In what is perhaps a sign of the times — and the ubiquity of smartphones and tablets — packages of Cracker Jack popcorn will no longer contain a tangible prize, but will instead will include a digital code that consumers can use to access a “baseball-inspired mobile digital experience.”
“The Cracker Jack Prize Inside has been as much a part of the nostalgia and love for the brands as the unforgettable combination of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts,” Haston Lewis, Frito-Lay’s senior director of marketing, said in a statement released Thursday. “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.”
Replacing the item, with a code-bearing sticker, brings to an end the longstanding tradition of finding a small prize buried under the popular snack of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts.
Trinket surprises had been previously replaced by paper surprised and jokes, Today.com reported. Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, in 2013 began distributing codes that were redeemable in an app through Google Play.
Using the Blippar app, available for iOS and Android devices, snackers will be be able to scan the sticker to access four “baseball-themed experiences” — Dot Dash, Dance Cam, Get Carded and Baseball Star, according to the news release:
Packages featuring an update of the signature Cracker Jack brand logo will also be seen in stores this month, the statement said.