The Strange, Secret History of the McDonald's Happy Meal

Everyone’s eaten them. But does anyone agree on who invented them?

With more than 38,000 McDonald's restaurants all over the world, it may not be surprising to learn that the fast food giant sells about a billion (with a "b") Happy Meals a year to toy-fixated children (about 2.7 million per day). And while the Happy Meal has become a ubiquitous staple of modern childhood, its history of becoming world-renowned is as convoluted as, well, history itself. Here’s the tricky tale on every kid’s dream dinner.

Who Actually Invented the Happy Meal? 

To start off, three different people lay claim to being the originator of the Happy Meal: Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño, Dick Brams, and Bob Bernstein. Here’s each one’s claim to fast food fame.

The Innovator’s Tale: Yolanda Fernández de Cofiñ

Born in Chile in 1934, Yolanda Fernández moved to Guatemala in 1956. After marrying José María Cofiño, the pair bought their first McDonald's franchise there in 1974. Considering herself a "hands-on" owner, Cofiño worked in the restaurant regularly. It wasn't too long after acquiring the franchise that she realized the portion sizes were a little too big for children. Looking to market her new restaurant as a place for families, Cofiño came up with the idea of a kid's meal. Featuring a smaller size hamburger and fries, the new meal option also included a sundae and the most important part, a toy. Fernández de Cofiño called the new meal "Ronald's Menu." It became so popular that the corporate arm of McDonald's asked her to present her idea at the World Franchise Convention in 1977. Fernández de Cofiño would eventually be awarded the corporation's coveted "Ronald's Award" in 1982 for her involvement in developing the Happy Meal. But would she get full credit?

The Rebranders’ Tale: Dick Brams and Bob Bernstein

Because good ideas rarely take shape in just one place, the story of the McDonald's Happy Meal also has roots in the American Midwest. In 1973, Burger Chef, then a strong competitor to McDonald's, introduced "The Fun Meal": a small hamburger, fries, drink, dessert, and a toy, delivered to kids in a colorful box covered in cartoons and puzzles. Dick Brams, an advertising executive working in the St. Louis region for McDonald's knew about the concept and, as the story goes, pitched  the idea of the Happy Meal to Bob Bernstein, whose ad agency, Bernstein-Rein, handled McDonald’s advertising in the Midwest and Southeast.

According to legend, Bernstein polished up the idea, packaging the meal in a colorful box, and presented the Happy Meal to then senior executive VP of McDonald's, Paul Schrage, who gave the go-ahead for the concept to be added to the menu nationwide in 1979. A few years later, Dick Abrams would be anointed "father of the Happy Meal" by McDonald's at the time of his death in 1988.

But Then It Gets Sticky

As it often happens in life, however, truth is stranger than fiction. Bernstein took some umbrage at Brams being named "the father of the Happy Meal," and went so far as to say, "That's just not true—Dick did a lot, but after the Happy Meal had already been created." Bernstein insists that he was working on the idea of the Happy Meal several years before Brams. "I came up with the Happy Meal, in 1975, as I watched my son at the breakfast table reading his cereal box. He did it every morning. I thought we [could] make a box for McDonald's that holds a meal and gives kids things to do.”  Bernstein trademarked the name "Happy Meal" in October 1977, eventually transferring the title to the corporation for just one dollar. In 1979, after two years of test-marketing in the Midwest, the Happy Meal was launched nationwide.

The “Official” Story of the Happy Meal

So, where does McDonald’s stand on the "official" history of the Happy Meal? After repeated information requests, the company remains mum on the topic. Even if the Golden Arches doesn't outright say who the inventor is, Bob Bernstein got an official, gold-plated Happy Meal box in 1987 to mark the menu item’s 10th anniversary with a notable inscription:

McDonald's Happy Meal 10th Anniversary 1977-1987

To Robert A. Bernstein, Bernstein-Rein Advertising

Thank you for bringing the Happy Meal, a bold idea, to the McDonald's System.

Your insight and conviction truly has made McDonald's a fun place for children for the past 10 years!

McDonald's Corporation

September 1987

What Can We All Agree On? The Happy Meal Remains a Fast-Food Juggernaut

Whether Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño, Dick Brams, or Bob Bernstein invented the Happy Meal, one thing is for certain: That colorful little box not only changed how McDonald's did business but the rest of the world, as well. "Happy Meals proved that you could actually 'brand' a meal and make kids harass their parents for it," advertising executive Adam Hanft told the Associated Press in 2004. With the success of the Happy Meal, an onslaught of child-focused advertising (and other types of media) became the center of attention for many brands. The line between advertisement and actual programming became even more blurred as shows like Transformers and Rainbow Brite began dominating the airwaves, catering directly to children, who would then harass their parents for what they saw on their televisions.

The impact of the Happy Meal is still very much palpable today with McDonald's reporting $3.5 billion in sales of the kid-pleaser. The recent additions of "healthy" alternative food choices have only made the Happy Meal an even more powerful addition to the menu. And with a recent deal with the Disney Corporation to include the popular Squishmallows toys in their Happy Meals, there's no real sign of the popularity of the ‘70s phenomenon ever waning. No matter how it began–or who dreamed it up.