Would you like fries with your virtual world?
McDonald’s has recently launched a virtual world aimed at kids that enjoy their Happy Meals. Located at happymeal.com this world is built for kids to interact in.
It is currently still in Beta – so it is a touch buggy. However, if you want your kids to have a good time in a virtual world while learning how awesome hamburgers and fries are, this is the place for you!
The game itself is free. However, they do give additional bonus objects and prizes if the kids enter in codes found inside of their Happy Meal from McDonald’s. So have no doubt, this exists to get kids to beg (even more) for Happy Meals.
There is also a vote going on to name this new Virtual World. The options are (and I am making none of these up):
1. Scaddlmon (McDonald’s with the letters all mixed up)
2. McD Zone
3. McDonaldlandia
4. McD Island
5. McWorld
The site appears to be “safe” for kids in terms of their personal information. They don’t ask for much. The child can make a friend list and talk to those friends, but only through pre-set phrases (at least at the moment).
Now, I have a 3-year-old daughter. Whenever we pass a McDonald’s she gets excited and starts talking about how we should stop at “Old McDonald’s” - like the song … ee yi ee yi oooo – I know it is spelled MacDonald in the song. I have tried this argument. It fails. Anyhow, she wants to stop not because their food is any good, but because they have those play areas for kids. This leads to a long, drawn out conversation in which I say “No” and she asks why and I say because the food is terrible and she argues that it isn’t and I explain that it isn’t healthy and she explains that she can play.
And so the conversation continues. For a really, really long time.
In a couple of years when she is online playing games (I am realistic about this, I figure it will happen about then) I can have the continued joy hearing about Old McDonald and their awesome virtual world called Scaddlmon and how we need to buy Happy Meals so that she can get her avatar a new hat or something.
So I have that to look forward to.
It will be interesting to see if this venture works for McDonald’s. Are kids ready to socialize in a virtual world? Will they want to go to one connected with McDonald’s or will they want one connected to Second Life, which they see their older brother and sister playing? It should be interesting to watch and see if this type of venture becomes a successful marketing tool.
Note: This was written by me and originally posted on the Rising Tide blog.
