Japanese ANA promos
A deeper look into All Nippon Airways Pokémon promos - A Japanese exclusive that is not seen or talked about often
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline that has had a long-standing collaboration with the Pokémon franchise. As part of this collaboration, ANA has released several promotional items, including special Pokémon-themed airplane liveries, in-flight entertainment, and limited-edition Pokémon promotional cards!
In total, ANA Pokémon promotional cards are a set of 12 cards featuring various Pokémon characters. The cards were first introduced in 1998 as a tie-in with the release of the first Pokémon movie. Since then, ANA has periodically released new sets of cards in conjunction with new Pokémon movies and other promotional events.
Each card features a unique design with a colourful illustration of a different Pokémon character on the front, and on some of them - the ANA and Pokémon logos. The back of the card includes information about the featured Pokémon, as well as a message from ANA promoting their airline services.
The ANA Pokémon promotional cards are highly sought after by collectors due to their limited availability and unique designs. They are primarily distributed to passengers on ANA flights, as well as through special promotions and events.
So how did people get these cards? There are several ways that people were able to obtain the ANA Pokémon promotional cards:
On ANA flights: ANA distributed these cards to passengers on select flights as a special onboard promotion. Passengers can request a card from flight attendants, and the availability of the cards varied.
ANA promotions and events: ANA occasionally offered promotional events and giveaways that feature the Pokémon promotional cards.
Secondary market: As these cards are limited in availability and highly coveted by collectors, they can also be found on the secondary market.
At this point, you pretty much will have to acquire these cards on the secondary market.
It's worth noting that even if getting these cards were not impossible, the fact they came in loose paper ‘envelopes’ of sorts, made it very difficult to obtain one in pristine condition. This is reflected on the PSA pop reports. The most popular of these ANA promos from the 1999 series, so expect these to be the most graded.
The populations are quite low, with zapdos only having 155 PSA 10 copies. And as time goes on I reckon it will become harder and harder to find gem mint raw copies on the secondary market. These are some really cool looking cards, that have a really unique history to them. I personally think because of this and the difficulty in obtaining them, they would be a great addition to your collection. Both aesthetically and as an investment. If you are looking to buy some, my good friend over @cardcapital on instagram is selling a few copies on eBay!
Overall, the ANA Pokémon promotional cards are a unique and coveted collectible item that showcases the enduring popularity of the Pokémon franchise and ANA's commitment to providing a memorable and enjoyable travel experience for its customers.