Today’s kids are growing up with smartphones and tablets as everyday objects, so for the 30th anniversary of the Happy Meal in Sweden, McDonald’s decides to move with the times without making radical changes.
With a bit of ripping, folding, and sliding, the Happy Meal box becomes Happy Goggles. A simple VR viewer made from the box itself, designed to work with a smartphone.
In family-focused quick-service restaurants, packaging is one of the few branded touchpoints kids hold long enough to become a lasting brand memory.
The limited edition Happy Goggles are available from March 5th along with a virtual reality skiing game called “Slope Stars.” The game is positioned as a 360° ski experience that aims to blend fantasy and fun with basic slope-safety learning.
A physical build step that makes the tech feel like play
The mechanism is the point. Kids do not just receive a headset. They assemble it from something familiar, which turns the product into an activity and makes the “VR moment” feel earned rather than handed out.
Why it lands with parents as well as kids
The idea works because it keeps the novelty lightweight and frames it as a bounded experience. A simple viewer, a themed game, and a message that leans toward safe behaviour on ski slopes rather than pure screen time.
Extractable takeaway: If you want families to accept a new tech layer inside a kids product, make the first interaction tactile and time-boxed, then tie the content to a clear parent-friendly benefit.
What the brand is really doing here
This is packaging as media, and packaging as product. McDonald’s turns the most iconic part of the Happy Meal into the delivery vehicle for a digital experience, while keeping the core ritual intact.
A few fast answers before you act
What are Happy Goggles?
They are a VR viewer made by folding the Happy Meal box into a headset-style form, designed to hold a smartphone for a simple virtual reality experience.
What is Slope Stars?
It is a ski-themed VR game released alongside Happy Goggles, positioned as a 360° experience that mixes play with basic slope-safety messaging.
Why make the viewer out of the box instead of adding a toy?
Because the box is already in every child’s hands. Turning it into the device removes distribution friction and makes the experience feel like a clever transformation rather than an extra plastic object.
What makes this kind of packaging innovation shareable?
The build step and the reveal. People can understand it instantly, demonstrate it quickly, and show the transformation in a single photo or short clip.