Cactus Plant Flea Market x Mcdonald's

Guys, this is a brand collaboration that dreams are made of. Take one whimsy streetwear brand and mix it with a world famous house favourite and this is what you get.

When I first heard about these Mcdonald's Adult Happy Meals I was so excited! Sadly they are only available in the USA (sad face) but it's too exciting to ignore.

Cactus Plant Fleamarket are the streetwear brand responsible for making this entire experience so darn cool. And subsequently who have a their own McDonalds merch launching in 5 days time as I type. Which rightly so deserves it's own space, so I'll be picking out my favourites in my next post. You can take a peek at it here though, it's an absolute feast!

There is a great article about CPFM and the illusive designer Cynthia Lu in GQ which you can read here  and learn a bit about the beginnings of the brand.

Image @cactusplantfleamarket

This collaboration is nothing short of delightful. From the whimsical characters to just how freaking cool it is to get a toy, as grown up, in a Happy Meal. The whole idea and the authenticity is so good I literally wish I had been the one sitting in Mcdonald's HQ who had this light bulb moment, but then, I’d be sitting there and not here and they’d be no Yoko’s Mini Mart 😱.

So. Let's take a look at the Happy Meals... I've scrolled through alot of content to get a good look at what's in the box. I also have a bunch of toys on my watch list over on Ebay because predictably, this is where alot of them have ended up. And I can't even promise that I won't be one of the suckers that buys one.

Obviously, the food is nothing different but inside the notably larger Happy Meal box, in it's trademark shape, is a surprise collectable toy. Wrapped in a sealed branded bag, this is sure to get even the most serious faced grown ups excited, in a world where the only sealed surprise we get these days is a bill or a reminder for another middle aged health check. 

Photo: Ebay

There are 4 toys to collect, I immediately had a favourite. Can you guess which one it is? It's the funny looking guy designed by CPFM called Cactus Buddy. All of the characters feature their trademark 4 eyes and the other 3 characters are the well known Mcdonald's characters Grimace, the Hamburglar, and Birdie. 

Photo:Ebay

For me, this is not just about the toys. It's about emotional connection and the ability brands have to make people feel warm and fuzzy.

What I love most about this launch is what I like to think is the acknowledgment of the ability that nostalgia has to put smiles on faces and how that feeling can be captured by brands in their products.

I'm sure the serious faces amongst us will say it's childish nonsense, but the rest of us will know of course, that it is simply branding genius.