McDonald’s Germany is celebrating the summer of sport with a new Happy Meal promotion, created by tms Munich, which stars The Smurfs – and reminds kids that taking part is what counts.
The Smurfs and McD’s Germany
The six-week promotion will see an exclusive, highly covetable Smurf figurine included with every Happy Meal sold in Germany and Austria.
There are 16 sporty Smurf figurines in total, including Hefty, the exclusive Smurf only available in the McDonald’s app.
Each is shown taking part in a different Olympic or Paralympic sport. There is even a breakdancing Smurf to mark the debut of breaking as an official sport at this year’s games.
Ad agency tms Munich is behind the McDonald’s Happy Meal concept and strategy, as well as designing the toys and packaging, and negotiating the partnerships and licensing deal.
It marks the biggest Happy Meal campaign to date to originate from the agency, which opened its Munich, Germany location in 2022. tms Munich is part of tms worldwide.
The representation of abled and disabled athletes in this promotion is also supported by the German Disabled Sports Association and the figurines have been developed in a partnership with renowned German toy brand Schleich.
The Smurfs, who are known in German as “Die Schlümpfe”, are also proud ambassadors for the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
Accordingly, tms Munich has put sustainability at the heart of this Happy Meal campaign, from manufacturing the figurines in MBPP (mass balance polypropylen) to ensuring the designs are highly collectable and will be kept for years to come.
Sebastian Börsch, Department Head Marketing, McDonald’s Germany, said: “tms Munich has pulled together many complex elements to make this Happy Meal tie-up with The Smurfs happen.
“But what we love most about it is the simple, culturally relevant idea at its heart: a Happy Meal promotion which reminds kids that taking part is what counts and inspires them to get out and have fun together doing sports.”
Georg Kitsios, Senior Account Director, tms Munich, said: “I’m lovin it – we just knew The Smurfs were the perfect theme for this McDonald’s Germany Happy Meal promotion.
“The team at tms have had so much fun bringing it to life and we strongly believe that Happy Meal fans will love it as much as we do.”
The promotion runs in Germany and Austria, having launched 25 July, a day ahead of the start of the Summer Olympics in Paris.