Chick-fil-A is launching its biggest marketing campaign ever as restaurant industry traffic shrinks

For Chick-fil-A’s 80th anniversary, the chicken chain is pulling out all the stops: retro packaging, collectible cups, themed merchandise 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 turned to deals, buzzy promotions and bigger marketing budgets.

As a publicly traded company, Chick-fil-A does not report quarterly financial results, but franchise filings show that the company’s system revenue growth slowed to 5.4% in 2024, making it the first year in more than a decade with sub-double-digit revenue growth.

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

Central to the campaign is what the company calls ‘newstalgia’, a combination of ‘new’ and nostalgia.

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

For starters, Chick-fil-A is also introducing four retro collectible cup designs every few weeks, inspired by the company’s archives and the shape of the 32-ounce cup. The chain sells the cups for $3.99 at restaurants nationwide.

Additionally, Chick-fil-A has created its own version of Willy Wonka’s famous golden ticket: the Golden Fan Cup. The 3,000 customers who purchase 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 temporary, vintage-inspired packaging.

Chick-fil-A plans to sell themed merchandise through its website during the year. Customers visiting the restaurants can also purchase limited edition designs of the stuffed cows.

As part of the campaign, Chick-fil-A will permanently add sodas and floats to its menu 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 take center stage Friday during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, when the Oregon Ducks take on the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Chick-fil-A traces its origins 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 twenty years later, Cathy opened the first Chick-fil-A location, featuring its signature chicken sandwich. The company is still family owned and Cathy’s grandson Andrew serves as CEO.

The privately held chain’s system revenue reached $22.74 billion in 2024, making it the third-largest restaurant chain in the U.S. behind McDonald’s and Starbucks. Over the past decade, Chick-fil-A has expanded far beyond its southeastern stronghold, opening locations across the U.S. and making plans to expand its international operations to the United Kingdom and Singapore.