McDonald's puts activity tracker toy wearables in Happy Meals
McDonald's has introduced new toys into its Happy Meals aimed at encouraging kids to be active, a toy that is shaped like an activity tracking smartwatch. McDonald's is offering the toy at its U.S. and Canadian stores for the next four or so weeks, something that is supposedly targeting the combination of summer break and the summer Olympics excitement. There are half a dozen trackers in total, and while they aren't actual watches, they do know how many steps you take.
It appears there are at least two different types of the activity tracker, the first being a red LED light that begins to blink when the person wearing the watch is moving. If you're only moving a little bit, the light will blink slowly. If you're moving faster, the light will blink fast. It's simple, yes, but probably enough to get kids running around after dinner.
The other wearable is a touch more sophisticated, serving as a watch-styled pedometer that keeps track of how many steps you take. If the number gets too comically huge, you can reset the step count. Unlike most of McDonald's toys, these aren't affiliated with any other thing, being a new and individual creation dubbed the "STEP-in" wearables.
The toy wearable is offered in red, orange, green, blue, yellow, and pink. The move isn't very surprising, not just in the sense that McDonald's has been pushing nutritional and health marketing, but also that it has dabbled in tech-centric toys and products in the past. As linked above, for example, it recently offered a Happy Meal box that could be transformed into a VR headset.
SOURCE: Marketing Mag