Happy Meal Boxes in Sweden Will Soon Transform Into VR Goggles

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"Would you like a futuristic gaming experience with that?" For kids, the main draw of Happy Meals has long been the free toy included in the box, but a high tech upgrade at McDonald's restaurants in Sweden might have adults clamoring to get in on the action. AdFreak reports that 3500 so-called "Happy Goggles" will be sold at 14 McDonald's locations between March 5 and March 12, and the company has released a game to go with the device.

Like Google Cardboard and other DIY VR sets, Happy Goggles are less sophisticated than high-end sets like Oculus Rift, but serve as a cheap and easy way for kids to experience the emerging technology. The device itself (which will only cost around $4.10, according to AdFreak) was designed and developed by DDB Stockholm, and will be released in tandem with a skiing game called Slope Stars. The game, created by a company called North Kingdom Stockholm, is also timed to coincide with a Swedish holiday called "Sportlov."

As demonstrated in the announcement video (above), the goggles are made by unfolding and manipulating the Happy Meal box, then inserting the lens and a smartphone inside. The goggles can be used to play other mobile VR games, while other goggles can be used to play Slope Stars. The game can also be played on its own without the virtual reality component.

Jeff Jackett, marketing director at McDonald's Sweden, described the promotion as a "first trial run globally" in an interview with AdFreak. If tech trends are any indicator though, it will land in other markets in the near future.

Banner image via McDonald's Sverige on YouTube

[h/t Adweek]