Happy Goggles debut in Sweden for trial run.

In the recent months we have seen the New York Times include a Google Cardboard VR viewer with newspaper deliveries and watched The Sports Illustrated package a cardboard viewer in their coveted Swimsuit issue. Now McDonald’s is giving us a taste of their own version of a Cardboard VR viewer that is definitely more kid-friendly and happens to be recycled from the iconic Happy Meal.

McDonald’s Sweden is launching a promotion that invites kids to turn Happy Meal boxes into a Cardboard VR viewer.

The promotion is called Happy Goggles and will include the distribution of 3,500 specially designed Happy Meal boxes to 14 restaurants over the weekends of March 5 and March 12.

Happy Goggles was created to celebrate the Swedish “Sportlov” recreational holiday, during which many families hit the slopes and go skiing. So McDonald’s created a ski-themed VR game titled “Slow Stars” that consumers can download after making their purchase of the special Happy Meal box. The Happy Goggle viewers work just like any Google Cardboard VR viewer. Consumers can download a Google Cardboard compatible app and immediately immerse themselves straight out of the box. You would think that the VR viewer would be included free to kids just like the toys we have grown fond of over the years, but this VR Happy Meal will actually cost consumers $4.10.

In a video shared by McDonald’s Sverige below, the iconic red boxes are turned into Happy Goggles, where you can just tear along some perforated lines, fold a few edges, and insert the VR lenses (included) and your smartphone (not included) for your Happy Meal VR experience.

McDonald’s joins the likes of Coca-Cola who gave us a glimpse into what recycling a soda box into a VR viewer could look like. The trend of repurposing or recycling packaging that is often already made out of cardboard to create a VR viewer is an exciting one and one I hope to see more of.

DDB Stockholm developed the strategy, design and packaging, while North Kingdom Stockholm created the game; Prime is handling publicity.

If you are in Sweden, drop us a line if you stop by a McDonald’s this weekend.

Image Credit: McDonald’s Sweden