By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Jazwares has partnered with McDonald’s and UMG to bring the Squishmallows plush brand to Happy Meals around the world.
“This Happy Meal campaign brings the worlds of McDonald’s, Squishmallows and music together to elevate the fan experience and evolve our iconic Happy Meal brand in culture,” said McDonald’s director, Jennifer DelVecchio. “Adding exclusive music playlists to our toys is a first for Happy Meal and we are extremely proud to collaborate with Jazwares’ Squishmallows, the #1 plush brand worldwide, and Universal Music Group on this initiative.”
The co-branded Happy Meal promotion will feature twenty-four exclusive and seasonally-themed Squishmallows characters. Each participating market will offer between ten to twelve of the new Squishmallow plush designs.
“In partnering with McDonald’s we are able to bring fans a 360-degree Squishmallows experience that includes exclusive digital playlists, and special edition Squishmallows that will create one of the most elevated Happy Meal programs to date,” said Jazwares SVP, Gerhard Runken. “Happy Meals have featured so many iconic brands throughout the years, and this is a tremendous milestone for Squishmallows as we join forces with McDonald’s, one of the world’s most trusted and recognized brands.”
Jazwares is a global toy and play company that is owned by the Berkshire Hathaway group. The company designs and manufactures toys, metaverse games, costumes, and pet products based on its portfolio of wholly-owned and licensed brands.
As part of the McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion, Universal Music Group has created exclusive music playlists that are inspired by the personalities and design of the Squishmallows characters.
UMG has created playlists for fourteen of the exclusive Squishmallows characters that were created for the new Happy Meal program.
Customers can access the playlists by scanning a QR code that is located on the Happy Meal box and the packaging of the included Squishmallow toy.
“Bringing this partnership to life with an iconic brand like McDonalds and Jazwares, a standout in the toy industry, is truly filling our ambition to create a platform of music discovery for kids globally,” said Universal Music EVP, Naomi McMahon.
Universal Music Group is a music-focused entertainment company that represents businesses in the categories of recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content.
The co-branded Happy Meal promotion will launch at McDonald’s food-service retailers in more than seventy countries around the globe.
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