Fast Company, Swagg and JSmooth said that a lot of top gamers and streamers with large followings aren’t people of color, which can be discouraging for young, diverse gamers who are trying to build their audience and develop their brand in the hopes of making gaming a career. “We are extremely grateful for the success we’ve had so far and the community that shows up for us every day and don’t take that for granted,” they explained. “That said, it’s very important for us to use our platforms to help pave the way for other gamers of color and hopefully propel more aspiring diverse gamers toward success.”

This is the latest project to emerge from the two companies’ ongoing collaboration, first announced back in August, that focuses on diversity in gaming. In a statement, Elizabeth Campbell, McDonald’s senior director of cultural engagement said, “The Spotlight program is the latest initiative in our larger partnership with FaZe Clan that aims to authentically engage diverse gamers by amplifying their voices and driving greater representation in the gaming industry.”

FaZe Clan started in 2010 as a group of friends playing Call of Duty, and has since become an e-sports and entertainment powerhouse, balancing a content production studio, talent management, a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, and a sales team negotiating brand deals. The company’s brand partnerships include Xbox and DC Comics. In October, Faze Clan announced it would be going public through a proposed SPAC deal that gives the company a $1 billion valuation.

Trink says that McDonald’s commitment to the gaming space is important. “But we couldn’t be more proud and grateful that the partnership is rooted in our joint mission of improving and highlighting diversity in the gaming community,” says Trink. “In our eyes, McDonald’s putting resources into collaborating with us on addressing this specific issue makes the partnership even more significant.”

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