Article: `Let's go to Arby's and have some Chipmunks and Daffy Ducks . . . '

When I take my 4-year-old daughter Jillian out for a fast-food meal, it is no longer a question of what we are going to eat. That issue is unimportant next to the really vital concern: What kind of toys can be had?

The marketing genius who put together McDonald's first happy meal was the progenitor of an array of coloring books, lunch boxes, stuffed animals and pencil sets now available for a limited time only in just about every big-time fast-food outlet in the nation.

And if the kids aren't finishing all of their Whalers and Quarter Pounders, it doesn't matter. Because they are swallowing this promotional gimmick whole.

Typical conversation with Jillian:

"So, you want to go to ...

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