In recent years, McDonald's has faced pushback over its Happy Meals. The popular kids' meals, critics say, use toys to encourage kids to make unhealthy choices.
The fast-food giant made some changes to the Happy Meal, adding apple slices as an alternative choice to french fries, and offering milk or water as options instead of soda. For the most part, however, the chain has largely promoted its kids' meals less and done fewer major product tie-ins.
Related: McDonald's new item targets adults (and nostalgia)
An August partnership with Cactus Plant Flea Market, however, showed that the chain could capture public attention with a hip Happy Meal offering. The chain offered Happy Meals with collectible toys based on classic figures like Grimace and Hamburglar that were aimed more at adults than kids.
That partnership became a sensation with people buying up McDonald's MCD Happy Meals in order to sell the toys online at very high prices. The deal also reignited interest in the company's classic characters which indirectly led to the chain bringing back Grimace with a very popular limited-time-offer shake celebrating the iconic character's birthday.
Now, McDonald's has a massive new Happy Meal partnership that may not be as hip as the deal with Cactus Plant Flea Market, but it's with a much bigger name that has fans of all ages.
Image source: Walt Disney/TheStreet
McDonald's adds Walt Disney Happy Meals
Historically, Walt Disney DIS and McDonald's have worked together many times. Sometimes, that has been a limited-time offer around promoting a specific movie, and on many occasions, the companies have worked together on Happy Meal promotions.
Their latest deal, however, sets a new standard for Happy Meals as it offers a shocking amount of collectible toys.
"McDonald's just released a new Disney 100th Anniversary Happy Meal with SIXTY TWO different toys," the popular Snackolator Instagram page reported. "Each Happy Meal comes with two toys in a blind box, but they are paired up so you'll get the same pairs meaning there are 31 different sets of toys."
The toys include Marvel, Star Wars, and classic Disney characters. Offering 62 separate collectible figures should make full sets very valuable on the resale market.
McDonald's leans on non-food promotions
McDonald's has made very few menu changes recently because it's focusing on improving its kitchen efficiency for digital and delivery orders. That has led the company to find other ways to bring in and engage with customers around the world.
That included the return of a very popular promotion, according to CFO Ian Borden's comments during the chain's third-quarter earnings call.
"Beyond the price of our food, we're continuing to provide customers with new experiences, further elevating their value perceptions. Many markets are using our digital app to drive engagement and increase loyalty participation with our fans, through exclusive activations. This was on display through recent 'Monopoly' campaigns in several markets," he said,
That promotion was successful and led to record digital sales in multiple markets.
In the United States, pricing was a key factor in driving sales.
"The D123 Everyday Value Menu in the U.S. takes a similar approach to affordable bundles with nationally promoted products at locally relevant price points. The platform features products such as the McDouble or four-piece McNuggets. With a bundle offered at each day part, customers can visit McDonald's for an affordable meal no matter the time of day," he added.
