McDonald’s launched the Happy Meal as a branded children’s meal in 1979.
The Happy Meal combined a child-sized serving of food with a toy or other promotional item, turning the meal itself into a distinctive McDonald’s brand experience. Its packaging and collectible promotions helped make it one of the company’s most recognizable family-oriented products.
The meal was not simply a smaller version of an adult order. Its name, box design, toy tie-ins, and recurring promotional themes gave it an identity of its own. Over time, the contents varied by country and by the company’s nutrition policies.
People sometimes date the Happy Meal to earlier regional experiments. McDonald’s introduced related children’s meal concepts in different markets before the branded Happy Meal became a nationwide United States offering in 1979.