McDonald’s Introduces New Mascot Called Happy [UPDATED]

If Ronald McDonald wasn’t disturbing enough, McDonald’s has unveiled a creepy-looking animated mascot in the United States called Happy. The Happy Meal box-shaped creature has rubber-hose arms, a huge set of realistic chompers, bulging eyballs, and the McDonald’s arches as eyebrows. He was introduced in France in 2009, and has since made his way to Latin American countries. In the U.S., Happy will be used as a “Happy Meal brand ambassador” who will encourage “balanced and wholesome eating.” A good first step toward that goal might be to not take your kids to McDonald’s, though Happy probably won’t tell you that.

Here are some of the French commercials with Happy:

UPDATE: For everyone who’s been saying that Happy reminds them of the Minions, it should be stated that the same French animation studio, Mac Guff, does both. And Happy and the Minions have also appeared together, like in this spot directed by Laurent Nicolas at Passion Paris:

And here’s the My Little Pony/Pokémon McDonald’s mashup: