Bob Bernstein was getting bother with his son . It was the mid-1970s , and Bernstein , an advertising executive base in Kansas City , watchedas 10 - year - old Steve apply the same ritualistic approach to his breakfast . Each dawn , Steve would pelt himself a stadium of cereal then sit at the mesa stare at the cereal corner . He take the front , the back , and the side , over and over again .
When his father require him about this seemingly peculiar procedure , Steve explained that “ It ’s just something to do . ”
Bernstein realized Steve was no outlier . Unlike adults , who prefer to socialize and chat , kids liked reckon at something while they eat . He kept this object lesson in mind whenMcDonald’stasked him withdevelopinga minor - friendly meal software that would hopefully tempt younger consumer into eating at the restaurant more often .
By 1979 , Bernstein ’s Happy Meal was being wave out across the country , and would go to become an unerasable part of the fast solid food franchise ’s business model . Tucked into a cardboard box full of illustration , game , and puzzles was a complete repast , plus a toy dog .
But Bernstein ’s claim of solitary Happy Meal penning has been hotly debated over the decade . In fact , no few than four entities , including one Guatemalan franchisee and one pioneering burger articulatio , have made a convincing argument that they , not Bernstein , were creditworthy for this part to popular and gastronomic culture .
In the other 1970s , McDonald ’s did n’t have an organised outreach computer program for selling to youngster . While the fictionalMcDonaldlandand persona likeMayor McCheeseand Grimace look in commercials , the actual card was n’t peculiarly kid - favorable . parent and employees were to forced to watch impotently as youthful customers gave haphazard ordering , cobble together a repast from the computer menu . It aggravate adult , who want to get in and out more quickly , as well as restaurant franchisees , who felt the troupe could be doing more to pull kids .
The fellowship ask Cleveland , Ohio , advertising expert Joe Johnston to research the problem ; he came up with the idea of a sack that had action on the packaging . But a bigger influence for McDonald ’s was one of their biggest fast - food challenger , Burger Chef . In 1973 , the burger chainintroducedits Fun Meal , a composition board corner with games , riddle , and comical strips that housed a beefburger , fries , a sugary treat , and a soda . There was also oftentimes a plaything or small vinyl group record inside . In 1978 , Burger Chef had even score big with a license for aStar WarsFun Meal , possibly the first example of a major film association - in with a riotous food kid ’s item .
Whether Bernstein knew about the Fun Meal or merely used his son ’s cereal box drug abuse to inform his pick is unclear : In 2019 , Bernstein tell theChicago Tribunethat he had already been work on a invention for a kid - friendly card point when Brams contacted him . What we do get it on is that Bernstein develop a pre - sorted kid ’s meal that was served in a composition board box featuring puzzler , jokes , and games . ( Bernstein trademark the Happy Meal name , though he later transferred it to McDonald ’s for $ 1 . )
After two years of market examination in cities like Kansas City , Phoenix , and Denver in 1977 and 1978 , McDonald ’s acquaint the Happy Meal to the relaxation of America in 1979 . Each box , which had a carnival wagon theme , came with a hamburger or cheeseburger , fries , cookies , and a delicate drink . Inside the $ 1.15boxwas a “ special prize ” that was one of several novelty items . Kids couldfinda McDoodler stencil , a McWrist wallet , an ID bracelet , a teaser lock , a spinning top , or a McDonaldland character eraser . after that class , the party entered into its first Happy Meal licensing arrangement , issuing a Happy Meal tie - in for thereleaseofStar Trek : The Motion Picture . Happy Meals have been a ageless presence at McDonald ’s ever since .
To Bernstein ’s chagrin , Brams ’s death in 1988 make for with it describe that Brams was the “ Father-God ” of the Happy Meal . In fact , Bernstein had been yield a bronze Happy Meal in acknowledgment of his efforts the previous twelvemonth . He gently disputed the title , saying that Brams became involved with the Happy Meal only after it had been conceptualized . surely , the two could have take issue viewpoints on how much each brought to the assignment of make a marketing strategy for kids .
But any combination of Brams and Bernstein go forth out one crucial donation in the Happy Meal timeline : the work of Yolanda Fernandez de Cofiño , a onetime Guatemalan McDonald ’s operator and now president of McDonald ’s Guatemala , and the individual McDonald ’s acknowledgment for being the mastermind of the Happy Meal .
Yolanda ’s hubby , José María Cofiño , founded the first McDonald ’s in Guatemala in 1974.Yolanda noticed that customers , particularly younger one , did n’t have a full apprehension of how McDonald ’s labeled their food . A kid might order a Big Mac not knowing it was a substantial burger .
To solve the trouble , Yolanda created Ronald ’s Menu in 1977 . It was a way of point a play nutrient rescript for children and consisted of a burger , fries , soda water , and a sundae . Yolanda added a plaything or novelty item that she had purchased at a local market . However , Yolanda ’s approximation did n’t include an illustrated corner ; Ronald ’s Menu was served on a tray .
Yolanda claimed she acquaint the idea of the tyke ’s menu during a McDonald ’s marketing group discussion in Chicago in 1977 , the same yr the ship’s company began grocery - testing Bernstein ’s Happy Meal in select cities . In 1982 , the society gave her a silver Ronald McDonald statue for developing the Happy Meal as well as raise the steel ’s profile among children .
It seems as though McDonald ’s was faced with a primal trouble — marketing to kids — and that several mass had a exchangeable approach as to how better to address it . While Yolanda conceived of offer a toy with a meal , it was Bernstein who was conceptualized the McDonald ’s Happy Meal packaging , and it was Brams who stayed busysecuringtoy deals for the Happy Meal in the years to descend .
of course , Burger Chef had a different rendering . In 1979 , shortly before the Happy Meal was scheduled to roll out across the nation , the companysuedMcDonald ’s for $ 5.5 million for infringing on their Fun Meal idea . The lawsuit fizzled out , however , and the ail Burger Chef franchise was finally absorbed byHardee’sin 1982 .
By 2017 , McDonald ’s was selling an average of 3.2 million Happy Meals daily , which have been stuffed over the class with everything fromTransformersto TeenieBeanie Babies , which were greeted with gamey consumer demand in 1996 . Collectors covet originalHappy Meal toysand especially the box , which were frequently thrown away and consequently became worthful when found entire .
Who was responsible for those box seat ? account has a few answers . In all likelihood , McDonald ’s took note of Burger Chef ’s Fun Meal and want to make something similar . Bernstein shaped that feeling into the Happy Meal around the same time Yolanda was offer a note value carte du jour option to minor . Like McDonald ’s itself , which was open up by Richard and Maurice McDonald but brought to novel heights byRay Kroc , everyone had something to lead .
