Is this not very clever marketing by Long John Silver's? The figures I recall are as follows:

LJS serves 4 million people weekly.
LJS has somewhere around 1,000 restaurants nationwide.

Now then, what does one of those shrimp cost them? I'm willing to bet no more than a quarter, given their anticipated economy of scale.

Most who take advantage of the offer will likely buy a drink (high profit item) and perhaps even some hush puppies, fries or tater tots (etc.) They may even buy a whole meal, such as fish-n-chips.

Meanwhile, this marketing endeavor is not only getting the word out about the restaurant, it's getting folks to come in and try the restaurant. Not too many Super Bowl ads can accomplish either as effectively as this will. And if it winds up being a flop, they can always freeze the shrimp until they're needed.

No wonder Long John Silvers says this is one small step for man, one giant leap for giant shrimp.

But does anybody remember McDonalds' Olympics offers in 1984? When Moscow and the Iron Bloc nations boycotted, Americans racked up the bronze, silver & gold. I'm not aware of too many McDonalds' having gone under though.