Like everyone who walks this earth, we here at Promo Marketing wrestle with many topics but never with our affinity for wrestling, especially since the sport recently gave us another chance to champion the merits of Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers’ hijinks-loving mascot. Thanks to World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE), the party responsible for that hockey-centric promotion, we are also able to enhance our penchant for nostalgia, as the company has forged a partnership with our favorite trading cards, Garbage Pail Kids, for a bit of branding brilliance.
Our enthusiasm for wrestling, interestingly, matured at the same time we took a shine to collecting cards of all sorts, and Garbage Pail Kids—the irreverent parodies of Cabbage Patch Kid dolls—gave us the laughs that complemented the pride we felt in memorizing statistics from baseball and hockey cards. Fast forward a few decades, and here we are, ready to geek out over the use of current wrestlers and past superstars as T-shirt presences, with the Topps Company immortalizing WWE performers as Garbage Pail Kids.
We've teamed with the Garbage Pail Kids to give a new look to your favorite #WWE Superstars and Legends! The new line of t-shirts is on @WWEShop now: https://t.co/Rn856tWIAj pic.twitter.com/l1HpOtnUkp
— WWE (@WWE) March 11, 2019
It is this type of marketing genius that will forever have us touting the benefits of cross-branding. For those whose loyalties rest with the current crop of stars, the WWE Shop will honor such notables as Becky Lynch and John Cena via tees and hats. Those who came of age watching legends like Andre the Giant, Ric Flair and the Ultimate Warrior will be able to thank them for their body-slamming and pile-driving ways through shirts available at Spencer’s retail stores.
WWE x GPK 13 sticker set available now! 💚💥https://t.co/oM3H6kbK27 pic.twitter.com/WcjLI6p5GW
— Garbage Pail Kids (@GeePeeKay) March 12, 2019
As if those weren’t enough to compel us to be thankful for the partnership, Topps is proving it is tops by issuing trading card packs, starting today! We want to tear into them like “Macho Man” Randy Savage, another legend who finds himself receiving a tribute through this brainchild, would snap into a Slim Jim.
Garbage Pail Kids + WWE Trading Card Packs coming March 12! pic.twitter.com/Mf1fQBbkNk
— Garbage Pail Kids (@GeePeeKay) March 11, 2019
We think that this promotional relationship holds such clout that we can say it is almost enough to make us forget about “The Garbage Pail Kids Movie” that many consider one of the worst films ever made. Almost. Going forward, it could be neat for additional wrestlers to receive this trading card treatment. Perhaps the overseers could go back a little further in the sport’s history and give a nod to other pioneers, including the recently deceased King Kong Bundy. All of this has us thinking that we need a part-time job with Topps. Perhaps that will be in the “cards” one day.
