The Baseball Card Craze and Long John Silver’s Promotions
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, baseball cards were all the rage among kids and collectors alike. Nearly every place kids frequented seemed to offer baseball cards as promotions or prizes. One such establishment taking advantage of the baseball card craze was the Long John Silver’s seafood chain.
Long John Silver’s realized that kids loved baseball cards and would flock to any establishment giving them away. So throughout the late 80s and early 90s, the chain rolled out numerous baseball card promotions sure to attract young customers. Some promotions included including packs of cards with kids’ meals, running contests where entry was a baseball card, and even whole sets given away with a certain amount of purchases.
Baseball cards were the perfect promotional tie-in for Long John Silver’s. The nostalgia and collectability aspect attracted kids, while the fairly low production costs meant the chain could give away packs or full sets profitably. All the while, kids would associate Long John Silver’s with fun baseball prizes and be more likely to stop in frequently. The marketing strategy proved very successful for the chain.
Some notable Long John Silver’s baseball card promotions from the era included:
1988 “Kids Eat Free” Contest – To promote its new kids’ meal options, LJS ran a summer-long contest where kids could mail in the front of a 1988 Topps baseball card for a chance to win free kids’ meals for a year. Dozens of local winners were chosen.
1990 All-Star Game Set Giveaway – In conjunction with the 1990 MLB All-Star Game held in Chicago that year, Long John Silver’s distributed complete sets of 1990 All-Star Game commons to customers who purchased a kids’ meal. Each set included 24 red-bordered cards.
1991 Rookie Cups Promotion – To highlight the best rookie players, LJS offered baseball card attached to the outside of kid’s drink cups featuring the Top 50 rookie prospects as voted by baseball experts. Cards could also be redeemed for food prizes.
1992 World Series Champs Inserts – When the Toronto Blue Jays won the 1992 World Series, LJS distributed special green-bordered Champions insert cards of Blue Jays players to first 250 customers each day for a month afterwards.
1993 Home Run Kings Sweepstakes – Touting the home run prowess of stars like McGwire and Bonds, LJS ran a season-long contest where entries were the 1993 Topps Home Run Kings subset cards. Grand prizes included sets autographed by sluggers.
The clever Long John Silver’s promotions introduced new kids to the hobby while satisfying existing collectors. For parents, the added baseball card perks meant satisfied kids more likely to enjoy their meal. And the promotions were a winner for LJS, keeping the chain’s brand fresh in kid customers’ minds yearly through the cards.
While the promotions mostly centered around mainstream Topps issues of the time, LJS sometimes partnered with regional or independent card companies too. The Gateway Grizzlies, a Midwest minor league team, even produced exclusive “Shrimpboat” caricature cards for giveaways at select coastal Long John Silver’s locations one summer.
By catering campaigns to yearly sporting events, new product releases, and baseball milestones, Long John Silver’s managed to sustain its baseball card promotions for several seasons running. The strategies introduced baseball memorabilia to a new generation of fans who fondly remember collecting at their local Long John’s. Even after the earlier baseball card boom faded, the promotions left a lasting impact linking the chain to childhood summer pleasures for many.
Long John Silver’s creative use of the immense baseball card popularity was a textbook example of attracting kids to restaurants through clever prizes doubling as collectibles. The strategies brought in customers both young and old during baseball’s peak collecting years. Decades later, the promotions remain fondly remembered as a unique piece of sports and fast food history from the late 20th century.
