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.

Brief: Leverage McDonald’s scale for good to create a positive environmental impact.

Objectives: 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: Leverage TVC, social & in-store merchandising to motivate kids, in partnership with their parents, to return old Happy Meal toys to the store.

Implementation: Toy Collection Boxes & posters were placed in every restaurant. TV aired, Digital & Social. McDonald’s adopted leading-edge technology partner capable of recycling 100% of the toy.

Timeline: 2 month period (March 18-May 18)

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

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)