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Card of the Day: Al Kaline 1954 Topps #201

Posted on April 18, 2020 by sportscardinfo

Filed under: Card of the Day | Tagged: 1954, al, card, day, kaline, of, the, topps | Leave a comment »

Al Kaline/Alkaline: Duracell’s Missed Marketing Opportunity

Posted on November 27, 2019 by sportscardinfo

This holiday season the chances are fairly high that many of you will receive high-tech gadgets which will require batteries. For the most part, I’ve always been an Energizer guy. Those Ultimate Lithium batteries seem to last forever in my stuff.

My mind continues to be blown away when I see the different types of card sets certain companies made for promotional purposes. Cards have been used as promos since the dawn of time, but during the 80’s and 90’s it got really junky. Throughout 1993, Duracell ran a promotion for their customers. The whole master set of 1993 Duracell Power Players consists of (48) cards. It was split up between Series 1 and Series 2. Each has (24) cards a piece. When it comes to the design, there really isn’t anything earth shattering to talk about. The card’s front features an action shot of a star from the time. Probably the biggest thing to standout is the Duracell battery on the top. On the back you’ll find the normal stats, closeup picture of the player, and a facsimile signature. None of the cards have team logos. They’ve all been airbrushed out. But they were allowed to use the official team names.

If you bought a Duracell Saver Pack one of these packs could’ve been yours. Duracell also offered them to customers who bought other products and could supply a proof of purchase. This is one set most collectors have forgotten about. It doesn’t contain any rookies, and is mass produced. Duracell should have figured out a way to include Al Kaline in this set. His name sounds just like the type of batteries they sell – Al Kaline/Alkaline. The only difference is the space between the two words. How did their marketing people miss that one?