The McDonald’s ‘Adult Happy Meal’ Toys Are Fetching Thousands
The McDonald’s and Cactus Plant Flea Market collaboration for the “Adult Happy Meal” creates a toy that is now reselling on eBay for nearly $300,000.
The “Adult Happy Meal” was released earlier this month in collaboration with a very exclusive streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market. Each Happy Meal comes with a Big Mac or a 10-piece McNuggets, medium fries, a medium drink, and a nostalgic-looking toy inspired by McDonald’s characters Grimace, Hamburglar, Birdie, or Cactus Plant Flea Market’s toy, a smiley-faced Cactus avatar.
Designer Cynthia Lu is the founder of Cactus Plant Flea Market. So many famous rappers and musicians, such as Tyler the Creator, Kid Cudi, Playboi Carti, and Frank Ocean love this brand. Artists are drawn to Cactus Plant Flea Market because of its exciting graphics and brightly colored prints. The brand is constantly coming out with surprising new designs. This collaboration with McDonald’s is unexpected for streetwear brand lovers.
Pricing for the “Adult Happy Meal” ranged from $10.79 to $12.95, depending on location. Unfortunately, because of the exclusivity of the collaboration, these Happy Meals sold out at most McDonald’s locations across America in just a few weeks. As a result, people took to the internet to find these toys for resale.
Resellers are listing unopened toys for multiple times their original value. For example, one eBay seller lists the rare Happy Meal toys for $300,000 USD or the “best bid.” The description for the toys read, “SUPER RATE LIMITED EDITION – UNOPENED McDonald’s, Adult Happy Meal Toy: Cactus Pant Flea Market. Extremely Rare and UNOPENED!!!! Featuring: Cactus Buddy, Birdie & Hamburgler!!! WILL SELL FAST!!!” Another opened toy is selling on Grailed, a popular resaler for women’s and men’s streetwear, for $35,999 USD.
McDonald’s and Cactus Plant Flea Market also released a merch collection of dual-branded hoodies and t-shirts. But, of course, the collaboration sold out in just a few days.
McDonald’s has done an exceptional job of collaborating with celebrities to market their already existing products. For example, in 2020, McDonald’s collaborated with Travis Scott for the “Travis Scott Meal.” The meal included a quarter-pounder burger with bacon and shredded lettuce, fries with BBQ sauce, and a Sprite. This order took over the internet, and people ordered the “Travis Scott Meal” at every McDonald’s participating location.
McDonald’s also released T-shirts in collaboration with Travis Scott. Unfortunately, the first people to get their hands on these shirts were the Mcdonald’s employees. These shirts are still being resold on websites like eBay and StockX, going for around $50 USD.
Q4: @McDonalds’ popular Travis Scott meal was one of the first celebrity meals it had created in years. What do you think this says for the future of influencer marketing in the coming months?
— Adweek (@Adweek) December 16, 2020
Bonus Q: Which other well-known figures should get their own meal? #AdweekChat pic.twitter.com/IyhAz6VjRU
Leave it to McDonald’s marketing team to create a toy that’s this sought-after. We can’t wait to see what celebrities or artists McDonald’s will collaborate with next.
