Special offers for children - Happy Meal sets appeared on the McDonald`s menu back in 1979.
The “highlight” of them was and remains toys from different collections, hidden inside, while much less attention is paid to the most edible contents. But if at first such bonuses were considered harmless, today there are more and more voices against such marketing moves.
After McDonald's many other fast food chains, such as Wendy's, Burger King and Subway, have taken the same tack and lure young shoppers in with free bundled toys. But no marketing campaign has managed to become as popular and talked about as Happy Meal.
It is difficult to say exactly how the first Happy Meals appeared. St. Louis marketing manager Dick Brams is often referred to as the "father of the Happy Meal". But McDonald's is officially naming advertising executive Bob Bernstein, who took over the idea of special children's offers from a McDonald's operator in Guatemala, as the creator of the first kits.
At first, the toys that came with the network's offers were much simpler and cheaper than today's ones. The company offered a small trinket or toy to complement the menu. In 1979, sets for children were already elaborately decorated and could contain themed coloring books, wallets, erasers and similar trifles. In the same year, themed Happy Meals were presented for the first time, dedicated to the release of the film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture".
Especially popular were thematic issues created in collaboration with Disney. In 1987, sets began to appear containing stickers, coloring books and other children's entertainment dedicated to Disney classics. Since then, almost all the studio's hits have been presented in Happy Meal - Cinderella, The Sword in the Stone, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, etc.
Happy Meal toys have always been a collector's item. This hobby reached its peak in 1996, when along with the sets you could get a toy from the collection of miniature plush figures Teenie Beanie Babie. Between 1996 and 2000, hunting for these toys turned into a real mania around the world, often restaurants ran out of stock due to the fact that the sets were quickly sold out. There is even an official McDonald`s Collectors Club, whose members collect various figures and toys from sets.
The company often experimented with popular sets. So, in 2004, Happy Meal for adults was released to the market, which contained relatively healthy food, fitness DVDs, pedometers and other additions for lovers of a healthy lifestyle. Such sets were not popular and quickly disappeared from sale.
The first complaints against the company began to be officially distributed in 2010. McDonald's was accused of pressure on customer choice and unethical "luring" children into eating unhealthy foods. Numerous attacks influenced the company's policy and customers in subsequent years began to offer a wider selection of dishes on the menu, including and compatible with a healthy lifestyle. This applies to both adult and children's menus.
In addition, the very idea of marketing aimed at children is being criticized. Since toddlers are the most impressionable and uncritical group influencing purchases, brand habituation and compulsive consumption in the future is often seen as unacceptable.
As many experts predict, the very idea of plastic toys in the Happy Meal may well become irrelevant in the near future. The advent of the 21st century suggests new approaches, perhaps digital methods will become popular.
Change is really happening. So, in 2013, McDonald`s introduced the McPlay app. With it, kids can scan QR codes on Happy Meal packages to unlock games and other digital content. Marketers proceed from the assumption that modern children play less with toys, but pay more attention to smartphones and tablets, and build product placement strategies accordingly.
The overall market is also changing, with many fast food chains phasing out campaigns that include giving away free toys for kids. In 2013, Taco Bell announced they were phasing out their children's menu, and Jack in the Box stopped putting free toys in children's sets as of 2011. And although we should not expect the disappearance of the Happy Meal in the near future, nevertheless, changes are likely to occur. And they will touch, first of all, a gradual shift towards "digital" gifts and bonuses, as well as more creative approaches to attracting a children's audience and abandoning traditional plastic toys.
