McDonald’s introduced the Happy Meal in 1979.
The children’s meal was created as a separate, recognizable product combining a small serving of food with a toy. Its packaging and rotating toy promotions made it an important part of McDonald’s family-oriented branding.
The first Happy Meal was introduced nationally in the United States after regional testing. Although the food choices and packaging have changed, the toy remains the feature most closely associated with the product. The Happy Meal is sometimes confused with McDonald’s earlier children’s promotions, but those did not use the same nationwide product identity.