While some might say that McDonald’s shouldn’t be handing out toys with its Happy Meals in an effort to entice the younger set, customers at a Golden Arches in New York City were apparently getting an even more controversial item with their orders: Police say the night shift manager of a Bronx location was selling drugs to customers, and hiding it inside bags of food. [More]
happy meals
McDonald’s Is Testing A Breakfast Happy Meal
By 9.23.16
McDonald’s just can’t stop riding the breakfast wave that has boosted the company’s sales and brought customers back through its doors, it seems: after scoring with all-day breakfast, the fast food chain is now toying with the idea of offering Happy Meals in the morning hours. [More]
Here’s How McDonald’s Is Removing All Traces Of Irritating Happy Meal Fitness Trackers
By 8.22.16
In the space of just a few weeks, McDonald’s began stuffing kid-friendly fitness trackers in its Happy Meal boxes in Canada and the U.S. and then abruptly stopped offering the devices after receiving reports of skin irritation. Now, it appears the fast food giant wants to put the whole ordeal behind it, by scrubbing every trace the trackers existed from its stores, websites, and general environment. [More]
Critics: Putting Fitness Trackers In McDonald’s Happy Meals Doesn’t Make Them Healthy Meals
By 8.17.16
Putting on a fitness tracker doesn’t magically change your body; it’s just another accessory if it goes unused. That’s why critics of McDonald’s latest Happy Meal shake-up don’t seem terribly impressed.
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Today’s Children Don’t Remember Happy Meals Without Apple Slices
By 6.3.16
It’s not often that we use the phrases “McDonald’s” and “healthy” in close proximity, but the fast-food giant has one thing that it can brag about: putting billions of bags of apple slices in the hands of children. Yes, billions: this week, McDonald’s marked the two billionth bag of the fruit given out with Happy Meals. [More]
McDonald’s Testing Mac & Cheese Cups In Happy Meals
By 12.18.15
Would you like a cup of mac and cheese with your burger? That may not sound appealing to you, but the pasta dish is a major food group for small children, and the idea is getting a limited-time test in Cleveland. The cups would probably be pre-prepared, so frazzled franchisees wouldn’t have much to complain about regarding the new menu item. [More]
Study Claims Adult Happy Meals Could Lead People To Eat Smaller Portions
By 12.1.15
McDonald’s has long been criticized for using toys and other incentives in Happy Meals to get young kids craving fast food. But could the same “prize included” approach be used to encourage adults to eat smaller portions? [More]
McDonald’s: Fewer Happy Meals Are Being Ordered With Sodas
By 6.25.15
Back in the fall of 2013, McDonald’s decided to jump on the healthyish bandwagon and stopped pushing sodas with Happy Meals, removing them from the menu and marketing materials but still providing them to customers who ordered them. That move has apparently worked to cut down on soda consumption at the Golden Arches, as the chain says fewer Happy Meals are being ordered with sodas. [More]
Ad Board Recommends McDonald’s Focus On Actual Meal, Not Just The Cool Toy
By 5.15.15
By now we all know that McDonald’s is trying to appeal to a younger audience, but a commercial the company aired last fall geared toward its youngest customers apparently didn’t sit well with an ad review board. And now that group is warning the fast food giant to stick to its food and not to use toys to appeal to youngsters.
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What Do McDonald’s Franchisees Want To Cut From The Menu?
By 1.21.15
While many McDonald’s customers were worrying needlessly that the chain would be cutting the Big Mac and its apple pie from the menu, there are going to be some menu changes coming this year as the chain seeks to simplify its offerings. So what did franchisees say they’d cut when asked? [More]
McDonald’s Adds Clementines To The Happy Meals Menu
By 12.1.14
As adult consumers increasingly lean toward the healthier items on restaurant menus, so it goes that the offerings for their children are also heading in the more nutritious direction. To that end, McDonald’s is rolling out the new option for whole, fresh fruit in its Happy Meals, with the introduction of clementines to the kids’ menu. [More]
What Should McDonald’s Do When Kids Aren’t Interested In Happy Meals?
By 9.9.14
McDonald’s has a problem: kids. For a few generations now, families have been a big part of the company’s business, and marketing to children an important part of their business strategy. Yet kids and families just aren’t streaming in the door like they used to, and it’s not because terrifying new mascot Happy has scared them off. No, it’s because eschewing fast food is now aspirational for middle-class consumers, and everyone else is broke. [More]
McDonald’s Adding Go-Gurt Option To Happy Meals
By 5.19.14
In an effort to further change its image, McDonald’s announced today that it will soon be adding a yogurt option to its kids meals in the form of Yoplait’s kid-friendly Go-Gurt. Whether or not this is actually a healthier choice all depends on what you substitute the yogurt for. [More]
McDonald’s Trying To Stop Differentiating Between “Girls” And “Boys” Toys In Happy Meals
By 4.21.14
McDonald’s has long offered two types of choices in its Happy Meal toys — one targeted to boys and one aimed at girls. But not every boy wants a robot fighter and not every girl craves a pink winged pony; an idea that a number of McDonald’s employees didn’t seem to understand. So in response to concerns that the fast food mega-chain was ignoring some young customers’ requests, McDonald’s is now teaching workers to leave gender out of the Happy Meal discussion. [More]
Chiropractor Thinks 2-Year-Old McDonald’s Happy Meal Will Convince People To Avoid Fast Food
By 2.21.14
Once again, someone is amazed (astounded! mind-blown!) by the fact that a McDonald’s Happy Meal, if left untouched and exposed to the air for a few years, will not rot or become overrun with mold. This time, it’s a chiropractor in Nebraska who thinks that displaying an ancient cheeseburger and fries in his office will help convince people that fast food is bad for them. Except he’s wrong, at least about why the Happy Meal still looks recognizable after all this time. [More]
Happy Meal Toys Aren’t So Happy For Any Fans Of Adventure Time’s Female Characters
By 1.15.14
MCDonald’s recently unveiled their new lineup of Happy Meal toys, slated to start appearing at a drive-through near you on Friday. Fans of Cartoon Network’s series Adventure Time are thrilled to find their favorite animated characters available for purchase along with their burgers and fries. Except something seems to be missing. [More]
Could 3D Printing Put An End To Tantrums Over Out-Of-Stock Happy Meal Toys?
By 11.8.13
If you’ve ever worked at a fast food restaurant that had some sort of popular toy giveaway for kids, you’ve likely seen more than your fair share of kids blow a gasket when the particular toy they desired was unavailable. Now folks at McDonald’s are wondering if 3D printing technology might be the solution. [More]
McDonald’s To Fill Happy Meals With What Kids Really Want: Books About Healthy Eating
By 10.9.13
I have two young nieces, and every year for Christmas they plead, “Dear Uncle Chrisso (yes, they call me that; shut up), don’t buy us toys or clothing! We crave illustrated books about the virtues of eating healthy!!” Well, McDonald’s has just made my holiday shopping a lot easier, as it plans to pack those kinds of books into future Happy Meal offerings. [More]
