McDonald’s introduced the Happy Meal in 1979 as a children’s meal that included a toy.
The first national Happy Meal combined a child-sized serving of food with a small toy, giving McDonald’s a dedicated product identity for families. The concept built on earlier regional children’s promotions and became one of the company’s most enduring branding ideas.
The Happy Meal was not simply a smaller adult meal. Its box, characters, toys, and tie-ins made packaging and collectability part of the customer experience. Movie, television, and character partnerships later became especially common.
People sometimes use “kids’ meal” as a generic description, but Happy Meal is McDonald’s specific trademarked product name. The promotion also helped make the box itself a recognizable piece of McDonald’s branding.