McDonald’s Rebrands Happy Meal to ‘The Meal’ For Mental Health Awareness Week
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Week, McDonald’s in the United Kingdom has changed its presentation of the classic kids’ menu item known as the Happy Meal – or now The Meal. The two biggest changes include removing the smile from Happy Meal boxes and dropping “Happy” from the name altogether, simply dubbing it “The Meal.”
The Reason For The Happy Meal Redesign
The bold rebranding is based on a recent study commissioned by McDonald’s. The study found that nearly half of kids in the U.K. felt pressured to present themselves as happy at all times, even if they’re not.
In response to these findings, McDonald’s has created limited-edition smile-less Happy Meal boxes for many of their U.K. based restaurants. These boxes will also come with stickers expressing many different emotions that they can use to show how they’re feeling. McDonald’s hopes that this will open up a dialogue between children and their parents regarding their mental health.
In a news release from McDonald’s, the burger giant’s Head of Consumer Communications & Partnerships Louise Page explained her hopes for what the campaign will accomplish for youth in the U.K.
“…we know how important it is to help stimulate open conversations about mental health in families,” said Page. “Through this change to our iconic Happy Meal box, we hope that many more families are encouraged to kickstart positive conversations around children’s emotions and wellbeing.”
“The Meal”
The campaign was accentuated with a poignant promotional video on the McDonald’s UK YouTube channel. In the video (seen below), children explain the vast array of emotions they feel in their day-to-day lives. One child expresses that they, “feel loads of emotions at once,” while another child quite astutely describes their emotions as “a mood salad.”
The children in the video even seemed uplifted by the reveal of the smile-less Meal box. One child even notes that “…it’s a sign that it’s a bit like us, and like, it doesn’t always have to have a smile on it.”
Additional Mental Health Resources
For more information on McDonald’s “The Meal” campaign, click here to visit their online family hub. For resources to help you improve your own mental health, you can visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
You can also call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) free, 24/7 hotline for help at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
