Happy Meal Anyone?
McDonald’s probably didn’t start the marketing strategy of using toys as a way of branding their product, but they certainly are good at it.
One year my DH endured Happy Meals every week until he had this huge collection of 101 Dalmatians. We filled our grandson’s stocking from us with them for Christmas.
Fast Food places certainly aren’t the only ones who take advantage of the public’s interest in toys to further their product image.
Maybe you like the Snuggles teddy bear that Lever Bros. uses to advertise its fabric softener?Or maybe the Hershey’s bears or Kisses?
How about the Chick-fil-A cows, the Ever Ready Bunny, or the Serta sheep?
You name it, and some company has found a way to enhance their marketing with stuffed animals and plastic toys.
Do you have a favorite advertising toy, or do you collect them for someone special in your life? Are there any that you just can’t stand?
Hot wheels from McD’s. My kids love them. oH and any Princess or Barbie stuff. lmao
I hate Chick-fil-A cows and those @#*! chickens trying to look like turkeys.
(Edited for profanity, per our stated policy)
Thanks for sharing, skittles. I get the feeling a TiggerMom eats a lot more at McDonald’s than she might prefer, eh?
Sorry you don’t like the Chick-fil-A cows, Gary, as we’re putting a Christmas Santa one of these on eBay tonight!
Not sure I know what you mean about the chickens trying to look like turkeys, though.
I never have Happy Meals – they don’t have a vegetarian option :D. I compliment your blog as a member of the October compliment thingy (more info here)
BA~~9
Thank you for the compliment, j anderson. I followed your link back to the Complimentor blog. This is a great suggestion, that I intend to follow this month. Can’t promise the every day thing, but I can certainly be on the lookout for blogs to share a compliment with.
As for vegetarian fast food places, I wouldn’t think McDonald’s would get any of your business, unless you eat eggs, cheese, and milkshakes!
In their defence, they have started offering fruit and milk as alternatives to fries and soft drinks in their Happy Meals.
I got one of those Care Bears from a Happy Meal. My youngest boy gave it to me. Smelled nice for a bit. It’s now sitting on the shelf with all the others. 🙂
BA~13
Smelled nice? I think they add vanilla flavoring perfume to a lot of toys now. That’s supposed to be a particularly pleasant memory stimulant.
The Duracell Bunny, most deffinately my favourite add toy!
As for McVeggie, a vegitarian friend of mine who used to eat at McD always said, “It’s not real meat in their burgers”
I used to love the Beanies.
Now I pitch em all.
Stopped during my 30 seconds at Blog Explosion. Just wanted to say hi!
Have a great day!
Hey, sparkling, the Energizer Bunny in the post is in our store on eBay right now!
Your vegetarian friend may just be right, or maybe just fudging a little for the Micky D fix.
Glad to have you stop by, so lost, and I hope you come back real soon.
There are still an awful lot of people who still collect Beanie Babies.
We sell quite a few of the Beanie Buddies, which are larger stuffed animals, with filling and pellets in them.
My daughter always begs for a “hanguber, Mommy!” when we’re out in the car. Not because she’s hungry, but because she really, really wants a toy! 🙂
Smart kid you have there, Jennifer! And oh so smart fast food places that have created this marketing connection!
I took a look at your blog, too, by the way, but must confess I’m not familiar with the Backyardigans.
Hello! I’m another complimenter. I just wanted to mention that almost all of the major fast food chains have a “no meat” button on their order-taking register. I have been a vegetarian for almost 12 years and I stop by McDonald’s occasionally. I get the cheeseburger Happy Meal with no meat, and ask for apples – the fries do have animal products in them, although Wendy’s and others do not use them in their fries. As for the McVeggie, I have tried it at one of the Manhattan locations, and it was pretty blah – I much prefer the BK Veggie!
Thanks for the Compliment!
I didn’t realize that, Merideth, since I’m not a vegetarian. Glad to see the fast food places are realizing the need to provide healthy alternative selections.
I don’t mean to offend you by mentioning it, but I did order a McDonald’s cheeseburger, without the bread, when I was on the Atkins Diet earlier this year. I got a strange look, but they did it.
Was it Burger King that started it all, with “Have It Your Way”?
Hey, I enjoy your blog- very well done and creative. Thanx for the comment in mine.
I manage a Subway and sometimes find the kids toys we carry to be subpar. There are exceptions- when they had blue’s clues toys- we were selling 500+ a week at each store.
I didn’t even know Subway had toys!
If they’re going to bother to do that kind of promotion, they’d better spend what it takes to make them quality items. Children can be powerful allies in marketing to parents.
The best toys I’ve ever seen from a fast food place are the Toddler Fisher Price ones. I think it’s McDonald’s that has those, but I may be mistaken. Our grandchildren are no longer the age where a toy determines their eating habits, so I’m out of the loop. LOL