happy meal
Latest
Online resellers are making bank from Pokémon Happy Meals
Boxes of 100-plus trading card packs are selling for $1,000 on eBay.
Mario Kart 8 takes a turn for McDonalds Happy Meals
If you're willing to eat McDonalds in exchange for gaming-themed desk accessories, a Mario Kart 8 pack will soon reach its Happy Meal finish line. The final turn makes for a pretty long drift through, so we'll need to wait for How To Train Your Dragon 2's toy set to finish up before we can start taping MK8 figurines in gravity-defying places at our workplaces. The miniature roster will consist of Yoshi, Peach, DK, Toad, Mario, Bowser and the mild-mannered Luigi, but you can also channel Mario while weaving through commuter traffic by wearing a visor reminiscent of his iconic cap. Unfortunately, it probably won't help you drive on the walls of buildings on your way to work, but it'll almost certainly establish your status as the coolest adult stuck in a gridlock. [Image: McDonalds]
McDonald's partners with Kobo to give UK kids free e-books
Forget race cars and Disney princesses. Kids in the UK are getting something a little more digital with their McDonald's Happy Meal: an e-book. The golden arches is partnering with Kobo to include a download code for one of Enid Blyton's Secret Seven children's mystery books with every meal purchased between now and June 3rd as part of its annual "Happy Readers" program. Over the past two years, the annual initiative has passed out millions of books, and is touted as quite a success (although we're not quite sure how "happy" we'd be about getting an e-book rather than a toy). However, this is the first time Ronald has gotten a digital retailer like Kobo in on the action. Enthusiastic kids who still want to fill the bookshelf in their room can also snag a £1 coupon with their meal to pick up a traditional copy of the books. If only the child detectives could forever solve the mystery of what's actually in McDonald's chicken nuggets. Image credit: Steve Daniels
McDonald's offers eight exclusive Skylanders toys with Happy Meals
Starting this Friday, McDonald's will bundle exclusive Skylanders Swap Force figurines with Happy Meal purchases, in the restaurant's latest ploy to keep kids occupied while they stuff their faces with Chicken McNuggets. Featured characters include Chompy, Eruptor, Free Ranger, Freeze Blade, Magna Charge, Prism Break, Rattle Shake and Wash Buckler. Eligible purchases also include coupons giving $10 off of the multiplatform Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack and $1 off individual character figures. The week-long promotion extends through April 4. Bear in mind, however, that Happy Meals-bundled characters are just toys, and won't summon in-game Skylanders like retail figures will. Still, if you've ever wanted a Chompy figure to display alongside your Skylanders collection, you'll want to hop in your car on Friday and order up some Happy Meals. Hint: tell the drive-thru guy that you have eight kids waiting at home for their dinner if you're trying to order a full set. He might not believe you, but he probably won't feel like you're worth an argument. [Image: Activision/McDonald's]
McDonald's releases McPlay app: 'Hey kids, this is advertising'
McDonald's has awkwardly tried to enter the App Store marketplace with an app it calls "McPlay," available for free on the App Store right now. I wouldn't recommend a download (personally, I've boycotted the golden arches for almost a decade now), but it is fascinating to see the fast-food giant not quite understand how to do iOS-style marketing. The app is just one game at the moment, asking players to throw a ball into a Happy Meal box. And McDonald's is obviously being as careful as it possibly can with this one. Not only is the app all about gathering nutritious food for kids, but there's a "for parents" nutrition section, and as you can see in the screenshot above, the app proudly proclaims, "Hey kids, this is advertising!" Funny. I think there is room for McDonald's on the App Store -- big brands like Starbucks and Walmart have seen some interesting success by integrating iPhones into their marketing plans. But this is just plain goofy, and it shows that the biggest fast-food chain in the world wasn't quite sure what to do with its first iOS entry. Better luck next time, McD's. [via App Advice]
Pakistani Sonic Happy Meal commercial will make you believe in love again
Here's a brief list of delightful things waiting for you in the Sonic-themed Happy Meal ad posted below: The worst 3D graphics ever rendered, Tails kicking a soccer ball into his own face, and a totally nude Rouge the Bat. (If you found this post using that as a search term, then shame on you.)
KotORO it ain't: There's a third Star Wars MMO out there
Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Online (or more likely, Star Wars: The Old Republic) apparently aren't the only two Star Wars MMOs out there. We didn't originally mention this because lacking the Star Wars bit it was under the radar of our normal coverage, but McDonald's is including keys to virtual worlds for kids in its Happy Meals.Among the worlds: a Sci-Fi environment based on the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which hits theaters across the United States and the United Kingdom today. The environment is some kind of space station, and be there Yoda will. (You see what we did there?) So if you're really, really desperate to wander around a Star Wars-based virtual world other than SWG, well ... this is your chance, right? Yeah, okay, it's probably best to wait for KotoRO. We just thought you should know in case you're really hardcore.[Via Raph Koster]
Random Spyro toys invade Wendy's kids meals
Go on, admit it. You're with friends here. When fast food chains run video game promotions, including game-related toys with their child-sized value meals, you order an extra meal for yourself just to get the toy. Or perhaps you're more brazen, buying the toy outright to add to your collection. It's perfectly fine to admit you have a problem. We won't judge.If so, you'll be happy to know that Wendy's is hitching its Kids' Meals onto the coattails of Krome Studios and Amaze Entertainment's The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, offering a set of five toys based on the latest in the miniature dragon's trilogy of games. The trinkets run the usual gamut of weirdness, including a Spyro-themed game of checkers and a Spyro keychain, which simply pushes the notion of "toy" beyond all measure of credulity. As pack-in freebies go, these fall well below that of the competition, however random seems to be a running theme with Wendy's these days. To sweeten the deal, each Kids' Meal also includes a $5 off GameStop coupon for any version of The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, though given the painful experience it was to play the last game this is simply not enough to make us go through the drive thru.
Mystery Wii toys coming to Wendy's kids meals
Man, we can't wait for ... whatever the hell these Wendy's Wii toys are. Seriously, we have no idea what these toys are supposed to be or do, except for the limited information what we can glean from the picture over at the Wendy's Kids meal site. That one on the bottom left looks kind of like a puzzle, and the one on the bottom right is obviously an Excite Truck, but we have no idea what the other things are supposed to do. Is that Wii remote at the top supposed to be a disc shooter? A laser pointer? A pog case? We just don't know.Until that "Coming Soon!" becomes an "available now" we're opening up the floor to theories. How in the world do these Wendy's toys work? The five best commenter responses based on humor, cleverness, relevance, plausibility and use of massive damage jokes will win ... the hearty respect of the Joystiq staff. Hey, it's harder to get than you might think.[Via Wii Fanboy]
WowWee robots invade McDonald's Happy Meals
WowWee's robot empire has seen some frighteningly rapid growth since the first Robosapien rolled off the assembly line, but it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down, with pint-sized versions of a number of the company's bots now making their way into McDonald's Happy Meals. While the king has sadly been left out, starting today you can get a Walking Robosapien, Roaring Roboraptor, Talking Robosapien V2, Running Roboreptile, Walking Robopet, Chomping Roboraptor, or Stand-Up Robosapien with the purchase of a Happy Meal. Those less interested in fostering the inevitable robot uprising can opt for a My Little Pony toy instead. Of course, all of the bots are decidedly less capable than their pricier counterparts, although we doubt that'll stop some of you from trying to mod them anyway. Check out the gallery below for a better look at 'em.[Via RoboCommunity]%Gallery-1775%
