Members of the original Star Wars generation likely remember these posters. These 18″ x 24″ posters (by artist Del Nichols) were produced by Coca-Cola as a promotional item from both Burger King and Burger Chef in 1977.
The posters were available for free with the purchase of a Coca-Cola for 49 cents. Four different posters were produced: Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. Images are included below.
This 1977 commercial advertises the poster offer, and includes Anthony Daniels reprising his role as C-3PO. Keep an eye out for actress Denise Nickerson as the girl at the counter. She is best known for her roles in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the 1970s soap opera “Dark Shadows.”
Following are individual poster images:
Although they are not exactly rare and are currently inexpensive to obtain, they make for some impressive and unique artwork to hang in your Star Wars room or home theater. They were available rolled, and while there are some variations in the posters themselves, they do not affect the value. Posters are available with either Burger King or Burger Chef markings, and some posters have a white border, while others (like the ones shown above) are full-bleed.
Back in 2007, an individual who owned the original artwork to these posters posted about them on the collector’s forum at Rebelscum.com. He stated his father was a Coca Cola executive and had obtained the original artwork the posters were made from, and pictures of the original artwork were posted on Rebelscum.com’s forum. You can click here to check them out. Also included is a letter from George Lucas’ secretary at Lucasfilm, which states that Lucas believes the artwork is worth about $100,000 for all four pieces, although he declined the owner’s offer to purchase them himself.
Bruce Hershenson of EMoviePosters.com provides a bit more info on the different versions of the posters, of which there were four, based on how they were distributed: “There was a set of 4 posters and one of the four deals was distributed through Burger Kings, and at the bottom of each, it said ‘A poster series from The Coca-Cola Company and
Burger King,’ and each had ‘Number One of Four,’ etc. The second deal was through another burger chain, now defunct, Burger Chef, and at the bottom of each, it said ‘A poster series from The Coca-Cola Company and Burger Chef Systems Inc.’ The third set was distributed in Japan only, and at the bottom of each of those, it said ‘A poster series from The
Coca-Cola Company (Japan).’ The fourth set was distributed in the U.S. by Coca-Cola, it said ‘An original poster series from The Coca-Cola Company.‘
This YouTube
Post your thoughts in the comments section below on the Burger Chef and Burger King posters. In addition, share this on social media.
It looks like these are no longer available on Amazon. They can be found at ThePosterBiz.com Here's a link to the actual Star Wars set. They have the Burger Chef version. http://www.theposterbiz.com/ORIGINAL-1977-STAR-WARS-POSTERS–Set-of-Four-18X24-Rare-Posters-_p_542.html
I'm selling sets of these posters right now on eBay…new old stock! Here's the link if anyone is interested: http://www.ebay.com/itm/181930481866?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649