For a limited time, you can get a nostalgic cup in McDonald’s new adult Happy Meal, the “Collector’s Meal.”
This special meal includes one of six collectible cups, each reflecting the brand’s long history of beloved keepsakes.
Available all day, the limited-edition meal offers different options. It comes with a Sausage McMuffin with Egg, hash brown, and hot coffee during breakfast hours.
For the rest of the day, you can choose between a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets or a Big Mac, both served with fries and a soft drink.”
The cups feature iconic Happy Meal toys, merchandise, and games that evoke nostalgic McDonald’s moments, including items like:
1. McDonald’s icons: McDonald’s fans have long cherished classics like Grimace Glass, Boo Buckets, and Funny Fry Friends. This cup’s design honors these beloved collectibles, celebrating the brand’s iconic keepsakes.
2. Beanie Babies: This cup honors the ’90s collectible trend, featuring popular characters like the 2004 Golden Arches Bear.
3. Hello Kitty & Peanuts: This cup combines two beloved brands and “captures the joy of being with our best friends,” said McDonald’s. This design reflects the fun and friendship associated with both characters.
4. Shrek, Jurassic Park & Minions: The cup highlights famous movie characters and classic scenes cherished over the years, featuring the collectibles that brought them to life.
5. Barbie & Hot Wheels: this cup design offers a fresh take on the cherished Mattel toys. It brings a new twist to these beloved classics.
6. Coca-Cola: This cup gives a fresh look to classic Coca-Cola designs and celebrates the brand’s longstanding partnership with McDonald’s.
Customers can get the McDonald’s new adult Happy Meal and Collector’s Meal at participating McDonald’s locations, including in-restaurant, drive-thru, or via the app.
Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s global CMO, highlighted the excitement of finding rare collectibles and said the new keepsakes offer fans a memorable twist on old favorites.
“There’s an undeniable thrill when you snag that one elusive McDonald’s collectible or the final piece to complete your collection,” he said.
When did McDonald’s start selling Happy Meal?
The journey of the Happy Meal began in the mid-1970s when Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño, working with her husband at a McDonald’s in Guatemala, noticed that children struggled with large sandwiches like the Big Mac.
She created the “Menú Ronald,” a smaller meal with a hamburger, small fries, a sundae, and toys from a local market.
Yolanda presented this idea at a 1977 McDonald’s marketing conference in Chicago. However, Bob Bernstein noted a similar concept was already being developed, InspireIP noted.
By the mid-1970s, the idea of a children’s meal box was gaining traction. Paul Schrage noted that Burger Chef’s gift offerings inspired the Happy Meal concept.
Dick Brams, the regional ad manager in St. Louis, proposed a kid-friendly meal with toys and contacted Bob, whose firm was already working on a similar concept for McDonald’s.
After reflecting on his inspiration, Bob said, “I came up with the Happy Meal in 1975 as I watched my son read his breakfast cereal box. I thought we could create a box for McDonald’s that holds a meal and gives kids things to do.”
Bob and his team designed lunch pail-shaped boxes with McDonald’s Golden Arches. They enlisted top illustrators to decorate them with art, jokes, and stories.
The Happy Meal name was trademarked in 1977 and officially assigned to McDonald’s in June 1980. It was tested in Kansas City, Phoenix, and Denver before its national rollout in the summer of 1979.
Bob and Dick were recognized for their roles in the creation of the Happy Meal, with Dick honored as the “father of the Happy Meal” and Bob receiving a golden replica of the box in 1987.
Moreover, Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño was also honored with a silver Ronald McDonald statue in 1982 for her contributions to the Happy Meal.
Meanwhile, in 2004, McDonald’s introduced the “Active Fit” Happy Meal for adults, featuring a bottle of water, a salad, an exercise booklet, and a “step-o-meter,” according to Wikipedia.
In 2022, the company released a limited-time adult Happy Meal with Cactus Plant Flea Market, offering a Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets combo with collectible toys.
Building on this success, McDonald’s launched another adult Happy Meal in 2023 with Kerwin Frost, including similar meal choices and updated McNugget Buddies figurines.
Here’s a quick review of McDonald’s new adult Happy Meal, the Collectors Meal, featuring all collectible cups:
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