Patent may change Happy Meals forever

[Sarangel]

A patent application by Walt Disney could see the free toys kids get with certain restaurant meals replaced with digital media downloads. The idea outlined in the patent application (No. 20050252958) is for a digital media player for kids that can be used to collect snippets of digital data when visiting food outlets. Disney would distribute the digital players and rely on wireless networks within the restaurants to offer kids downloadable content as a reward for eating there.

One such example is McDonald's, which currently offers an ever-changing range of toys for boys and girls when they buy a Happy Meal. Instead of a toy, kids could pull out their digital player and get access to some new digital data, such as an episode of a popular TV show or a movie snippet. The idea could also be extended, offering kids the content only when X number of visits had been made to that chain of restaurants. It is also thought that the devices could be used to transmit advertisements for products aimed at children and allow the transfer of downloaded content to other digital media devices.

Disney has declined to comment on the patent application.

Read more at The New York Times (free registration required) and New Scientist

The website is http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2005Dec/gee20051213033747.htm and has the links to the patent application and the other news stories.

I don't know if I'd pay to eat someplace in order to have them provide free commercials for my kid though.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Personally, I don't think that McDonald's would do away with the Happy Meal toys. My very good friend is the VP in charge of design for those toys and he hasn't mentioned one word about this and I would doubt that he wouldn't know.

 

[Another Voice]

The "whispers" are the concept will be used for a serialized show - you will have to stop by a McDonald's every week to download each "episode". Once you've collected them all, you can watch an entire "presentation".

 

[Planogirl]

I hate this idea. I agree that this is too much like ads, whereas the toys are more like fun playthings. Luckily, my son is getting too old to be taken in now.

 

[raidermatt]

1- Keeping track of the device, and being sure to bring it everytime, might be problematic.

2- No device, no incentive to go to McD's and buy a happy meal? I'm guessing the little plastic toys will still be a choice, at least until if/when the response to the downloads becomes overwhelming.

3- Serials can be problematic as well. Miss one, and what's the point? With toys, if you don't "collect them all", no big deal. Perhaps you can ask for an old download when you receive a new one? That would seem to defeat the purpose, though.

4- Like Planogirl, certainly I don't think the public is looking for commercials with their Happy Meals instead of toys.

Overall, the device itself might not be a bad idea, but I'm not sure about the implementation.

 

[airlarry!]

There are no bad ideas, just bad implementation...

 

[DisFlan]

Won't work for Happy Meals. Young kids getting Happy Meals like colorful, tactile things they can play with RIGHT NOW.

But it might work well for an older target group.


DisFlan

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Something like this could work well for the "Big kids meal" . The age group (about 8 -10) are too big for the toys (well at least they must act like it to be cool) but might really enjoy something more grown up looking. I agree that the little guys really want a toy.