The 7 Up Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Game
Fortune and Glory in the soda aisle
Back in 1984, when Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom hit the screens, it wasn't just mine car chases and ancient curses that had fans buzzing. 7 Up, seizing the moment like Indy grabbing his hat from under a closing stone door, launched the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Game. This was no ordinary promo; it was like finding a golden idol in your local supermarket. For a die-hard Indy fan, which I proudly was (and still am), this game was a treasure map to excitement.
The deal was simple: grab a game card from any participating supermarket or your local paper during the week of May 20, 1984. If the character on your card matched the one in the store display EXACTLY, boom, you won a prize. EXACTLY was the important word. You could have a card with Indy on it, and you needed to make sure the Indy you had wasn't different from the display version.
The prizes were the stuff of legend. The grand prize winners would be jetting off on a two-week adventure to India, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka—or pocketing a cool $10,000. Then there were TVs, VCRs (with a Raiders of the Lost Ark cassette, no less), exclusive T-shirts, and loads of 7 Up coupons with a side of Indy mini-posters. They even had a second chance draw for the big stuff that nobody claimed. This meant just sending in a 3×5 card with your info for a drawing. I was big on these sorts of entries, although I never won.
Now, finding one of these game cards turned grocery shopping trips with my family into an adventure. Every soda aisle or featured endcap held the potential for discovery. I haven't been able to confirm this exactly, but I believe the characters we were hoping to match were Indy, Short Round, Mola Ram, Willie Scott, and Chattar Lal.
Striding into the supermarket, spotting that Indy-themed display—it made me feel more connected to the movie. The air buzzed with possibility. Would today be the day you'd win the big trip, or at least snag a poster?
7 Up didn't just throw up a few store displays and call it a day. They went all out. There were commercials that I found thrilling at the time, one featured the legendary Geoffrey Holder, the 7 Up spokesperson, and another diving straight into the heart of Temple of Doom. It felt like 7 Up got it. They knew why we loved Indy, and they played it up perfectly.
That year, 7 Up would spend $13 million on 7 Up television advertising, which would be close to $40 million today. A good portion went to this Temple of Doom Tie-in. For fans like me, this was a good investment. I enjoyed 7 Up and Like Cola, but this contest broadened their appeal by associating them with one of my heroes. I still think this might be why I like 7 Up so much.
Despite my Indiana Jones-level dedication, nabbing the grand prize eluded me. I did, however, land a fourth prize—coupons and a mini-poster. Though, to my disappointment, the spoils never made their way to my mailbox. But the thrill of the hunt? That was real. And even after the promo ended, I carried my game card around like a talisman. First I think I just wasn't sure the promotion was over, but eventually it would act as a reminder of the excitement of the contest.
Years later, I stumbled upon one of those mini-posters from the fourth prize. Turns out, it was part of a series of four. Which might have been the same posters they were giving out at the store. They were two-sided. One side had a standalone poster, and the other side had part of a larger poster. When you put all four together, you got a much larger Temple of Doom poster. Now, as an adult with a bit more disposable income and the same burning love for all things Indy, I've toyed with the idea of collecting them all. Because, why not? It's a small way to keep the adventure alive.
Reflecting on it now, the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Game was more than a marketing stunt. Like most good contests, it helped to move 7 Up product while building excitement. In a small way, it helped to transform us from passive viewers into participants in Indy's world with the promise of world travel. For a few months in 1984, I wasn't just watching the adventure; I could really dream about being a part of it. And that, my friends, is marketing gold.
So here's to 7 Up, for understanding the heart of an Indy fan and for a game that, decades later, still brings a smile to my face. It wasn't just about the prizes (okay, it kind of was), but about feeling closer to the world of Indiana Jones. And isn't that what every fan dreams of?