Am I the only person who remembers this!? I have asked my husband, my sister, my parents, assorted friends, and even several co-workers and NOBODY remembers it! Way back in 1992, the Barq's rootbeer company offered Soviet souvenirs to customers who sent in a 12 pack proof of purchase and .50 postage, in return you would get a randomly selected item from the former Soviet Union. I researched the promotion and found a lot of information about the actual promotion. The story behind the promotion is kind of a crazy one. But, it makes the items all the more interesting.
It basically was a last minute idea to boost the company's summer time sales. I also searched to see if I could find pictures or Ebay auctions of other "Russian Stuff" from the promotion. But, I only found 2 pictures. One on flikr and one on Esty. Did the items not survive the 90's either?
I have always been curious about the items that I received. I have never been exactly sure what they were. The first piece is some sort of ribbon, I am guessing. It is a small piece of muslin or other light weight cotton fabric. As you can see in the picture, it is printed in red with the image of a flower or thistle possibly. Inside the flower image is some type of naval war ship or submarine. There is also some sort of Russian wording on it, but I have no clue what it says. 
The second item that I have is a Lenin Day pin. Thanks to the above mentioned Etsy listing, I finally figured out what the pin is. If you google search, there are literally hundreds of different lapel and hat pins for Lenin Day.
If anybody remembers this promotion or you got some Soviet stuff from it, leave me a comment! I would love to know I am not the only one who remembers this.
I recall this promotion very well. In fact, it won several awards for its innovative approach to value-added promotions. I sent in two 12-pack cardboard proofs of purchase and got two different Lenin pins, two May Day ribbons, two industrial medals and two stamps in total.
ReplyDeleteAt first the Barqs people didn't have ANY merchandise and borrowed some from thrift stores to impress a visiting newspaper reporter that was doing one on the first news stories on the promotion. Then they took a fistful of cash over to Moscow, bought truckloads of the now-useless trinkets and began sending them out to their root beer customers.
This promotion brought Barqs to the attention of Coke, which acquired the firm. Brilliant promotion... and I still have my Soviet stuff framed!
Hey, I see this is an old post but a Google search brought me here because I wanted to see who else remembered this fun promotion. I got a couple of pins, stamps, and a ribbon, as well as the Gorby birthmark temporary tattoo! Remember that?
ReplyDeleteHey, I see this is an old post but a Google search brought me here because I wanted to see who else remembered this fun promotion. I got a couple of pins, stamps, and a ribbon, as well as the Gorby birthmark temporary tattoo! Remember that?
ReplyDeleteLMAO !! I have a TON of this stuff still packed away in the attic !!
ReplyDelete