After 125 years, folks, 125 YEARS! People, this is awful. Is there nothing sacred? The toys in the Cracker Jack box are classic and fun. They require a kid using their imagination. Not everything has to be digital, in fact, the digital experience removes us from the human experience. It has its place, but really, nothing will replace getting a mood ring or a dinosaur or even a toy gun! Yes, all teeny-tiny but that’s the point.
I suppose I should be grateful we still have boardgames like Monopoly.At the next TAMFest we need to have a boardgame night!
Here’s the sad news from Mental Floss.
After 125 years of including wrapped toy prizes in each Cracker Jack caramel popcorn box, parent company Frito-Lay is making a modern change. According to TODAY, Cracker Jack boxes will now come with a digital code that consumers can use to play baseball-themed games through a mobile app. The boxes themselves will also receive a makeover, with redesigned graphics and new versions of the iconic mascots, Sailor Jack and his dog, Bingo.
In a press release, Frito-Lay’s senior director of marketing, Haston Lewis, called the old prizes a “part of the nostalgia and love for the brand,” adding that the new gaming codes will provide a “one-of-a-kind mobile experience, leveraging digital technology to bring the iconic Prize Inside to life.”
The four new games include a simulated jumbo screen dancing experience, a dot race, and a digital baseball card maker that lets you be the star of the team.
Just so wrong.
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I’ll be bringing the most politically incorrect games I own including:
Subway Vigilante – played on a map of the NY subway system. Start with six cartridges. First one to make it through alive wins.
and Administration. Like Monopoly except you play against the government. Last one able to pay his taxes wins.
I loved Cracker Jack as a kid. I remember those flat plastic whistles as a prize. Oh well, another cheap thrill we had as kids that the newest generation will miss out on 😉