Taco Bell to Release Baseball Card Promotion for 2023 Season
Fast food giant Taco Bell is no stranger to unconventional promotions and marketing stunts designed to capture consumers’ attention. This year, they are taking collectors by storm with the announcement of their 2023 baseball card promotion.
After the success of their NBA Top Shot-inspired NFT series earlier this year, Taco Bell’s marketing team was brainstorming new ideas to engage sports fans during the baseball season. Someone had the idea of doing traditional physical baseball cards that could be collected, traded, and shown off like those from decades past. They wanted to put a unique Taco Bell twist on the concept.
The plan is for Taco Bell to produce a full 350-card series spanning all 30 Major League Baseball teams for the upcoming 2023 season. There will be base cards featuring current stars and prospects, as well as parallel and insert sets with various themes. Each pack will contain 5 randomly assorted cards and retail for $1.99 each.
To drive rapid distribution, packs will be available exclusively at all US Taco Bell locations starting on Opening Day – March 30, 2023. The promotion is slated to run through the end of the regular season in early October. Taco Bell estimates producing over 100 million total packs to satisfy demand.
While the standard card designs will focus on stats, photos, and accomplishments, Taco Bell is promising some truly unique inserts that baseball collectors have never seen before. A few examples that have been previewed include:
Taco Sliders – Featuring side-by-side photos of players next to their Taco Bell order. Some examples shown were Shohei Ohtani next to a Crunchwrap Supreme and Mookie Betts pictured with a Beefy 5-Layer Burrito.
Steal Your Face – Modeled after Topps’ iconic Star Wars steal shot parallels, these will depict players literally stealing Taco Bell mascots or menu items like a seventh inning steak.
Nacho Average Joe – Highlighting lesser known players with potential to break out, in a style riffing on Topps’ Base Rookies.
Crave Creation – Allowing fans to design their own imaginary Taco Bell food item and pairing it with a player predicted to have a big season. Submissions with the best combos may end up as 1-of-1 parallel cards.
In addition to the standard team distribution through packs, Taco Bell will sell curated “box breaks” on their website starting at $19.99 each. These contain a random assortment of 30 cards but guarantee at least one super rare parallel or hit card inserted.
To add another layer of excitement for collectors, Taco Bell is making the full checklist and statistics on the back of each card digital-only. By scanning a QR code with the Taco Bell mobile app, fans can access bios, game logs, sabermetrics, and more extensive career data. This dynamic element allows for updates throughout the season.
While some purists may scoff at a corporate tie-in card series, early feedback from the hobby community has been overwhelmingly positive. Many see Taco Bell embracing the spirit of oddball vintage promotions like In The Mood For Food baseballs from the 1960s. Their commitment to unique parallels and 1-of-1 cards gives collectors a real incentive to rip packs.
Industry observers predict the Taco Bell MLB card promotion could be the biggest in terms of overall units produced and distribution of any in history. Some have even speculated it may help grow baseball card collecting among younger demographics not normally associated with the hobby. Only time will tell, but it’s clear the brand understands how to leverage sports passion points to drive engagement like no other. Come Opening Day, be ready for Taco Bell and baseball cards to be everywhere once again.
