Happy Sack

McDonald's has certainly faced it fair share of controversies over the years.  We've all read the stories about the obesity epidemic, libel lawsuits and employee turnover rates.  But no one seems to focus on the real issue of importance:   Why isn't McDonald's putting Happy Meals in those boxes consistently anymore?

"Happy" Meal



"Sad" Sack... OOO! My Little Pony!

Anyone who has been to a McDonald's at least once in their lives are familiar with the concept of the Happy Meal.   A child is served one burger, four - maybe five - individual french fries, a tiny cup of ice with a squirt of soda, and most importantly, a toy.   All of this was stuffed in a house-shaped cardboard box.  It's sturdy construction and convenient handle enabled the busy child to carry it with ease whether they're skipping over to the playground or imagining they're fighting robot Communists in another galaxy.  These boxes were colorfully decorated with tons of activities.   Many of them were even perforated to form a playset for the toy that had been contained therein.   A fifteen-minute meal turned into hours of playtime.

The Happy Meal remains largely unchanged, except now they're coming in a lackluster, fun-free paper bag more often than I care for.  Childhood, I declare you legally dead.

In my younger days, I imagined the great technological leaps sure to come in the 21st century were going to transform the Happy Meal boxes into something seriously bad-ass.  But instead of that tricked out box with LED lights, sound chips and kung-fu grip I envisioned, we're just getting that sad looking sack of grease and meat.  You can tell it's made from old newspapers.  If you jostle it, grab it too tightly or even look at it crossed-eyed, it'll rip and spill your food onto the cold pavement below.  Ain't nothing "happy" about that!  It may biodegrade much faster than the box in a landfill, but only because it's too ashamed of itself to exist longer than it needs.

McDonald's needs to re-evaluate its commitment to their loyal customers and reconsider ditching the cheap bag.  Bags just aren't fun to play with.  That's why they put those warning on the plastic ones.  If you gave it to a child, he'd die of boredom.