McDonald's first nationally distributed children's promotional meal was called the Happy Meal.
The Happy Meal combined a child-sized food order with distinctive packaging and a toy or other giveaway. Before its national introduction, McDonald's had tested or used regional children's promotions, but the Happy Meal created a standardized name and format for the United States market.
The product was introduced nationally in 1979. Its box became an important branding surface: it could carry illustrations, characters, puzzles, and tie-in artwork in addition to the McDonald's name and arches. This made the meal a promotional platform as well as a food purchase.
The Happy Meal is sometimes described as merely a smaller hamburger meal, but its defining feature was the branded package and associated premium. The product also helped establish a long-running connection between McDonald's, children's entertainment licenses, and collectible toys.