McDonalds has always been the master at tricking little kids into liking their food. Their latest efforts to contort these young minds comes in the way of virtual reality. Somewhat modeled after Google Cardboard, the fast food chain has started to unveil their VR goggles in their Swedish store locations.
MCDONALDS NEEDS VIRTUAL REALITY TO SELL ITSELF
Since the reality of McDonalds has been so tainted as of late, it seems that they need a little help from the virtual side of things to get some sales. This new initiative by the company promises to far exceed expectations that children have of the Happy Meal today. Apparently, little plastic action figures of the Avengers just isn’t cutting it anymore. The aptly named “Happy Goggles” are set to be released in Sweden on the weekends of March 5th and 12th.
GOOGLE CARDBOARD-ESQUE DEVICE BRINGS FAMILY TO THE FUTURE
Much like the Google Cardboard, Happy Goggles is basically a mobile phone holder formed out of the outer shell of your happy meal. Now, you can look at that french fry grease in virtual reality. That’s not all, though. Happy Goggles even come with their own game. Slope Stars puts gamers on the mountain in VR. This game is supposed to line up with a Swedish tradition called “Sportlov” where families go on skiing trips together.
VR BECOMING AN ACTUALITY AS MORE COMPANIES GET ON BOARD
It’s not much of a surprise when Google decided to enter the VR game, but now that we see McDonalds getting a piece of the action, one can assume that 2016 is the year of VR. McDonalds has an interesting take on the matter, though. They are using VR to bring families closer together. Connecting families in these digital times is a lot tougher, but these Happy Goggles will create a medium where the whole family can connect digitally. An inspiring and fascinating concept for sure, but is that really the reason? McDonalds is far from Google in terms of finances. Sure, bringing family peace and cooperation is a great goal, but money talks. The fast food chain isn’t exactly swimming in profits these days. It’s wise to them to take a page out of the Google success book. It just may work. Perhaps we’ll see VR in Happy Meals all around the world someday. For now, they still make a mediocre burger.
