Burger King Tries Pokemon Cards to Solve Toy Shortage

Burger King Corp. said Thursday that it is offering sheets of Pokemon trading cards as a way to solve the chronic toy shortage plaguing its popular Pokemon promotion, which runs through the end of the month.

The Miami-based burger chain began distributing full-size sheets of Pokemon cards to restaurants to use when they run out of the plastic Pokemon toys, which come free with the purchase of Kids Meals.

The chain’s inability to keep the toy characters in stock in some restaurants has left many parents angry and some disappointed children in tears.

The chain’s $22-million promotion, tied to the Warner Bros. film “Pokemon: The First Movie,” features 57 collectible toys and 151 trading cards. Though the chain ordered an unprecedented 100 million toys for the campaign, widespread shortages were being reported within days of its launch in early November.

Each of the new, perforated sheets contains nine cards. The cards were specifically designed for the Burger King campaign as a second effort to fill in when the toys aren’t available. Previously, Pokemon posters were used as replacements.

Burger King conceded last month that it would likely run out of toys before the end of the two-month promotion.

To counter public relations damage, the company’s president, Paul Clayton, took out full-page advertisements in several major newspapers to apologize for the shortages and explain that “the demand for toys is greater than our ability to supply in some markets.”

Burger King, which has 8,000 restaurants in the U.S., said Pokemon is the most successful promotion in its history. Some restaurants are selling 1,000 Kids Meals a day, the company said.