Chick-fil-A launches 80th anniversary marketing campaign

For Chick-fil-A’s 80th anniversary, the chicken chain is going all out: retro packaging, collectible cups, themed merch and even the chance to win free food for a year.

The chain’s anniversary comes as the restaurant industry struggles with declining traffic. To win back diners, many restaurants have leaned into deals, buzzy promotions and larger marketing budgets.

As a privately held company, Chick-fil-A does not disclose quarterly financial results, but franchise disclosure documents show that the company’s system sales growth slowed to 5.4% in 2024, making it the first year in more than a decade with less than double-digit sales growth.

Chick-fil-A has stayed out of the so-called value wars other restaurants have leaned into to compete, but the anniversary gives the chain the opportunity to attract more customers to its restaurants. The yearlong marketing campaign kicks off on Monday and represents the biggest promotional push ever for Chick-fil-A. Khalilah Cooper, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand strategy, advertising and media, told CNBC that new advertising will spotlight the anniversary in both national TV spots and on social media.

At the center of the campaign is what the company is calling “newstalgia,” a portmanteau of “new” and nostalgia.”

“We’ve thought about this as a way to celebrate our heritage with customers who’ve been with us, potentially for decades, for all 80 years, or whether they’ve been with us for eight days or have never tried Chick-fil-A before,” Cooper said.

To start, Chick-fil-A is also rolling out four retro collectible cup designs every few weeks, inspired by the company’s archives and the shape of its 32-ounce cup. The chain is selling the cups for $3.99 at restaurants nationwide.

Plus, Chick-fil-A has come up with its own riff on Willy Wonka’s famous golden ticket: the Golden Fan Cup. The 3,000 customers who buy a collectible cup and receive the Golden Fan Cup will receive free Chick-fil-A for a year.

The chain will also give its iconic chicken sandwich limited-time, vintage-inspired packaging.

Chick-fil-A plans to sell themed merch through its website over the course of the year. Customers who visit its restaurants will also be able to purchase limited-edition designs of its stuffed cows.

Also as part of the campaign, Chick-fil-A is adding its frosted sodas and floats to its menu permanently, starting Monday. Customers can also expect to see more limited-time menu items throughout the year than Chick-fil-A typically offers, according to Cooper.

The focus on “newstalgia” will also be front and center at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday, when the Oregon Ducks face off against the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Chick-fil-A traces its roots to 1946, when S. Truett Cathy and his brother opened a restaurant called The Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. More than two decades later, Cathy opened the first Chick-fil-A location, with its trademark chicken sandwich. The business is still family owned, and Cathy’s grandson Andrew serves as its CEO.

The privately held chain’s system sales reached $22.74 billion in 2024, making it the third-largest restaurant chain in the U.S., trailing only McDonald’s and Starbucks. Over the past decade, Chick-fil-A has expanded far beyond its Southeastern stronghold, opening locations all across the U.S. and planning to expand its international business into the United Kingdom and Singapore.