Buzz
Fancy a side of Matilda or BFG with your burger and fries? Young New Zealanders might just get that chance. McDonald’s outlets in New Zealand are swapping out Pokemon and Hello Kitty toys for excerpts from Roald Dahl’s beloved stories, as reported by The Independent.
These specially crafted abridged versions of Dahl’s timeless tales, such as Fantabulous BFG, Amazing Matilda, and Lucky Charlie Bucket, are part of McDonald’s Happy Meal Readers initiative. Each booklet includes stickers and engaging activities for children. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that McDonald’s aims to distribute 800,000 of these booklets over a six-week period.
Jo Mitchell, McDonald’s New Zealand marketing director, explains that the global reading initiative aims to spark a love for reading among children. Additionally, the nostalgic charm of Dahl’s stories resonates with parents. "Many parents grew up enjoying Roald Dahl’s characters, and it’s wonderful to help introduce them to the next generation," Mitchell shared with The Independent.
McDonald’s has a history of combining books with kids’ meals. Since its inception in 2001, the Happy Meal Readers initiative has distributed approximately 450 million books. Sweden pioneered the program, and New Zealand’s McDonald’s locations have been involved for nearly ten years. In Malaysia, a comparable initiative allows children to select either a toy or a book by Cressida Cowell, the English author behind How to Train Your Dragon.
In the previous year, McDonald’s revealed its intention to extend the Readers program to over 100 markets by 2019.
