Happy Meal toys a controversial strategy

McDonald’s restaurants are the world’s largest toy distributor by virtue of selling millions of Happy Meals every year.

Since 1979 in Canada, stencils, 3-D glasses, Frisbees, balls, posters, mini gardening tools and video games have been given away with Happy Meals. Most single toys are not only associated with a movie or TV show, but are part of a collection, which lures parents and children to return to collect the entire set. Over the years, the toys have become more sophisticated.

This year, however, consistent with the spirit of the Olympic Games, McDonald’s wanted to get kids moving by giving away StepIt, a specially sized step counter made for children. The portable watch-like device was meant to allow kids to monitor their daily activities.

Interesting idea. But a design flaw made children develop skin abrasions from wearing the device, and the chain had to issue a recall. What was an interesting idea to entice children to get into shape backfired for McDonald’s.

But the StepIt situation does point to the whole ethical and moral dimension of including toys with Happy Meals to children. It is not really advertising, which is a forbidden practice in many countries, and in Quebec. However, McDonald’s toy-distribution focus, along with the marketing of food of questionable nutritional value, has made many uncomfortable over the years.

The Happy Meal strategy for McDonald’s represents about 20 per cent of its sales, as more than 1.5 billion Happy Meals are sold worldwide every year. Needless to say, the continuation of giving away toys is important to the company’s bottom line.

The city of San Francisco a few years ago tried to ban the practice of giving away toys. Yet McDonald’s was able to outsmart San Francisco’s council by “selling” the toys for a dime each in lieu of giving them away. Smart, but also perilous in the era of social licence.

The notion of social licence has transcended the frontiers of the mining industry in recent years and has captured the imagination of food critics. Consumers are questioning current practices in the food industry by challenging leaders on many fronts. Social licence is the ability for any organization to operate with the confidence of stakeholders and to ensure its activities are deemed morally and socially legitimate.

Supply-chain transparency, gender equality in organizations and on boards, and environmental stewardship, anything goes. It’s surprising Happy Meals have not garnered much more attention in recent years, but that might change.

In Chile, McDonald’s is no longer allowed to give away toys with Happy Meals, in order to address childhood obesity. In some countries, McDonald’s offers the option to give books with the meals, instead of toys. Digital books are also available.

Striking a balance between pleasing responsible parents and entertaining children is difficult, but not impossible. And let’s face it, most toys received at McDonald’s will capture a child’s imagination for only a few hours, if that. Some toys don’t even make it to the car.

The moral contract between consumers and the food industry is constantly being revisited these days. What was acceptable just a few years ago might not be any more. It is easy to bet that the days of associating toys with fast food for kids are numbered.

As a responsible company, McDonald’s has made some interesting adjustments in recent years, but the malaise remains. Giving away paraphernalia is not a bad idea. After all, who doesn’t like gifts?

However, it is perhaps time for McDonald’s to repurpose the Happy Meal as a mechanism to make society a better place. It shouldn’t be just about entertaining a child for a few minutes. We expect more now.

Sylvain Charlebois is dean of management and professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax.