#1 Garfield on yellow scooter
#2 Garfield in 4-wheeler
#3 Garfield on skateboard
#4 Garfield on motorcycle with Odie
In 1977, McDonald's restaurant owners were looking for ways to create a better experience for families with kids. Marketing expert Bob 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? He then called in his creative team and had them mock up some paperboard boxes fashioned to resemble lunch pails with the McDonald's Golden Arches for handles. They called in nationally known children's illustrators and offered them a blank slate of filling the box's sides and tops with their own colorful ideas: art, jokes, games, comic strips, stories, or whatever they thought might appeal to kids.
Inside the box would be a burger, small fries, packet of cookies and a surprise gift. A small drink would accompany these items. 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.
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.
When the Happy Meal started in 1979, the toys back then were a McDoodle stencil, a McWrist wallet, an ID bracelet, a puzzle lock, a spinning top, or a McDonaldland character-shaped eraser. In Canada, the promotion prior to the Happy Meal was called the "Treat of the Week", where a different toy was available free on request each week. This promotion continued after the Happy Meal was introduced in 1979. Happy Meal toys have become increasingly elaborate in recent years. Initially they were little more than a cheap plastic trinket such as a Frisbee or ball. They have gradually been replaced with increasingly sophisticated toys, many of which are a tie-in to an existing TV show, film, or toy line.
