SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KTVI) — Have you ever wanted to take home some of the advertisements you see in stores, or wondered where they came from? Kyle Scheele did, and his investigation into the topic resulted in an unexpected outcome.
Scheele, a motivational speaker, author and content creator, explained on TikTok that he recently walked into a convenience store and asked if he could take home a cardboard cutout of rapper Post Malone, but the clerk said he wasn’t sure. The cutouts are brought in by different vendors, the clerk said, and the employees don’t really deal with them.
This gave Scheele an idea: “OK. I’m going to make a cardboard cutout of myself and put it inside a gas station,” he said in a now-viral TikTok post detailing his prank.
Scheele worked with a graphic designer to make a life-sized cutout for his fictional “Kyle Scheele Meal,” complete with an image of him holding a pizza-shaped guitar.
“I’ve always wanted my own influencer meal. If it has to be at a gas station, so be it,” said Scheele.
Disguised in a hat and mask, Scheele drove the giant ad to a Kum & Go convenience store in Springfield, Missouri. Then, he simply walked into the Kum & Go and placed the billboard inside. The employees didn’t really seem to care, he said.
The sign stayed up for days, according to commenters on Reddit. The video of Scheele’s prank soon gained over 20 million views on TikTok, and inspired users to start asking Kum & Go about the meal. Many also tagged the gas station chain on social media.
Kum & Go then commented on the video, “We won’t tell if you won’t.”
They also tweeted about it:
To Scheele’s surprise, Kum & Go contacted him — as did the marketing folks at Red Bull — and together they made “Kyle Scheele Meale” an actual, real-life thing at Kum & Go locations that serve pizza.
“Kum & Go is excited to answer the demands of our fans and announce the launch of the Kyle Scheele Meale. The Meale consists of a ‘Pizza Sandwich’ (2 slices of pizza) and a 12oz Red Bull, all for $5,” Kum & Go wrote in a statement.
The brand also confirmed that $2 from every “Meale” sold between now and Thanksgiving will be going to No Kid Hungry, for a total of up to $10,000. Red Bull has also offered to match the donation, according to Scheele.
“Kum & Go is thrilled to partner with Kyle on such a humorous, unexpected initiative that aligns with Kum & Go’s commitment to fighting food insecurity in our towns and cities.”
Scheele continues to update his TikTok followers on this strange chain of events, and recently thanked his fans for their “incredible groundswell of ridiculous, insane support.”
“In one week, we took this from a crazy idea to a real thing that’s going to really help real people,” he said. “And that is pretty cool.”