The Brief

While 'Happiness in a box' has been the core positioning for McDonald's Happy Meal, over last few years it's perception has reduced to that of a meal with a toy. The objective was to put 'Happiness' back into the McDonald's Happy Meal and be seen by kids (primary TG) and parents (secondary TG) as a fun, socially responsible brand.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We came across a problem: thousands of Sparrows were deserting the city. Their gradual migration was due to reduced green spaces and lack of food & shelter. We came up with an idea – Happy Sparrows. We motivated kids to provide food & shelter for the bird. The resemblance of the McDonald's Happy Meal box with a Sparrow house helped us integrate the brand into the experience A few alterations transformed our regular Happy Meal box into a make-it-yourself, weather-proof Sparrow house. We replaced the existing pack and used kid's favourite Ronald McDonald to create buzz for the 'Happy Sparrows'.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

In a month long promotion, Happy Sparrow boxes were sold at various McDonald’s stores across Mumbai. This resulted into thousands of new homes for the disappearing bird. Initial figures showed a slight rise in the number of Sparrows in the city. ‘Happy Sparrow’ created talkability for the brand on social media and generated PR. But more importantly it changed the perception of Happy Meal from being just a meal with a toy to an endearing experience.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The 'Happy Sparrow' project was a successfully step towards the much required change of perception of Happy Meal. For kids, it gave a new meaning to the otherwise redundant Happy Meal box. As for parents, they saw McDonald's Happy Meal as a new way to initiate their children into eco-friendly positive activities.