r/interestingasfuck • u/Charming_History7423 • 11d ago

/r/all McDonald's in the 80s compared to today

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u/RichEvans4Ever 11d ago

IIRC, The toy thing is more because a lot of legislators came after McDonald’s for giving away toys in the 2000s. The logic was that it compelled little kids to eat crappy McDonald’s food just to get a toy. I honestly think I agree.

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u/No-Improvement-8205 11d ago

In regards to the quality of toys, a big part of it is also that the EU pretty much banned plastic toys in happy meals (it have to be sustainable, and all that)

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u/7thFleetTraveller 11d ago

There are many EU laws which I'm glad about, but this is not one of them. Probably because of the nostalgia when I think about my own childhood. I still remember going to the cinema for the very first time, watching The Lion King and then going to McDonalds and getting a toy from the movie. Felt so wholesome for little me. But it was also more special back then, as it wasn't something my parents could affort every week.

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u/Brevard1986 11d ago

Nah, that age was one of wanton consumerism and little consideration of the impact. I support the push to not throw tons of plastic into landfills for so many broken MacDonalds toys.

Definitely sad that my kids won't be able to experience the craziness of getting so many random plastic toys I had as a child but we should endeavour to do better.

Having said that, I wouldn't be too critical if McDonalds decide to do a once per year promotion (e.g. anniversary event) where those plastic toys come back for a short period of time to make them a lot more meaningful.

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u/Over-Tomatillo9070 11d ago

They have done some creative things with card and paper that I have found pretty clever while staying sustainable.

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u/GayButNotInThatWay 10d ago

My kids loved the little slot together dinosaurs we had for Jurassic World, they still have them on their bookshelves in their rooms. Also really liked the metal tins of (I think) DC characters with the Memory cards that they use for little keepsakes now. Besides that they’ve not really been interested in McDonald’s or their toys.

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u/sneakyninjaking 11d ago

I'd rather they just get rid of the paper stuff too as its just not the same as a plastic toy.

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u/Over-Tomatillo9070 11d ago

I mean let’s be fair, we shouldn’t be bringing our kids there full stop. 😂

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u/ThePublikon 11d ago

There's some pretty clever stuff being done with moulded pulp. I could see it being as good as plastic from a modelmaking/strength perspective in a couple of years, if the pressure to reduce plastic in toys continues.

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u/ra__account 11d ago

One of my favorite ever Mystery Science Theatre 3000 gags was the "Unhappy Meal," where rather than coming with a toy, it came with something like a used Q-Tip. And the burger had a bite taken out of it already.

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u/chunkysmalls42098 11d ago

"I'd rather kids everywhere get a poor quality plastic toy that certainly ends up in the garbage in under 5 years. Something about the nostalgia of being wasteful"

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u/stefanopolis 11d ago

5 years is super generous. Try 5 days.

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u/Paddy_Tanninger 11d ago

Yeah like of course I remember getting these shitty toys too, but objectively it's horrible. My kids don't get happy meals when we go to McD and they really couldn't give a shit...they're more interested in the peel off Monopoly stickers.

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u/Riaayo 11d ago

Gotta get them addicted to gambling early to get them ready for mobile "games" after all, lol.

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u/RoboDae 11d ago

Yeah, I remember being a little kid begging my mom for the happy meal. I also remember never playing with most of those toys and just throwing them out pretty quickly because the quality sucked.

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u/CrusaderZero6 9d ago

The quality peaked with the transforming food items and steadily went downhill afterward.

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u/sionnach 11d ago

As a parent, the modern system is much better. They get a little book or something made from cardboard at McDonalds so you can chuck it in the recycling bin in a few days and not have another piece of plastic shot cluttering up your home.

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

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u/rcn2 10d ago

Yeah, but on the other hand it brought a poor child a few moments of joy. However much that child ‘goes without’ in their entire lifetime will never equal what one rash decision a billionaire will do. Lunch in New York? Fire up the private jet!

Lambasting the poors is just sanctimonious virtue signalling.

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u/SheetPancakeBluBalls 11d ago

Braindead take lol

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u/JesusDiedforChipotle 11d ago

I hate this comment lmao

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u/sentence-interruptio 10d ago

plastic should only come in the form of free range microplastic in our food.

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u/rockstar504 11d ago

I was about to say, lawsuits and politics are part of the reason it is what it is today

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u/Loudmouthlurker 11d ago

On the surface I agree. I mean, I still agree. But I'm also seeing some consequences of all the gray everywhere. The cashiers are deliberately kept out of sight so you'll use the screen. It's eerie and liminal. It's dark. It's easier to use the drive-thru.

Besides being hugely expensive, the food also doesn't taste very good anymore. I never have a craving for it the way I do other junk food.

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u/nevetsvr 11d ago

Eat shitty food, get a shitty prize.

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u/CatgirlApocalypse 11d ago

They could have made them improve the food

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u/SinuousPanic 11d ago

Well yeah, do you know how many happy meals I had to get the kids just so I could get myself Sonic, Tails and Knuckles the other month? They're getting diabetes for sure.

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u/AlmostSunnyinSeattle 11d ago

I mean I drank syrup out of the bottle as a child, so I'm not necessarily sure the toy was the driving factor. Probably a notable one though, yes.

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u/peepopowitz67 11d ago

I mean.... they weren't wrong..

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u/StrongTxWoman 11d ago

They should change the name of "happy meal" to "meh meal".

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u/fastlerner 11d ago

McD's "happy meal" was the king of kid's marketing, but during the 80's they all copied it. Burger King, Dairy Queen, Wendy's, Hardee's, Arby's - they all had toys/puzzles/games bundled with some type of kid meal.

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u/keithstonee 11d ago

microplastics are gonna kill us all anyway. let the kids eat mcdonalds.

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u/TheDonutDaddy 11d ago

It's definitely true. My family always talks about how growing up my sister and I would beg for McDonalds, Wendys, or BK depending on who had which toys. McDonalds had toys for the newest Disney movie? We want em. BK has Pokemon toys? Now we want BK. We would incessantly BEG, and then those toys would end up in a box never to be cared about again after a week or two.

Props to them for getting rid of that.

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u/canwealljusthitabong 11d ago

I remember watching the documentary The Corporation back in the early 2000s and they interviewed advertisers that went into detail about what they called “the nag factor” and how they would craft advertisements directed at children to compel them to do exactly what you’re describing. That was an excellent documentary and I wish more people had seen it. 

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u/Public-Position7711 11d ago

And my kids would play with those toys for like a day and it would end up rolling around the house for a few months before its trip to the landfill.