The market for wearable VR/AR headsets is set to explode in 2016. Over the last couple months, the Oculus Rift, HTC"s Vive, and Microsoft"s HoloLens Development Edition all have all hit the preorder stage. While those headsets are sure to impress everyday people in their ability to immerse, there"s one unlikely company that wishes to dabble in VR - a company that"s better-known for its "dollar menu" and has a clown for a mascot.
With every new Happy Meal, a select handful of Swedish McDonald"s restaurants are giving kids what the company calls "Happy Goggles". These goggles are made by pulling apart the Happy Meal box, sliding in a small included accessory and then inserting a smartphone into the configuration. The result is basically a Google Cardboard head unit. The intention: to expand the world of McDonalds through an immersive experience for kids.
While the Happy Goggles are isolated to Sweden at the moment, McDonald"s own Jeff Jackett, marketing director at McDonald"s Sweden, says that their VR accessory could come to many more countries if this test run proves successful. For an idea on how the Happy Goggles work, check out the video below.
Source: AdWeek