Chick-fil-A's Golden Cup Wins You Free Food for a Year
A special sweepstakes has Chick-fil-A playing Willy Wonka.
Fans lucky enough to find Chick-fil-A's Golden Fan Cup, a $3.99 beverage container, will get 52 free entrées from the fast-food chain. One for each week of the year. Contest runs until July 1.
The cup works like a "golden ticket" and is part of a line of "Classic Cups" that come in four other designs. Each cup is sold wrapped, so customers won't know which one they bought or if they won until they remove the wrapper.
The Classic Cups and Golden Fan Cup promotion celebrates Chick-fil-A's 80th anniversary. The fast-food chicken chain based in College Park, Georgia, is also selling new beverages and Specialty Plush Cow toys to commemorate the milestone.
How to Win
Buy a Classic Cup for $3.99. Each one comes wrapped so you can't see the design before purchasing.
One of four retro-inspired cup designs will roll out every few weeks while supplies last. Randomly dispersed among the cups nationwide are 3,000 Golden Fan Cups. Winners scan a QR code on the cup to claim their prize.
What You Actually Get
Winners can claim up to 52 entrées, one per week for a year. Entrée options at participating restaurants include the Original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Chick-fil-A Nuggets.
The Odds
With only 3,000 Golden Fan Cups dispersed nationwide among who knows how many total cups, odds aren't great. But better than a lottery ticket at least.
You're basically gambling $3.99 on the chance of winning roughly $260 worth of free chicken sandwiches over the course of a year. If you were planning to buy a cup anyway, you might as well take the shot.
Limited to One Per Week
Winners get one free entrée per week, not 52 entrées all at once. So, no, you can't stockpile them or use multiple in one week. One sandwich a week for 52 weeks.
This makes sense from Chick-fil-A's perspective. It prevents winners from showing up and claiming all 52 sandwiches on day one and spreads the redemptions out over the year, which keeps winners coming back regularly.
The Willy Wonka Marketing Strategy
Wrapping the cups so you can't see what you're getting until after purchase is straight out of the Willy Wonka playbook. It creates excitement, gets people buying multiple cups hoping to find a golden one.
Chick-fil-A's done promotions like this before. The wrapped mystery element drives sales because people want to collect all the designs or get lucky with a winner.
80th Anniversary Celebration
The promotion is part of Chick-fil-A's 80th anniversary. Founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy in Hapeville, Georgia. It started as the Dwarf Grill, later became the Dwarf House, eventually evolved into Chick-fil-A.
It is now one of the largest fast-food chains in the country despite being closed Sundays. That policy alone makes them stand out in the industry.
Other Anniversary Items
Besides the Classic Cups and Golden Fan Cup promotion, Chick-fil-A is selling new beverages and Specialty Plush Cow toys. The cows have been part of their marketing since the "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign started in 1995.
Those plush cows will probably become collectibles. People collect weird stuff, and limited-edition fast-food toys from an 80th anniversary promotion definitely qualify.
What It Comes Down To
Chick-fil-A is celebrating 80 years by hiding 3,000 Golden Fan Cups among wrapped Classic Cup purchases nationwide. Find one and you get 52 free entrées, one per week for a year.
It costs $3.99 to play. You're buying a cup either way, so the gamble is whether you get a regular design or hit the golden ticket. Odds aren't disclosed but with only 3,000 winners nationwide, they're not great.
Still, people love these mystery promotions. It scratches the same itch as lottery tickets or collectible blind boxes. Plus, you get a cup out of it regardless, so it's not a total loss if you don't win.
One free sandwich a week for a year is worth roughly $260 depending on which entrées you choose. It’s not life-changing money, but enough to make lunch free every Tuesday for a year or whatever day you pick.
The promotion runs until July 1, so you've got about six months to try your luck. Whether it's worth buying multiple cups hoping to find a golden one depends on how much you like Chick-fil-A and how lucky you feel.