My #1 tip is to always read the sweepstakes rules because otherwise, you can disqualify yourself. But what happens if you find a discrepancy? The rules are wrong.
Aren’t sponsors also supposed to follow their own rules? Yes. Yes, they are, but giveaways are created by human beings working at agencies or corporations. And humans are fallible.
Legitimate sweepstakes sponsors are not out to scam anyone. Their intention is to create fun and exciting promotions around their brand’s products and services. However, sometimes things are missed.
In the case of this year’s Canada Dry Tastes Like Winning contest, it’s the number of prizes.
Something’s Amiss
About a week before the contest started, you could glimpse the preview of the short rules on the contest page. I noticed they had extended the contest. For years it ran from noon on May 1st until noon on August 31st. This year it was extended until December 31st.
Once the sweepstakes officially began, I could open up the official rules and read them. The first thing I noticed was they were giving away 168 prizes.
Hmmmm … that didn’t seem to be correct.
There are 245 days between May 1st and December 31st.
I initially thought the lawyers had used the terminology ‘Daily Prizes’ as a catch-all, meaning you could win any day. I then wrote my May 1st bi-monthly newsletter explaining PIN Code contests and what your options were to enter. (Read The Winning Edge Vol. 19 Issue 9)
But something still wasn’t sitting right.
Re-reading the Rules
I went back and re-read the rules. Then I spotted this:
Winning times (each, a “Winning Time” and collectively, the “Winning Times”) will be randomly generated and randomly seeded for each Day of the Contest Period.
So there was supposed to be a prize given away each day… That means they were missing 77 prizes!!
Steps to Correct the Mistake
The first thing I did was reach out to the agency running the contest for clarification by sending an email the address listed on the Support page.
No response. (As I write this blog, I realize I should have tried calling too.)
Crickets.
Then, I decided to escalate my attempts to get the contest fixed. I emailed the Competition Bureau and the Regie des alcools, les courses et des jeux.
The Competition Bureau said they would look into it, but there was nothing from the Regie.
Conclusion
At this point, I don’t think anything will change.
I love Canada Dry. I just bought the two cases photographed in the blog image. I am just disappointed that no one, at any point, thought to add up the dates. Not the agency, the lawyers, the sponsor, or the Regie. Everyone just assumed it was correct.
I will continue to go PIN Code Hunting and buy the product, plus enter as often as possible, but with the odds being much lower than last year, I will be surprised if I win something.
Have you ever spotted an error in sweepstakes rules?
If I find anything incorrect, I always privately message the company. Right down to spelling mistakes in the copy on the Social Media pages. They really appreciate that, they fix it as soon as they know about it so they don’t look foolish (I understand spelling errors can happen). The one thing I hate is when someone comments in there that they made that mistake and tries to make themselves look better than the company. This will always alienate the company and other contestors! Be kind always!
I agree. I do that too and most appreciate the assistance in running a wonderful promotion. In this case, I tried the private approach first. Nothing has changed…