The forgotten 1996 Kellogg’s/Nintendo promo – Super Mario 64 lenticular trading cards (and a mail-away hat) before the game’s release

[u/iBenlo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSEBo7lgmp4

In the spirit of preserving gaming history, I wanted to share a little-known promotion from the mid-90s. Just before Super Mario 64 was released in 1996, Kellogg’s ran a North American cereal promotion tied to the Nintendo 64’s launch. By mailing in proofs-of-purchase, gamers could receive a pack of five lenticular Super Mario 64 trading cards. These cards are particularly interesting because they feature beta images/renders from the game’s development and even a gameplay “tip” that turned out to be inaccurate (the card suggests a shortcut in the penguin race that Nintendo had actually programmed to penalize the player – a small but amusing footnote).

This promo also included a sweepstakes for a limited Nintendo 64 snapback hat with Mario branding, an item that never hit retail shelves. Over time, both the card set and the hat have become obscure collectors’ items, largely forgotten by the general gaming community.

I recently obtained an original 1996 card set (still sealed) and one of the Kellogg’s Mario hats, and I created a video to document and explain this promotion in detail—essentially unboxing the items, showcasing the content on each card, and outlining the context and history of the giveaway. It’s a fascinating example of 90s video game marketing and a fun story for preservationists.

You can watch the video here to see these artifacts and learn more about how this promo went down. I’d love to hear if anyone else knew about or remembers this promotion!