51s fans confused over Cracker Jack’s change
Cracker Jack’s new move to replace plastic toys with QR codes was met with a mixture of ambivalence and annoyance at the Las Vegas 51s game at Cashman Field on Friday.
Cracker Jack now comes with a slip of paper and fans have to download the app Blippar to see their prize.
Shannon Barone, 49, who has been buying Cracker Jack since 1981, said he thought the change was ridiculous.
“I wouldn’t spend my time pulling out my phone to code that. Why would I spend my time doing that?” Barone said. “It’s supposed to be a fun reaction in the moment.”
Barone said he mostly remembered receiving stickers and tattoos in his Cracker Jack. After going through the QR process — which allows fans to take a picture of themselves and customize a baseball card — he said he would still rather have those back.
“Obviously Cracker Jack is trying to advertise to an 8-year-old to maybe a 15-year-old,” Barone said. “I’d much rather have a tattoo on my arm, a sticker or maybe a riddle of some sort would be fun so I could talk to my father about the riddle.”
But other fans were more indifferent.
Ed Kennedy, 60, said he’s been buying Cracker Jack his whole life and the change doesn’t affect him.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Kennedy said. “I think the kids would prefer a toy.”
Fellow fan Travis Constantine, 47, said it didn’t matter to him, either, but after seeing the Blippar process play out, he seemed to like it.
“I think that’s cute for the kids,” he said, noting that it’s less of a choking hazard. “Something different.”
Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand
