First the fast food giant Mickey D’s took a healthy stance with its infamous Happy Meal by reducing the amount of fries and adding apple slices to the kids meal; now McDonald’s has announced that they are swapping out toys for books in their famous Happy Meals.
Beginning Nov. 1, McDonald’s will distribute four nutrition–themed original books to children.
“We think that this is a fun and engaging way to give a nutritional message to kids … This is really the first step in a larger book strategy, and our intent is to continue over several years,” said the company’s vice-president of marketing.
In addition to the Happy Meal books, McDonald’s plans to release a series of interactive e-books through its McPlay Happy Meal app. The November promotion coincides with National Family Literacy Day. McDonald’s will also be giving 100,000 of its books to the nonprofit group Reading is Fundamental.
