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Happy Meals Become Fandom Merch Channels

Plus: Melissa & Doug's viral kiosk targets holiday sellouts

Author

Avinash Duggempudi
August 27, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Toy Talk

Here's what's happening this week in the world of toys and games marketing: 
- BTS TinyTAN turns Happy Meal into fandom drop.
- Melissa & Doug upgrades its viral kiosk for holidays.
- LEGO tests fast-paced party play to broaden family reach.

⏱️How Nécessaire Outpaced Competitors With 47% More Revenue



Nécessaire went into Prime Day with proof that Meta and TikTok were quietly fueling Amazon sales, even when they showed up as “organic.”

Armed with that evidence, they increased spend and beat their peer group with 47% higher revenue. Most teams would’ve cut back and left millions on the table.

👉 Follow Fospha on LinkedIn for data-backed playbooks and real-world learnings from leading retail brands, so you can see exactly how the best are scaling profitably.

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

MGA’s L.O.L. Surprise! launches six limited-edition Tots inspired by Care Bears, with character-shaped packaging and a $12.99 price point at Walmart, Target, Amazon and MGA’s shop. The mashup leans into multi-generational nostalgia and collectible refresh, creating a margin-friendly, impulse-tier drop ahead of holiday. Brand and retail teams can ride the nostalgia curve while testing packaging-led differentiation.

Melissa & Doug rolls out the Sort, Stock, Select Beauty Kiosk Play Set, evolving its sellout vending machine format into beauty-themed pretend play with coin/bank-card mechanics. With the original named 2025 Preschool Toy of the Year and >5M TikTok views, this iteration is positioned as a holiday door-opener. Retailers and growth teams should plan content-to-commerce hooks and replenishment for anticipated repeat sellouts.

Starting September, McDonald’s will offer a limited-time TinyTAN Happy Meal featuring seven collectible BTS toys, following the brand’s blockbuster 2021 BTS Meal. QSRs remain powerful toy discovery and sampling channels, driving viral reach and secondary market activity. Toy licensors and marketers can leverage the drop’s cultural moment for co-promo, UGC, and retail tie-ins.

🗣️ LEADING VOICES

Signal From Noise: How To Nail TikTok in Five Pillars of Success.

The link below is an interactive guide on how to nail TikTok based on Jay Hunter & Catalina at Mary Ruth's, fantastic session at eTail™ Boston, where they discussed going from $1 to $40M in one year!

Interact with the guide here: https://lnkd.in/eUUwPWVi A write up of their session is also available via ClickZ.com: https://lnkd.in/e9qAiYBn

⚡QUICK READS

Transformers G1 Moments Get Blokees ‘One Shall Fall’ Wave: Non-converting kits with chase variants spotlight The Transformers: The Movie scenes, priming nostalgia demand despite unannounced retail timing.(More)

LEGO Pilots Fast-Paced Party Play With Brick Like This!: A team-based build-and-guess game draws strong early reviews, signaling LEGO’s push into quick, social family gaming formats.(More)

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division