McBoombox - Detail - © McDonalds Canada

McDonald’s Canada Gives away ‘Boom Box’

Remember when Pizza Hut launched a special Pizza Box that converted into a smart phone projector? Well, McDonald’s Canada has just introduced a recyclable drink tray that doubles as a smart phone amplifier. Share your playlist with everybody! Annoy folks who don’t share your taste…

McBoombox - © McDonalds CanadaThe McBoombox. A very limited release to celebrate 22 years of McFlurries.

This story just couldn’t wait for the end of the week and the Fast Food Week roundup…

McDonald’s Canada is offering, for a limited time, a special takeout drink tray that does much more than tote the bevs.

The McBoombox is a promotional tool to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the McFlurry shake. It’s a collaboration between McD’s, the University of Waterloo’s Audio Research Group and Toronto-based industrial design group Stacklab. And it looks like a steampunk/retro cross between a 70s cassette blaster and a wind-up Victrola.

You turn the tray upside down, deploy the two horns, stick your phone in a slot in the middle and let ‘er rip.

The invention, as such, is really a sleeve that goes over a standard McDonald’s grey fibre drinks tray. The idea is to amplify and enrich the low end of any tune your phone can play. The sound level can reach over 70 db. That’s not too shabby and will definitely be loud enough to annoy people at nearby tables. iPhone earbuds can deliver up to 115 db blasts, but that’s different technology altogether. And that level of sound/noise can be dangerous to your hearing. A jet engine can deliver more than  120 db on the tarmac. And 120 db is the level where permananet damage can begin to occur.

Anyway…

The McBoombox was released in a flash-give-away at selected Toronto-area stores on July 28. Folks apparently loved it. Look for further pop-up appearances of this novelty drinks tray over the remainder of the summer…

~ Maggie J.