The McDonald's Pokemon Card Promotion Can't Live Up to Burger King
While the Pokemon Trading Card Game has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity lately, fans are taking solace in the influx of new Pokemon-related products being made. If they can find some in stock, that is. With the Pokemon 25th Anniversary being this year, 2021, the series has been celebrating through every path imaginable.
As for recent announcements, fans have discovered that McDonald's will be taking part in the celebrations with its own special Pokemon 25th Anniversary Happy Meal Toys. More notably, though, these "toys" will also include special promotional trading cards, each of which can be found as a holographic. Now, while many Pokemon fans may already be excited, some older fans of the franchise have started posting their memories of what is generally considered one Pokemon's more unique fast-food promotions: Burger King's gold cards.
Before delving into the Burger King gold cards, it's probably important to understand exactly what McDonald's upcoming 25th Anniversary promo consists of. The upcoming 2021 Happy Meal promotion will be comprised of two parts: a traditional "toy" (e.g. sticker sheets, a cute Pikachu frame) and a 4-card booster pack containing cards from a special new promo set.
The new McDonald's promo set consists of 25 different cards, each also available in holofoil form, giving fans a total of 50 distinct cards to collect. The 25th Anniversary celebration cards feature Pikachu, and each of the series' starters from Kanto to Galar. Which is to say, the following Pokemon will be available in McDonald's 25th Anniversary 4-packs:
Region - Pokemon
- Kanto - Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu
- Johto - Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile
- Hoenn - Mudkip, Torchic, Treecko
- Sinnoh - Chimchar, Piplup, Turtwig
- Unova - Oshawott, Snivy, Tepig
- Kalos - Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie
- Alola - Litten, Popplio, Rowlet
- Galar - Grookey, Scorbunny, Sobble
While all 25 of the cards' artworks are reprinted from existing cards, these editions will bear a special "25th Anniversary" star stamp and be printed on unique holofoil paper used only for McDonald's promo cards. In all likelihood, those two facts will help add a little value to the cards, aside from the nostalgic value they already carry.
Each Happy Meal is supposed to include one pack of cards and one "toy," though customers are generally able to buy the toys separately. Current leaks indicate that the retail price of the individual 4-card booster packs will be $1.99, but this is yet to be confirmed. In a similar vein, the promotion is supposed to begin on February 9, 2021, with small discrepancies expected depending on physical location. Once the promo is officially underway, fans will be able to get a better idea of both the price and relative rarity of these promos.
However, those familiar with the arguably historic Burger King x Pokemon gold card promo in 1999 may not be as impressed. From the get-go, it's obvious this promo was a special deal because there wasn't anything misleading or tricky about the title, as the gold cards being offered as part of Burger King's promo were genuinely 23-karat gold-plated Pokemon cards. Each relatively hefty card featured one of six different Pokemon, all of which were featured during the Pokemon: The First Movie, which had just been released. Needless to say, these gold cards were quite the welcome surprise for fans.
To boot, each of these six golden cards came in a simple protective plastic case, which was then placed inside a lovely over-sized Poke Ball. These could then be used as display cases for the gold cards, which rather than bearing the usual attack moves and retreat costs seen on Pokemon cards, simply gave fans a short Pokedex entry on the Pokemon. Given the skyrocketing popularity of mysterious Johto Pokemon like Togepi at the time, it's no surprise that these gold cards became wildly sought after.
And while there were also simpler, more traditional fast-food toys being distributed with Burger King Kids Meals at the time, these special gold card were simply available for purchase at Burger King. This additional detail is often forgotten when discussing these promotional cards, but it really does make a world of difference to many of the series' adult fans. Whereas players have to hope that their local McDonald's will be okay with selling the cards/toys individually (or purchasing multiple Happy Meals), the Burger King gold cards were only available for individual purchase: a sweet Pokemon promo without the potentially awkward "seven Kids Meals please!"
Of course, even fans of the Burger King gold cards are forced to acknowledge the fact that they simply aren't cards. Practically speaking, they have nothing to do with the Pokemon Trading Card Game, dazzling and gold-plated as they may be. In this regard, promos like McDonald's upcoming 25th Anniversary cards are much more valuable. While promo cards themselves aren't always competitively viable or permissible, they are Pokemon cards nonetheless.
There's also the gambling aspect. Burger King's gold cards were all available for purchase, so fans simply had to hope there were some in stock. Moreover, there were no variants—just the six distinct gold cards. On the other hand, McDonald's promo cards come in packets of four random cards each, one of which will be holographic. And because all 25 of the set's cards are being printed as holos, fans have a grand total of 50 different cards to collect. So for those into the thrill of ripping packs open, McDonald's promos may seem a bit more enticing.
All things considered, Burger King's fabled gold cards and McDonald's upcoming 25th Anniversary set are two different sorts of promos. Burger King may have offered 90s Pokemon Trainers a shot at fabulous gold collectibles, but there were only six to collect, and no special and/or rare variants. That being said, it made for a relatively less frantic, and more accessible, collection process. McDonald's promos are reprinted cards with a special promo holographic print and stamp, but they're only available for purchase in random assortments of four.
While the thrill of random chance may be enticing, it also means players may find themselves with many duplicates before collecting the entire set. Not to mention, those hoping for every holo will be looking at a sizable total of 50 cards to chase. Given that the promo's end date hasn't been confirmed and cards will only be available while supplies last, it won't be surprising to see McDonalds quickly running out of stock. Regardless of how it goes down, nostalgia is important in a franchise like Pokemon, and the gold cards will always have a special place in many fans' hearts.
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