McDonald's is once again teaming up with the for a new Happy Meal promotion. Large fast food chains like McDonald's often team up with movie studios and toy makers for cross-promotional campaigns.
Many of these campaigns involve putting toys inside children's meals like Happy Meals, which serve to introduce the toy (or movie/TV show) to kids while also incentivizing parents to buy the meal for their kids.
Because of this, Happy Meals are sometimes the first way that a kid gets introduced to iconic brands. Later this month, McDonald's will run a newpromotion at participating stores in the US.
Although McDonald's skipped this promotion in 2024, Pokémon trading cards have been a nearly annual tradition in Happy Meals.
In recent years, McDonald's and The Pokémon Company have found little ways to give kids more than just Pokémon cards in their Happy Meal, with mini-games and other prizes occasionally featured alongside the card.