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Cracker Jack Replacing Toy Prizes With Digital Codes For New App, Ending A 125-Year-Old Tradition

By Pam Wright
Published on: 00:39 PST, Apr 23, 2016

Cracker Jack will be ending a 125-year-old tradition by replacing the beloved toy prizes inside its boxes with a digital code to access a “baseball-inspired mobile digital experience directly from the sticker inside.”

According to a statement released Thursday by PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Division, Cracker Jackers will now find a digital code for a baseball-themed mobile app they can download deep inside the box of caramel-coated corn and peanuts.

Haston Lewis, senior director of marketing for Frito-Lay, said in the release that a new day is dawning for lovers of Cracker Jack.

“The Cracker Jack Prize Inside has been as much a part of the nostalgia and love for the brand as the unforgettable combination of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. The new prize inside allows families to enjoy their favorite baseball moments through a new one-of-a-kind mobile experience, leveraging digital technology to bring the iconic prize inside to life.”

This isn’t the first time Cracker Jack has made a significant change to its surprise. According to NBC News, trinket surprises like decoder rings and toy figurines were replaced with paper prizes that shared riddles and jokes, and in 2013, Frito-Lay began rolling out codes for people to redeem on an app through Google Play.

Frito-Lay is taking it a bit further this time by offering fans a QR code to be used in conjunction with a downloadable app.

Using the Blippar app, available for iOS and Android devices, Cracker Jack aficionados will be able to scan the sticker to access four “baseball-themed experiences” — Dot Dash, Dance Cam, Get Carded and Baseball Star to “enjoy bringing the ballpark to life on your mobile device,” according to the news release.

Along with the new digital prize, Cracker Jack comes with all new box-free packaging and a new logo, which are all part of an overhaul of the brand.

Fans might find it odd to find Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo on the side of a bag of Cracker Jack now instead of on the familiar box.

According to Gizmodo, the familiar “waxed” cardboard package was invented in 1899 and has stuck around with only minor modifications ever since.

Twitter is replete with some unhappy Cracker Jack campers after the announcement.

Cracker Jack was the invention of Frederick William Rueckheim, a German immigrant known informally as “Fritz,” and his brother, who sold popcorn in Chicago beginning in 1871, according to CrackerJack.com.

According to an urban legend, Rueckheim produced a popcorn confection and presented it to the public at the World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago’s first world’s fair) in 1896.

The sweet confection became even more popular and associated with baseball when Jack Norwith penned baseball’s anthem, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” urging baseball-goers to “buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks,” during a 30-minute subway ride in 1908. The music to accompany Norwith’s lyrics was written by Albert Von Tilzer.

Give us your thoughts on the changes to Cracker Jack in the comment section below.

[Image via PRNewswire: PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay]

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