Frisbees as Promotional Products

The history of the flying disc is filled with stories of empty pie tins, popcorn can lids and church collections plates, which were used to create a game of catch between two or more people. The flying disc dates back to 1820 when a Dartmouth college kid by the name of Elihu Frisbie threw a collection plate from the college chapel steps and it was caught by another student.

Since that time several people have claimed to be the first Flying disc developer, but Walter Morrison actually designed the modern day Frisbee from a popcorn lid and the first commercial disc was put in production in 1948, but was not well received. When UFO’s became popular in the 1950s Morrison produced a plastic version flying disc called the Pluto Platter and in 1957 he allowed Wham-O to put the platter in production. A year later Morrison was awarded a U.S. patent and Wham-O began to use the term Frisbee as their registered trademark, after hearing that East College Students used that name to describe a flying disc.

Today plastic Frisbees are everywhere. They are made in an assortment of colors and have become great promotional and advertising tools. Once businesses recognized that Frisbees as promotional products could keep a company's name or product in front of the consumer for a long period of time, the Frisbee took on another life. Frisbee the promotional product is now used for a variety of games. Disc golf, dog Frisbees, phosphorescent plastic Frisbees for nighttime use and whistling discs make the game of Frisbee twenty-first century entertainment as well as exercise.

The promotional Frisbee can be a folding model with a case, or the regular disc that's translucent or neon. The size of a promotional Frisbee can be anywhere from a 5” disc to a 10.5” disc. The mini disc and the flying ring that’s dog friendly are given away at conventions, tradeshows, business meetings, employee picnics and as retail store promotions.

The popularity of the Frisbee as a promotional product has given the Frisbee a new identity; it now ranks as one of the top performers in the inexpensive marketing business, because it can be customized easily and it’s a great pay it forward item.