I thought I did bring them up (mentioning the facts on the PVC cards being the same as on the beans tags).
There was a commercial for the beans that aired a lot (too bad it;s not on YouTube, at least since the last I searched), with Elmo, Herry, and a Honker. I was excited to see Herry in the commercial, as I hadn't seen any Herry Monster toys before (the shot of the beans goes by so fast I had trouble seeing everybody, including the Herry one; I also never saw Herry in person).
I guess this was partially for the 30th anniversary and partially to cash in on the Beanie Babies craze, where part of the appeal is to put out as many characters as possible. Too bad they didn't put out more every year.