Happy Meal
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The Happy Meal was the brainchild of St. Louis, Missouri advertising manager Dick Brams, who in 1977 contracted Kansas City-based advertising firm Bernstein-Rein to develop a children's meal item that would promote McDonald's as a restaurant for families, specifically those with smaller children.[link]
The first Happy Meal in 1979 (a regular hamburger or cheeseburger, fries, McDonaldland Cookies sampler, and a soft drink) was the Circus Wagon Happy Meal. It cost one dollar and contained a McDoodler stencil, a puzzle book, a McWrist wallet, an ID bracelet and McDonaldland character erasers.[link]
Often the Happy Meal is themed to promote a current movie. The first such promotion was the Star Trek Meal, to promote in December 1979.
Today Happy Meals consist of three parts:
- a small order of fries or Apple Dippers. Some locations also offer Ice Cream Sundaes or Ice Cream Cones.
- a child size soft drink of your choice or regular or chocolate milk or apple juice.
- a hamburger, cheeseburger, or four-piece order of Chicken McNuggets. Some locations also offer fishsticks or chicken wings.
In the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries, McDonald's has recently introduced a "healthy option" to the Happy Meal - children can now choose to have a fruit juice drink instead of soda, and bags of dried fruit (or a whole piece of fruit such as an apple, or carrot sticks) in place of fries.
To make the trademark internationally recognizable, McDonald's now uses the term "Happy Meal" in all countries. There are some exceptions, such as in French Canada, where it is also called "Joyeux Festins" (meaning happy meals) but is called Happy Meal in France.
The Happy Meal did not introduce the practice of providing small toys to children. In Canada, the promotion prior to the Happy Meal was called the "Treat of the Week," where a different toy was available free on request each week; it continued after the Happy Meal was introduced.
Happy Meal toys have become increasingly elaborate in recent years. While initially they were little more than a cheap plastic trinket such as a frisbee or ball, they have since evolved into much more sophisticated toys, many of which are a tie-in to some existing toy line or contemporary motion picture. Past examples of recent Happy Meal toys have included Ty Beanie Babies, Mattel Barbie and Hotwheels, and toys based on many Disney cartoons.
Initially buying the toy separately from the meal was discouraged, although this is now a fairly common and accepted practice, with "toy" now appearing on the menu.
Selected menu items
The original Happy meal simply consted of a hamburger or cheeseburger, twelve-ounce soft drink, and a small order of french fries. In recent years, however, other options have been added:
- Australia: Cheese & Tomato Toasted Sandwich, a side of sultanas and Apple Juice/Orange Juice/Mount Franklin Bottled Water, and 3 piece McNuggets.
- Brazil: McFruit drinks and yogurt.
- Canada: Grilled cheese sandwiches, Apple Dippers, One-percent milk or chocolate milk, Apple or Orange Juice.
- France: Yogurt smoothies and flavored water.
- Indonesia: Fried Chicken.
- Italy: Fruit cups.
- Japan: Fish McDippers.
- Mexico: Milk and orange juice.
- New Zealand: Fruit Juice, Bottled Mineral Water, Packet of Sliced Apples, Fresh Milk.
- Norway: Mini carrots.
- Romania: Dannon yogurt, apples, Nesquik cereal bars, and mini apricot pies.
- Spain: Kid-sized bottled mineral water and Dannon low-fat yogurt.
- United Kingdom: Organic milk.
- United States: One-percent milk or chocolate milk and Apple Dippers.
- A variety of fruit, chicken, and yogurt products in markets around the world.
- Philippines: Spaghetti.
- Hong Kong: Fresh Corn Cup, Hi-Calcium Mango Fruit Yogurt, Hi-Calcium Low Fat Milk/ Chocolate Milk, Orange Juice.
International differences
The name of the meal differs internationally. In Japan, it was called Okosama Lunch from 1987 to 1988, then Okosama Set from 1988 to 1995 (Okosama is a polite word for "child"). It has been Happy Set ever since.Toys differ. In Japan, unique toys were offered from 1987 to 1996.
Other uses of \"Happy Meal\"
The term Happy Meal is also a name given to an Ethernet adapter used in Sun Microsystems machines. The interface name is shown as hme when one views the interfaces via the ifconfig command. See also Big MacTrivia
Happy Meals have been served to Guantanamo Bay prisoners as a reward for showing signs of good behavior.[link]See also
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