Same Playbook, Different Game

Opening Day of Major League Baseball always takes me back — to baseball cards. With a younger brother, those cards — especially the Topps brand — were a whole experience. We’d beg our parents for a nickel or dime, just enough for a pack or two, then hop on our bikes and head to the store down the block.

The best part wasn’t even the cards themselves — it was the anticipation. Tearing open the wrapper. Flipping through each card, hoping for that one rare find. And then, inevitably, the letdown of finding only duplicates.

And, of course, there was the gum — hard, chalky, and easy to forget. But that was never the point. The cards were. At least, that’s what we thought.

Back then, Topps was in the gum business, and the cards were the hook — something that kept you coming back for another pack, then another. Something to collect, to trade, and to chase. And that’s the part you don’t see as a kid: baseball cards weren’t the point. They were designed to sell something else.

The Original Playbook
Baseball cards didn’t actually start with bubble gum. They started somewhere far less innocent.

In the late 1800s, tobacco companies began slipping small cardboard inserts into cigarette packs — originally just to keep the packaging from bending. But it didn’t take long to realize those blank cards could do more than protect a product … they could help sell it.

And just like that, a pattern was born:
Buy the product, get the card.
Collect the set.
Trade with friends.
Come back for more.

Sound familiar? It was the same playbook later used by Topps — just attached to a far more harmful product.

And it worked — for decades.

When Perception Shifts
There was a time when smoking was everywhere — offices, restaurants, airplanes. It wasn’t just accepted — it was woven into everyday life, so normalized it was almost invisible.

That began to change in 1964, when the Surgeon General’s report linked smoking to serious health risks. But the real impact wasn’t just the science — it was the shift in perception.

Over time, smoking went from glamorous to risky. From expected to discouraged. From common to, increasingly, uncommon. And that shift mattered.

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarette use among U.S. adults has dropped to historic lows. About 10% of adults reported smoking in 2024 — down from 11% in 2023, and a steep decline from the mid-20th century, when rates exceeded 40%.

But this didn’t happen overnight. It took decades of research, policy changes, and public awareness. Most of all, it took a cultural shift in how people saw the behavior. Because once perception changes, behavior tends to follow.

Same Strategy, New Product
But the story doesn’t end there.

When a product’s sales declines, industries evolve. E-cigarettes and vaping have stepped in with sleek designs, appealing flavors, and messaging that feels modern — controlled, maybe even safer. The same CDC report found that about 7% of U.S. adults used e-cigarettes in 2024, up from 6.5% in 2023 and nearly double the rate in 2020.

The long-term risks are still unfolding. But the marketing feels familiar. And it’s not just nicotine.

Social media platforms are facing similar scrutiny. They’re not selling cigarettes or gum — they’re selling engagement: time, attention, and habit.

Different product. Same strategy.
Wrap it in something compelling.
Make it part of everyday life.
Keep people coming back.

And maybe that’s the real takeaway from those childhood packs of baseball cards.

The most powerful marketing doesn’t just sell a product —
it makes you forget there was ever something being sold.

Happy reading,
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.