I was watching our boy John John playing with his old favourites, 2 toys from his resturant of choice, MacDonalds. He doesn’t so much want to go for the food, its the free toys they give with their ‘Happy Meals’ and the children’s playground that he likes, particularily the free toys! How many toys McDonalds must buy per promotion world wide and the price they must get them for to be able to offer them included in a meal for a total cost of a dollar or so has always fascinated me.
Normally these toys, while surprisingly well made, have a fairly short life in the hands of our ultimate tester of durability, John John.
These two toys have lasted and lasted despite his best efforts…
So I thought I might write a letter…
Dear Mr Mac,
I was wondering if you could tell me who manufactured the two plastic toys, with the bouncy heads, shown in the Photograph above. While you are looking up your records I also wonder if you could also tell me how many million, trillion you had to order to get the price down to a level which, after distribution costs and margins, allowed you to include them for free in a 60 Peso “Happy Meal” ?
I ask this because I wonder if they manufacture other things like reading glasses, door handles, tap sets (You might know them as faucets), flashlights, laptop computers, cell phones, printer ink cartridges and many other things I have bought in recent times.
You see the two Happy Meal Toys are indestructible, we have had them in our house hold for at least a year and our ‘Test to Destruction’ 4 year old son hasn’t broken them! I can’t think of anything else and I mean anything else, in his possession that he hasn’t mange to destroy or substantially modify.
So you see it seems to me that this company should be able to manufacture other items such as listed above, which have proved to be anything but indestructible, to the same high standards.
(If this is, in fact, a secret project in cooperation with the US Military or perhaps for the Space Program designed to give the ultimate endurance test by subjecting them to the hands of millions of 4 and 5 year olds, you can count on my discretion.)
If this isn’t the case is it OK with you if I send them to NASA and suggest that the next generation of Space Shuttles should be made of the same materials?
I look forward to your reply and contact details of your supplier.
With thanks.
Colin Smith in Cagayan de Happy Meals
