‘The Meal’

For 40 years Happy Meal has existed to make children smile. But recent studies revealed a shocking truth – almost half of all children feel pressure to be happy all of the time, even when they’re not. So, for the first time ever, we removed the iconic smile from Happy Meal® boxes to help start a conversation about children’s emotions and their mental health.

Alongside the packaging were stickers designed to represent different emotions that children could use to illustrate their feelings. We launched the initiative during Mental Health Awareness Week with a film that instantly went viral. National outdoor activity supported the push. To raise awareness, we teamed up with football legend and father of five, Rio Ferdinand, who spread the word across broadcast and social media globally.