Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA writes about how McDonald’s Happy Meal Ambassador Is Frightening. Howard Davidson from Arlington Massachusetts is marketing guy who helps brands connect with target audiences. www.howardjdavidson.com Howard Davidson writes about about advertising, social media and marketing with a touch of sarcasm.

1. McDonald’s Happy Meal
Ambassador Is Frightening
by
Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA
Slide by: Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA

2. It’s been over a month since McDonald’s unveiled a
new mascot named “Happy”. Well, the McDonald’s
Happy Meal ambassador is still frightening.
Happy is an animated Happy Meal Box; complete with
black hole eyes, a ridiculous mouth, and lanky arms,
Happy is the ambassador (or shall we say most
maligned mascot of the restaurant’s new healthy
Happy Meals. Maybe McDonald’s is trying to scare
children into eating their vegetables. I think not.
Slide by: Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA

3. Happy’s job, according to a press release, is to “encourage kids to
enjoy fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and wholesome beverages
such as water or juice.” While he appears fairly alienating, Happy
has actually done well as an animated mascot in other countries.
He was first introduced in 2009 to France and has since made his
way through Latin America and other countries in Europe. But
Happy is scaring the French fries outta kids in the USA.
Slide by: Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA

4. Happy is the “ambassador for balanced and wholesome eating.”
He is especially welcoming of the new Low Fat Strawberry Go-
Gurt. Because nothing says “finish your carrot sticks” like a
psychotic stare from the side of a box.
When McDonald’s introduced Happy to the USA, the internet
exploded with memes and photo-shopped renditions of the new
character bringing to question whether this was McDonald’s
strategy all along. The mascot appears to have been built to take
over the web as it continues to scare social media users. When
the company introduced Ronald McDonald in 1989, he was seen
as nightmare inducing as well at the time. Maybe with time,
Happy will grow to steal our hearts.
I’m not lovin it.
Slide by: Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA