Happy Meal - History

History

In the mid-1970s Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño started working with her husband running McDonalds stores in Guatemala. She created what she called the "Menu Ronald" (Ronald menu), which offered a hamburger, small fries and a small sundae to help mothers feed their children more effectively while at McDonald's stores. The concept was eventually brought to the attention of McDonald's management in Chicago. The company gave the development of the product to Bob Bernstein, founder and CEO of Bernstein-Rein Advertising, an agency that has counted McDonald’s as a key client since 1967. Bernstein came up with the Happy Meal.

In 1977, the McDonald’s store owner clients who regularly met with Bernstein were looking for ways to create a better experience for families with kids. Bernstein reasoned that if kids could get a packaged meal all their own instead of just picking at their parent’s food, everybody would be happier. He had often noticed his young son at the breakfast table poring over the various items on cereal boxes and thought, “Why not do that for McDonald’s? The package is the key!” He called in his creative team and had them mock up some paperboard boxes fashioned to look like lunch pails with the McDonald’s Golden Arches for handles. They called in nationally known children’s illustrators and offered them the blank slate of filling the box’s sides and tops with their own colorful ideas from art to jokes to games to comic strips to stories to fantasy: whatever they thought might appeal to kids, at least 8 items per box. Inside the box would be a burger, small fries, packet of cookies and a surprise gift. A small drink would accompany. Bernstein named it The Happy Meal and it was successfully introduced with television and radio spots and in-store posters in the Kansas City market in October 1977. Other markets followed and the national roll out happened in 1979.

Bernstein received Trademark #1136758 (Serial #73148046) for his idea in 1977 which he assigned to his valued client, McDonald’s Corporation, on June 10, 1980. In 1987 at the annual McDonald’s marketing meeting, he was recognized for his accomplishment with a full-size bronze replica of the Happy Meal box with the following inscription:

McDonald’s Happy Meal 10th Anniversary 1977-1987 To Robert A. Bernstein, Bernstein-Rein Advertising

Thank you for bringing the Happy Meal, a bold idea, to the McDonald’s System.

Your insight and conviction truly has made McDonald’s a fun place for children for the past 10 years!

McDonald’s Corporation September, 1987

Often the Happy Meal is themed to promote a current family-oriented movie. The first such promotion was the Star Trek Meal, to promote Star Trek: The Motion Picture in December 1979. The packaging used for the Star Trek Meal consisted of various images and games related to the film, as well as a comic strip adaptation of the film. Consumers had to buy numerous meals in order to complete the set. In 1992, McDonald's withdrew their range of Happy Meal toys for the movie Batman Returns, after complaints from parents that the movie was unsuitable for children.

In July 2011, McDonald's announced plans to make Happy Meals healthier, including the addition of apples. The redesigned meals will contain a smaller portion (1.1 ounces) of fries, along with the apples.