McDonald’s USA is rolling out a new national Happy Meal campaign this week in which kids will be taught nutrition information in a fun way. 

Photo: The new Happy Meal, a screenshot from www.mcdonalds.com

The campaign includes TV ads featuring menu items from recommended food groups found in the new Happy Meal that now includes apple slices and a kid-size fry. Another part of the campaign is a Happy Meal Chefs contest. Teams consisting of parents and children can help in the creation and testing of new Happy Meal, while the company’s executive chef Dan Coudreaut continues to develop the menu.

To participate, family teams must answer a brief questionnaire and submit a short video online that creatively demonstrates their family mealtime. The contest runs till April 18 and ten kids will win a trip to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Two Grand Prize Winners will become honorary ‘Happy Meal Chefs’ and experience an apprenticeship with Dan Coudreaut.

In July 2011, McDonald’s announced its ‘Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices’ program aimed to help customers be more nutrition-minded choices while choosing food. The new US campaign is a part of this commitment.

The Happy Meal TV ads start airing nationally on March 7. They combine metaphors, rhyme and song making it fun for kids to watch them and learn some information about nutrition. Ads feature a character named Ferris who is a happy kid who lives with his friends on a ‘Fun, Funky Farm’ where happiness grows. Ferris has a Goat that eats everything but Ferris learns him to eat right.

Other characters include Ant, Deana the Dino and Dodo that together discover the interesting facts about balanced food from recommended food groups. In the UK, McDonald’s has unveiled the new kids-oriented concept of its restaurant.