Promotional
A big part of merchandising
are tie-ins to assorted products. Here, you'll find all sorts of material associated with
promotional items from food companies like McDonald's. Some were meant for public
acquisiton, and some not. Either way, they're all collectable!
McDonald's Products
Happy Meal Toys
McDonald's' MD:TAS promotion lasted for four
weeks, and during each week a specific character toy was distributed in Happy Meal boxes.
Wildwing, Nosedive, Mallory, and Duke are featured on differently colored hockey pucks,
with rubberized edges and ball-bearing bottoms to make them roll smoothly. Each figure
also has their name and jersey number printed on their backs.
Happy Meal Boxes
Pictured above is one of two designs of Happy
Meal boxes used during the MD:TAS promotion period. Each design features different clip
art pictures of the team, as well as games that can be played by punching out sections of
the box and rolling the toy pucks through.
McDonald's In-Store
Toy Display
Never intended for public sale, these
cardboard displays had each of the toys fastened to them and were placed in a plastic case
inside McDonald's stores to advertise the promotion. Because of the fact that they are
supposed to be disposed of after use, they are quite collectable and available only
through online auction sites.
McDonald's
Trans-lite Display
Trans-lites are colored sheets of plastic
that are used to display pictures of toy promotions or menu items on screens either
overhead behind the ordering counter, or outside on a drive-thru ordering board. This
particular trans-lite piece was only on display for the four weeks of the MD:TAS
promotion. They were not made for public sale and were supposed to be disposed of after
use. Because of this, they are highly collectable and quite rare, even in online auctions.
Nestle Wonderball
Box and Toys
In Japan, it is popular to package chocolate
candies with small plastic figurines, often called 'yowies'. Nestle's version of the trend
is the Wonderball. In its first version, it was a hollow chocolate ball that contained a
plastic figure inside. Because of the obvious choking hazard it presented to children, the
figurine was quickly replaced with smaller candies, and a sticker on the outside of the
ball. While the first version was still in stores, its box featured Wildwing, and a series
of MD:TAS toys could be collected from inside. There was also a small leaflet distributed
in the boxes to advertise the complete set. Because Nestle recalled the first version of
the Wonderball so quickly, the figurines are very rare, to say nothing of a complete set
with the leaftlet, as pictured above. I have only run across these once in an online
auction.
Pepperidge Farms
Goldfish Temporary Tattoos
For a short time, Goldfish crackers came in a special Mighty Ducks package with
one of a series of four designs of temporary tattoos inside. The designs including a
skating Nosedive, a skating Goldfish cracker, the MD:TAS logo, and crossed hockey sticks.
The promotion was advertised through displays in coupon ads.
Pillsbury Sticker
'Pog' Pucks
Available through a mail-in offer by
Pillsbury Foods, were three different kinds of plastic pucks with removable lids. One side
of the puck featured a sticker design, while smaller stickers were stored inside. These
stickers are pog-sized, and may have been intended for decorating blank pogs. The stickers
themselves feature clip art on various backgrounds, some of the clip art exclusive to the
stickers. Because these mail-in products are rarely redeemed and their contents rarely
kept in good shape, they make excellent and rare collectables when they are found.
Notes: You'll
be very hard pressed to find these collector's sets in any condition. They have vanished
from store shelves long ago. The only place to find them now is online in auctions, and
then you should expect the sets to be damaged or missing parts. It'll take patience and a
sharp eye to find them now.
