Who created the McDonald's Happy Meal? 40 years later, the answer is complicated.
CHICAGO - Summer of 2019 is a summer of monumental anniversaries, reminders that we were ambitious once (the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing), and not always as cynical as we've become (the 50th anniversary of Woodstock); there are lessons in systemic cruelty (the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Chicago race riots), and also studies in self-determination (the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall demonstrations for gay rights) and later this year, genuine change (the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall).
But how do we think about the 40th anniversary of the McDonald's Happy Meal?
Monumental? Game-changing? Cynical?
All of the above?
The object itself is ephemeral. Just cardboard and plastic and some loose french fries. There will be no CNN documentaries or coffee-table books that explore the meaning of the Happy Meal. And yet, possibly, the Happy Meal has played a larger part in your everyday life than the space race, a music festival in upstate New York or the decline of Soviet communism.
We could celebrate Happy Meals:
The past decade has seen McDonald's introduce leaner versions, with apple slices and fewer fries per box; according to the Chicago-based company, more than 50% of Happy Meal customers in the United States now request milk, juice or water instead of a soft drink. There's also a collector's market for Happy Meal toys, reminding us of the value of nostalgia. Meanwhile, tucked inside that nostalgia, we also see a cultural artifact that, for many children - especially Gen Xers - offered a first bit of autonomy, their own food.
In a statement,
