Situation: Parents were feeling stress about old Happy Meal Toys piling up. Kids didn’t want to part with their old toys. The brand wanted to improve the perception of our commitment to using our scale for good. The combination of these issues pushed us to pursue some way of implementing a recycling program to transform toys into trays and positively shift perception of the brand. But for the program to be a success, we needed to get kids’ attention.

Brief: Leverage McDonald’s scale for good to create a positive environmental impact through an eye-catching design at retail.

Objectives: Build awareness for the recycle program and get significant number of parents & kids to participate in a toy return/recycle program within a 2-month window.

In the digital age, and with the fast pace of people coming through our restaurants, we needed to make sure kids stopped to take notice and learned about the Toy Recycle program. Our solution was to design the Happy Meal Toy Recycling posters leveraging a distinctive artistic style that showcased the message as toys themselves. We animated the Japanese alphabet – creating playful TYPE into TOYS! Inspired by traditional Japanese wooden toys such as the Daruma doll, the colorful design recycled depictions from the past to ignite interest in the future. The striking art direction, unexpected for McDonald’s restaurants, caused considerable reactions from our customers – especially kids. Kids loved it!

Target audience: Parents & Kids

Approach: Design a series of unique graphic images that helped convey the idea of recycling toys to help the environment.

Implementation: Toy Collection Boxes & posters were placed in every restaurant.

Timeline: 2 month period (March - May)

Scale: Posters and Toy Collection Boxes were placed in nearly all 3000 restaurants enabling everyone across Japan access to the program.

We animated the Japanese alphabet – creating playful TYPE into TOYS! Inspired by traditional Japanese wooden toys such as the Daruma doll, and other well-known cultural icons from children’s stories, etc. – the colorful design recycled depictions from the past to ignite interest in the future. The striking art direction, unexpected for McDonald’s restaurants, caused considerable reactions from our customers – especially kids who spent time exploring the fun imagery. The designs not only captured the attention of kids, but sparked memories from adults who recognized many symbols and visual references within the type designs.

Business Impact: In just two months, a staggering 1.2 million toys were collected and recycled.

Response Rate: The toys kids returned transformed into over 100,000 smiling green trays!

Impressions: PR value in earned media amounted to ¥119,866,641 JPY (Source:PRAP)

Change in behavior: Surveys showed 81% of moms believe that McDonald’s is concerned about the environment. And 79% of them thought that McDonald’s contributes positively to the local community and society. (Source:Mcromill)

Consumer Awareness: Highest comprehension/awareness scores (50%/81%) of all seasonal programs. (Source:Mcromill)