The Happy Meal introduced McDonald's first collectible premium in a children's meal.
When the Happy Meal was rolled out nationally in the United States in 1979, its child-focused packaging and included toy gave McDonald's a repeatable promotional format. Later toy series made the meal especially recognizable and encouraged families to return for new themes.
The format connected menu branding, package design, and character licensing. It also gave McDonald's a way to promote films, television properties, and its own characters through physical items distributed with food.
The Big Mac and Arch Deluxe were major product brands, but neither was a children's meal built around a toy premium. McCafé is a beverage sub-brand, so it belongs to a different part of McDonald's branding history.