McDonald's Turns from Happy Meal Toys to Video Games

It seems like plastic toys just don't cut it anymore. McDonald's marketing campaign for the new James Cameron film "Avatar" will be decidedly more high tech.

Customers will get what McDonald's calls "cutting-edge digital experiences" that the company hopes will translate into selling more Big Macs this Christmas.

There's been an incredible amount of fan anticipation for the science-fiction movie, in part because of its high-cost special effects and the reputation of Cameron, who hasn't directed a new film in 10 years. (1999's "Titanic" was his last.)

Beginning Dec. 18 (the day of the movie's United States premiere) and ending Jan. 7, every customer that buys a Big Mac will get a "Big Mac Thrill Card" (there are eight different ones) that gives the customer access to three "Avatar"-related online games, according to Molly McKenna, a manager with McDonald's U.S. communications.

But this being a Hollywood blockbuster -- there's more.

McDonald's and 20th Century Fox kicked off their Avatar partnership on Dec. 7, with the BigMacavator, the food giants' first Twitter tie in.

Participants have been asked to decode a series of word scrambles on the company's Twitter site related to both McDonald's and Avatar. Through Dec. 17, the first 10 players to solve the puzzles will win a "Big Mac Avatar Thrill Pack," which includes a Big Mac meal for two, a pair of tickets to see "Avatar" and a private screening of the film in Los Angeles with its producer, Jon Landau. (Cameron was apparently not available.)

"We've invested significantly in this partnership and this movie," says Mary Dillon, McDonald's global chief marketing officer, who wouldn't give the partnership's exact cost. "It's a big undertaking."

The Big Mac Thrill Card will let customers play three games:

Pandora Quest -- A timed three level video game where players try to find hidden artifacts hidden in the Pandora landscape. (Pandora is the planet where the movie takes place.)

Pandora ROVR -- Those who successfully complete the three levels are able to see images of Cameron's fictional world driving in a virtual off-road vehicle.

McDVision -- Customers can take a thrill card, place it in front of a webcam and play an augmented reality game.

Partnerships between fast food and entertainment companies have been commonplace for years, and allow organizations like McDonald's and Burger King to cash-in on the popularity of studio blockbusters. In turn, studios can defray the costs of its marketing campaigns and reach the millions of customers that are regularly eating fast food.

Earlier this year, McDonald's and 20th Century Fox signed an agreement to jointly market several of the studio's big budget films, including "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."

Critics of the fast food industry see the promotion as just another insidious way of marketing junk food to children and teens, who will in-turn nag their parents for the latest film related merchandise.

"The main benefit to McDonald's is the idea that fast food is normal to eat and associated with cool things like Avatar or other cool entertainment," says Marion Nestle, a professor of food studies, nutrition and public health at New York University. "This contributes to making fast food seem like everyday food, when it should be reserved for infrequent occasions."

In 2006, Disney backed out of its long-term deal with McDonald's reportedly because it no longer wanted to be associated with a fast-food organization connected to childhood obesity.

Apparently that's not a problem for Cameron who when asked by Slashfood what his favorite McDonald's meal was responded: "A Quarter Pounder."

Promoting his film to the 26 million American customers who eat at McDonald's every day is certainly appealing.

"The McDonald's partnership is an innovative way to get people more and more excited about the movie," Cameron says.