McDonald’s U.K. removed the smiles from Happy Meal boxes in mental health effort

McDonald’s Happy Meals aren’t as happy in a U.K. campaign from agency Ready 10 and Leo Burnett U.K. The campaign, launched Monday, aims to start dialogue around mental health, especially in kids, with a campaign which removes the iconic smile from Happy Meal boxes. “The Meal” launches during Mental Health Awareness week, after research commissioned by McDonald’s revealed almost half (48%) of U.K. children feel pressure to be happy all the time, even if they don’t want to be. It was also developed in partnership with BBC Children in Need, which created a dedicated hub designed to provide families with access to resources to encourage candid conversations about emotions with children. A heart-warming spot (above) directed by Jake Mavity through Rogue Films, and voiced by football legend and broadcaster Rio Ferdinand, shows how some clever, emotionally intelligent children perceive the importance of talking about their feelings. They also react to the new meal boxes. “We know how important it is to help stimulate open conversations about mental health in families, and through this change to our Happy Meal box, we hope many more families are encouraged to kickstart positive conversations around children’s emotions and well-being,” said Louise Page, head of consumer comms and partnerships at McDonald’s U.K. McDonald’s has so far distributed 2.5 million limited-edition Happy Meal boxes to over 1,400 McDonald’s restaurants across the U.K. A few locations will also receive stickers showcasing different emotions so kids can communicate how they are feeling by placing stickers directly on the boxes. More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

McDonald’s U.K. removed the smiles from Happy Meal boxes in mental health effort

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