McDonald’s 1984 Olympics Giveaway
As a promotion for the 1984 Olympic Games, McDonald’s offered scratch-off cards that contained the names of various sporting events. If America won a gold medal in a particular event, customers holding a corresponding scratch-off card could return it to McDonald’s for a free hamburger. It wasn’t a bad promotional idea in and of itself. But it became a disaster. Why? Because when the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics that year, America was able to clean up in many more events than usual, costing McDonald’s millions in unanticipated giveaways.