Upper Deck Celebrating 25 Years With Commemorative Product, Tons of Giveaways

For those looking to get free stuff from card companies, one of your year-long destinations will be Upper Deck, who is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2014.

Upper Deck burst on the scene in 1989, with the first product delivered to a Tulsa, Okla., card shop. The original cards featured high-quality glossy card stock, premium-quality photography and never-before-seen anti-counterfeit holograms. And there was that famous card of Ken Griffey Jr. that is still recognized by millions – full-blown collectors and non-collectors alike.

For 2014, Upper Deck will unveil a 250-card, 25th-anniversary multi-sport set, utilizing a design similar to its inaugural 1989 baseball card set, this summer. Upper Deck Certified Diamond Dealers already got special visits from Upper Deck staff delivering unique autographs cards to be passed onto customers.

“Our standard in 2014, as it has been every year since 1989, is to maintain Upper Deck’s position as the industry leader by continuing the tradition of quality craftsmanship, authenticity and innovation,” Upper Deck President Jason Masherah said. “We are proud of the extensive portfolio we’ve created over the last 25 years, and we’re excited to let fans know that we have several significant announcements planned over the course of the entire year, with some major activations tied to trade shows like the National Sports Collectors Convention and GenCon this summer.”

Upper Deck plans to include its most loyal fans in the 25th anniversary celebration with a series of social media contests and promotions.

A “Happy Birthday Upper Deck” contest will run through March 28 in which fans can create videos of themselves singing “Happy Birthday” to Upper Deck. One fan chosen for creating the best birthday tribute will receive a $2500 credit for a shopping spree at the Upper Deck Store (www.upperdeckstore.com) where they can score items like the LeBron James-autographed “Breaking Through” picture, a Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy dual-autographed “Focused” picture, or a Wayne Gretzky-autographed and framed “The Show” framed piece.

Videos lasting no longer than one minute should be posted to YouTube, and links emailed to Upper Deck at UpperDeckMarketing@upperdeck.com, posted on Upper Deck’s Facebook timeline (www.facebook.com/UpperDeck) or tweeted to @UpperDeckSports on Twitter using the hashtag #UpperDeck25. A selected panel from Upper Deck’s marketing team will judge each video based on overall quality, creativity and use of Upper Deck product in the video.