Doing Star Wars the Burger King Way

For many who experienced the original Star Wars trilogy in theaters back in the late 1970s and early 80s, memories of weekly visits to their local Burger King to get the latest Star Wars collectible glass or poster are closely tied to the nostalgia associated with those exciting Star Wars summers. Burger King hosted several different Star Wars promotions during the years of the original trilogy, beginning with a 1978 premium poster promotion and finishing with a set of four Return of the Jedi glasses. Today, collectors still seek out these cool premiums to complete their original sets or to relive a bit of the fun that came with collecting before the digital age offered virtual instant gratification to collectors.

The first Star Wars promotion to come to Burger King was a set of four posters painted by Del Nichols, which still displays marvelously as a set but they are difficult to find (unless you find a much more common set printed up for defunct restaurant chain Burger Chef). The four posters featured the heroes and villains of A New Hope, with the depiction of Han Solo amusingly much smaller than that of his co-pilot Chewbacca. Offered free with the purchase of a soda over the course of four weeks, this promotion soon gave way to a second offer of four collectible glass tumblers.

Like the posters, each glass was available for one week only, with the entire campaign lasting just four weeks. Collectors who had missed a glass were often asked to return after the promotion was over to ask about any extras available. Graphics similar to those depicted on the posters were used on the glasses, which could be had for the purchase price of a regular soda in 1978 (about 59 cents!). What's more, these were offered in the days when restaurant chains could actually offer real glass tumblers to kids as premiums--today, tumblers are made of plastic.

Though the Star Wars posters and glasses promotions didn't arrive on the scene until the year after the film's release, Burger King was able to kick off their Empire Strikes Back campaign during the sequel's summer run. Starting in July, 1980, a new glass promotion similar to the Star Wars series was launched, this time depicting stunning Empire graphics on four new glasses. Collectors could grab a Darth Vader, droids, Lando, or Luke glass for the price of a regular Coke. One was offered each week, with any extras available in the fifth.

The following year, still rolling on the momentum of the summer sequel, Burger King launched The Empire Strikes Back "Super Scene Collection" in January, 1981. For each week during the month, a different set of 12 stickers could be had by purchasing a Coke, with 48 stickers in all. These could be used to fill out a special large-size booklet, recreating 12 different scenes from the film.

Amazingly, the following June, a full year after the film's release, Burger King was still driving their Empire campaign. A third promotion (can you imagine three promotions spread out over a year from a single movie these days?) called the "Everybody Wins Game" was launched, which featured scratch-off game cards that each yielded a prize. Players could win an Atari Video Game System, handheld electronic games, Empire Strikes Back flying disks, or Star Wars and Empire trading cards. The full set of 36 cards could only be assembled three at a time, so fans would need to keep playing to get them all. Oh, and you had to be 12 years old, or younger, to play!

For Return of the Jedi, Burger King was able to offer the first in a set of four all new collectible glasses on May 27, just two days after the film's release (these days, promotions typically precede a film's release). This time, fans could get Jabba's Court, Sarlacc Pit, Ewok Village, or Emperor's Throne Room throughout the four-week promotion. Interestingly, Massachusetts state law prohibited restaurant chains from issuing glass tumblers, so hard plastic versions were offered instead. Gathering a full set of the plastic foursome has become a popular challenge for today's Burger King collectors.

For Revenge of the Sith, Burger King has returned to the Star Wars universe after a 22-year hiatus. Fans have a lot to look forward to with this expansive promotion, which includes no less than 31 different kid's meal toys ranging from wind-ups to water squirters. In addition, the "Everybody Wins" game has been resurrected, to a degree, with the "Choose Your Destiny" game, in which each one of 49 different scratcher game pieces is a potential winner. Hardcore collectors will probably want to gather the peripheral material as well -- plastic soda cups, french fry containers, bags, and the paper Burger King crowns have all been issued sporting Star Wars graphics. For the truly ambitious, there are also posters, banners, and other display material that may become available to persistent collectors after the promotion ends.

The latest from Burger King will undoubtedly please many Star Wars fans and collectors with such an extensive assortment of premiums available. And with Leia one of the 31 exclusive figures offered, fans can, for the first time ever, order their burger -- and princess-- with buns.