It is easy to forget about just how much hype there was for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999. Today, the mention of the movie elicits a shoulder shrug from nearly everyone, but it was a pretty big deal at the time. As you expect from big deals, there was a ton of promotion crossover.
Of those efforts, the Star Wars Episode I collectible cups at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC were the absolute worse. The Pepsi-owned food outlets were included in a $2 billion global marketing alliance the drinks maker signed with Lucasfilm in 1996. Throughout the late 90s, Pepsi brands as well as FritoLay products were covered with Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Yoda.
As the movie franchise geared up for the release of a prequel in 1999, PepsiCo needed to cash in on this. Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC were a big part of its plans. Annoyingly, each eatery didn’t have their own unique Star Wars sets. Everything was separated as follows:
- Taco Bell – Planet Tatooine
- KFC – Planet Naboo
- Pizza Hut – Planet Coruscant
This meant you had to go to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC in order to collect the entire set of Star Wars Episode I collectible cups. That sucked.
Related: The chili cheese fry burrito from Wienerschnitzel was a fast food masterpiece
For starters, nobody likes Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. Most people will be okay with one or two of the three, but you’d be hard pressed to find a person who enjoyed the trio. Secondly, Pizza Hut is an entirely different experience from Taco Bell and KFC. Ordering pizza in the 1990s was like a $20 endeavor. The other two are fast food joints.
The biggest problem here was the fact that it was a struggle to live in a place that had easy access to all three. Sacramento is a fairly big city with plenty of Taco Bells and Pizza Huts. Getting to a KFC was another issue. They existed but were far more spread out. Other cities had their own ratio challenges.
This was just a petty move. No one ended up ordering more from different brands to get their hands on all 12 cups. They were forced to go into a restaurant they didn’t want to be in and order four large sodas. That’s not entirely true. Seemingly no restaurant had all four cups in stock which meant you had to go to multiple outlets under each brand. Buying a large soda in three different Pizza Huts was embarrassing.
The Star Wars Episode I collectible cups at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC weren’t collectible
There was another problem with the Star Wars collectible cups at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. They weren’t actually collectible. Everyone just assumed any merchandise from the film franchise would be worth money someday.
The Star Wars collectible cups at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC have proven that to be false. Here is a set of eight cups going for $25 on eBay. Considering these sold for $2.99 in 1999, there has been no appreciation. This set of four at $9.95 is actually less than what they retailed for. People are losing money on the investment.
Sure, there are plenty of sellers with these cups asking for more money, but it is pretty obvious they aren’t getting it. Everything about this promotion has been a total waste of time. Unless you like drinking from a Jar Jar Binks cup that is.
