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The Happy Meal Turns 30
Filed under: Nutrition: Health, In The News, Mealtime
The McDonald's Happy Meal is turning 30. Introduced in 1979, this staple of kid-friendly fast-food is now as recognizable as the McDonald's brand itself. The idea of the Happy Meal is so simple: A hamburger, fries and soda served in a cardboard box with a small toy. But it's not the box -- or the food -- that makes the Happy Meal iconic. It's the toys.
The Happy Meal toys are, of course, a stroke of marketing genius. Kids -- and the occasional adult -- will buy meal after meal in an effort to collect all of the toys in a series. And while this results in a lot of plastic Transformers in the back of Mom's car, in some cases, all those Happy Meals pay off: Some of the toys have become collectibles. The most popular Happy Meal item was the Teenie Beanie Babies. According to ABC News, McDonald's sold 100 million Happy Meals featuring the Ty stuffed toy in 1997, sparking "a national craze."
And there's money in Happy Meal toys, too, at least for some people: 11-year-old Luke Underwood of Notts, England, sold his Happy Meal toy collection at auction this spring for $11,000. That's a lot of French fries!
The toys in a Happy Meal aren't necessarily meant to be collectors items, though; they're intended for kids to play with, and carefully screened for safety. But while the toys aren't harmful, what about the food?
The meals offered in the modern Happy Meal are more balanced than those offered in 1979. Now parents can choose Chicken McNuggets instead of a burger, or apples with caramel dipping sauce instead of french fries. Cindy Good, McDonald's director of nutrition, tells ABC News that while the 1979 Happy Meal had 600 calories, today's "most popular Happy Meal [consists of] four-piece chicken McNuggets, apple dippers low fat caramel dip and 1 percent low fat milk," which totals just 375 calories. Not bad for an every-so-often take-out treat.
What's your favorite part of the Happy Meal -- the toy or the food? Or do you steer clear of the whole thing?
Brett Singer is the editor-in-chief of DaddyTips.com. You can follow his tweets at Twitter.com/brettsinger.
McDonalds Happy Meal Turns 30
The original Circus Wagon Happy Meal box. The Happy Meal was introduced in 1979, and celebrates it's 30th birthday this year.
McDonald's
Over the years, McDonald's has teamed up with various movie studios for tie-ins that promoted both hamburgers and entertainment. This ET Happy Meal box is from 1985.
McDonald's
In 1990, McDonald's introduce the first Barbie Happy Meal.
McDonald's
Barbie isn't the only doll to show up in a Happy Meal box; in 2002, this Madame Alexander toy made an appearance at McDonald's.
McDonald's
In honor of the 30th birthday of the Happy Meal, McDonald's and Ty have teamed up to bring back the Teenie Beanie Babies plush toys. From July 17 to August 13, the toys will be available in a special-edition Happy Meal; customers will receive one of 30 Teenie Beanie Babies plush toys with the purchase of a Happy Meal at participating McDonald's restaurants (while supplies last).
McDonald's
The Happy Meal toys are, of course, a stroke of marketing genius. Kids -- and the occasional adult -- will buy meal after meal in an effort to collect all of the toys in a series. And while this results in a lot of plastic Transformers in the back of Mom's car, in some cases, all those Happy Meals pay off: Some of the toys have become collectibles. The most popular Happy Meal item was the Teenie Beanie Babies. According to ABC News, McDonald's sold 100 million Happy Meals featuring the Ty stuffed toy in 1997, sparking "a national craze."
The toys in a Happy Meal aren't necessarily meant to be collectors items, though; they're intended for kids to play with, and carefully screened for safety. But while the toys aren't harmful, what about the food?
The meals offered in the modern Happy Meal are more balanced than those offered in 1979. Now parents can choose Chicken McNuggets instead of a burger, or apples with caramel dipping sauce instead of french fries. Cindy Good, McDonald's director of nutrition, tells ABC News that while the 1979 Happy Meal had 600 calories, today's "most popular Happy Meal [consists of] four-piece chicken McNuggets, apple dippers low fat caramel dip and 1 percent low fat milk," which totals just 375 calories. Not bad for an every-so-often take-out treat.
What's your favorite part of the Happy Meal -- the toy or the food? Or do you steer clear of the whole thing?
Brett Singer is the editor-in-chief of DaddyTips.com. You can follow his tweets at Twitter.com/brettsinger.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-21-2009 @ 7:01AM
mjkaylor said...Here in Indy the managers at mcdonalds have been doing random acts of kindness in celebration of the happy meals birthday.
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 7:50AM
microjim said...Its too bad that McD's stuffs their food full of msg to get you craving carbs and keep you returning to their poison food store for their fatty, chemical laden food. Do your kids a favor, buy them a different toy anf feed them better food. You will save their life in the long run.
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 8:51AM
ladeeda said...if you're trying to watch your weight or calorie intake, what are you doing eating at mcdonalds?!
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 10:00AM
Laurie said...My Sad Meal, um I mean Happy Meal, is now over 2-1/2 years old, purchased in January 2007. It's never molded, the bun broke, the meat (if I can call it that) is as hard as a hockey puck and has shrunk. The french fries are still greasy and have shrunk somewhat. Most of the grease from the meal has actually seeped into the bag, which looks worse than the meal and stinks something awful. Imagine, if this so-called food never breaks down, what happens to it in the body? I know of families who eat at McDonald's 3-4 times a week. Expensive and unhealthy. If they saw on paper what they spent there, they could see how many healthy whole foods they could have purchsed with their money. I display my Sad Meal at health presentations and anyone who truly cares about their children's future should be convinced that this is not the right choice to feed their families.
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 10:46AM
Vanessa said...McDonalds has been poison to the body since it's inception. The "Happy Meal" is no different...
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 11:35AM
suzanne said...i'm, 52, and still order the happy meal. and, when i have a yard sale, the unopened toys sell for fifty cents each.
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 12:15PM
Charlene said...WAKE UP EVERYBODY!!! McDonalds food is poison to your body. One persone said they wished the grilled chicken was offered in the happy meals.........it is not any better for you than the beef, it has soooo much salt that it too is a heart attack waiting to happen. The chicken nuggets come from chickens that are given growth hormones to make their breasts bigger.....this hormone is fully transferrable to humans..........quit feeding your kids crap! Take the extra time, go to the grocery store, buy "healthy" food, and prepare it at home. We are a country of the "quick fix" and are becoming the country of "obesity" and "heart failure". Wake up....there is NO fast food that is healthy.........NONE!
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 12:46PM
Carla said...No, Charlene, the chickens used for McDonald's food ARE NOT fed growth hormones. This is one myth that needs to disappear. As the wife of a poultry farmer who supplies McDonald's, I know for a fact that the chickens are fed natural grains.
7-25-2009 @ 4:42AM
Paul said..."The chicken nuggets come from chickens that are given growth hormones to make their breasts bigger.....this hormone is fully transferrable to humans....."
I disagree. My girlfriend eats the chicken nuggets all the time and her breasts haven't become bigger. The hormone must not transfer as you claim.
7-21-2009 @ 1:07PM
Diztrbd said...I worked at McDonalds for 3.5 years. I was an assistant manager for about 2.5 of those. Although sometimes I didn't mind, people would walk up and request I go through every case of toys to get them every single one of the series. At least once a week. It's weird how crazy some people get about those toys. To each their own, I suppose.
P.S. I agree. Don't eat there. It's honestly some of the grossest crap in the world. Coming from someone who had to "cook" it everyday. They claim it's all "grade A" and whatnot, but if you've seen some of the grease and other I've had to clean up, you'd wonder exactly why people eat the stuff. I did.
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 1:24PM
ninainindia said...McDonald's is not the cause of the obesity problem of the US. There is nothing wrong with eating McDonald's food every now and then. The problem lies with the people that go there every day and than blame McDonald's for their bad health and obesity.
Reply
7-21-2009 @ 1:25PM
Kelly said...Does anyone else notice the number of times AOL articles use the word "iconic"? How do all these people and things achieve this distinction? Or is it a distinction to be "iconic" when every other person or thing is one also?
Reply
7-22-2009 @ 10:05AM
Bethany said...Eh, I like McDonalds. Not the healthiest meal, but it IS really tasty, imo. =) I used to love the toys and collect them. But honestly, now-a-days, what kid is going to want to play with a little plastic puppy when they have a Wii right in their living room and DSi on the coffee table?
Reply
7-23-2009 @ 9:04AM
info said...If my kids want a hamburger I make them myself using high quality or organic beef, I can make a mean strawberry milkshake as well and have never had any complains. I want my family to have the best start in life possible and healthy eating is an important part of that. I am not against fast food, what I am against is low quality fast food. Some comments here say that Mc Donalds food is poison to the body and I think they're pretty close to the truth.
http://www.womansindex.com
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