Whether you are a parent of a child or a young person who still enjoyed Happy Meals, we have all imagined a McDonald's Happy Meal for adults. Maybe some burned out parents imagine a Happy Meal with an airline size bottle of vodka in the box. You could have imagine more adult tastes such as curry ketchup with the small fries and Stilton blue cheese on the small cheeseburger.
The new venture for McDonald's Happy Meals for adults, as of today, is a far less imaginative escapade. Iconic McDonald's characters with an extra set of eyes. Same crappy McDonald's food. Not sure how that feeds into nostalgia.
The Cactus Plant Flea Market Box features 4-eyed replicas of old school characters such as Grimace and Hamburglar, a relatively old school icon in Birdie, and a new one named Cactus Buddy. Not sure how you get nostalgia for a new character.
“We’re taking one of the most nostalgic McDonald’s experiences and literally repackaging it in a new way that’s hyper-relevant for our adult fans,” said Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s USA chief marketing and customer experience office in a release.
"Adult" fans are likely 18 to maybe 34. If you are above this age, this is not your nostalgia. If you are of that age, how nostalgic are these characters? I get actual nostalgia but McDonald's hasn't utilized those characters too often recently. It would be like being nostalgic for Scooby Doo and all they offer is Scrappy Doo.
No offense to the hilarious press release comment attributed to Hassan, but this isn't "one of the most nostalgic McDonald’s experiences." We're "sure" this is totally "hyper-relevant."
As someone who did grow up with Grimace and Hamburglar — the 2-eyed version, not the 4-eyed version — and someone who was teased as 4-eyed because I wore glasses at the age of 7, there is very little nostalgia for these characters. Neither of them actually spoke words; no great catch phrases. The Hamburglar stole hamburgers without remorse. Grimace was purple and couldn't move around too well.
Ronald McDonald was memorable but the clown is missing from that nostalgia look.
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The Happy Meal started in 1979. You may be "too old" to have experienced the nostalgia of the Happy Meal. Even if you have fond memories of the Happy Meal, the true nostalgia would be hamburgers that came off the grill instead of the microwave oven, French fries with the taste of beef tallow or a trans fat filled oil, and maybe even a Coca-Cola, ketchup, and hamburger buns without high-fructose corn syrup. I wouldn't even need a toy to get back that nostalgia.
You can get some of that kind of McDonald's experience outside North America these days.
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San Francisco tried a fun trick in 2011 by setting nutrition guidelines if a toy was offered in a fast food meal. McDonald's fired back by charging 10¢ for the toy if you bought the meal.
This is part of the nostalgia McDonald's is trying to sell in the Cactus Plant Flea Market Box. Crappy, cheap toys with lots of marketing with crappy food.
This is why we suggested over a decade ago for parents to go to McDonald's, get the toy, and donate the food to homeless people. Remove the association between the toy and the food.
Burger King and Wendy's did little marketing to children as compared to McDonald's. They get slightly more respect as a result.
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Nostalgia for a certain audience is fresh, decent fast food with plenty of needed napkins in a clean environment for a cheap price. This was back when Ray Kroc was alive. The current version of McDonald's is light years away from Kroc's vision. No Happy Meal and definitely no toy would ever change that.
photo credit: McDonald's
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