Krusty Burger Olympic Gamecard
The Krusty Burger Olympic Gamecard was a promotional campaign launched by the Krusty Burger chain during the 1984 Olympic Games.
History
The promotion featured "scratch-and-win" cards that revealed a specific Olympic event. If the U.S. Olympic Team won a gold medal in that event, customers could redeem the card for a free Krusty Burger. However, unbeknownst to the public, the cards were rigged to feature events in which athletes from Communist countries were more likely to win.
When Krusty received news of the Soviet Union's boycott of the Olympics, his plan quickly backfired. With the absence of major Communist competitors, the U.S. dominated the Games, causing Krusty to lose $44 million in giveaways due to the overwhelming number of free Krusty Burgers handed out to the citizens of Springfield.
On the final day of the Olympic Games, a furious Krusty appeared on live television, smoking and in tears. He angrily referred to his customers as "pigs" and vowed to spit in every fiftieth burger.
Behind the Laughter
The Krusty Burger scratch & win cards (and Krusty's resulting financial losses) were inspired by a promotional game McDonald's did for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics where an event would be revealed and prizes would be awarded dependent on whether Team USA scored a gold, silver, or bronze medal in that event. Prizes ranged from free McDonald's food to a $10,000 cash prize. Due to the boycott of the Games by the Soviet Union and its allies, Team USA won an unusually large number of medals, resulting in McDonald's losing millions of dollars in prize payouts for the promotion.
