The Happy Meal was the brainchild of St. Louis, Missouri advertising manager Dick Brams, who in 1977 contracted Kansas City-based advertising firm Bernstein-Rein to develop a children's meal item that would promote McDonald's as a restaurant for families, specifically those with smaller children.[1]
The very first Happy Meal in 1979 was the Circus Wagon Happy Meal. It cost one dollar and contained either a McDoodler stencil, a puzzle book, a McWrist wallet, an ID bracelet or McDonaldland character erasers.[2] The Circus Wagon Happy Meal consisted of a hamburger or cheeseburger, twelve-ounce soft drink, a small order of french fries, and a "McDonaldland Cookie Sampler"; i.e., a small portion of cookies.
Hundreds of variations later, this campaign remains strong and one of the most successful for McDonald's.
