"What McDonald’s has done is teach kids to associate its less-than-ideal meals with fun, which is what matters to them more than the quality of the chicken or beef. That’s why McDonald’s tinkers with its food offerings, but not with the toys. When San Francisco banned toy giveaways with meals that didn’t meet certain nutritional requirements, McDonald’s simply sold the toys for 10 cents to anyone who bought a Happy Meal. That toy is a canny way to secure lifetime customers."