>The information from these forms is collected en masse, entered into a large database, and delivered directly to the telemarketing company running the promotion (in this case, Great Destinations).
Praise be GDPR.
Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
21–30 of 471 posts
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#22The TV giveaways are also a con. You know the deal, you watch the whole show because the competition details will be given at the end. Then the questions are multiple choice and rather easy. For example, where is the final stage of the Tour de France? Option a) Peterborough, option b) Potters Bar, option c) Paris. In this semi-fictional example if you get the answer right then you could get to win a bicycle shaped ob…
If anyone wants to listen to an example of a somewhat difficult quiz programme they could try Brain of Britain - a long running radio show on BBC Radio 4.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00813s0
I don't know if it's geo-blocked, or if there's anything available for download. But they do have written questions too.
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#23Since this is a California on-site thing, California sweepstakes law applies.[1] - "The exact nature and approximate value of the prizes must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously when they are offered." - "The law prohibits the company from misrepresenting the odds of receiving any item offered." - Prohibited: "Failing to award and distribute all prizes of the value and type represented." Online complaint form here…
Why haven't they all been shutdown if they are clearly illegal? Also, I've seen these across the country.
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#24I used to know someone who worked for one of the companies behind those "We'll Fix Your Credit Score, Call Us" and "We'll Buy Your House, Call Us" signs on the side of street intersections (among other things), and I asked her to explain to me how those signs could possibly make any money. The way she explained it was (mostly her words), way less than 1% of people are dumb enough to dial the number, but of the people…
I sometimes wonder if this isn't a fairly common practice in numerous industries. For instance some time back I was watching a show on US cable television. Vikings on the History Channel, in particular. Aside from the completely obnoxious icons and labeling everywhere, about 5 minutes into the show advertisement pops up literally in the middle of the screen consuming about 25% of the screen space. And that was enough for me to immediately move onto other things, as that's worth less than the $0 price of admission. Incidentally the web version is amazing, has more content, is better quality, has no ads, and something I would generally highly recommend - underrated series.
While cable TV, and cable news in particular, has been rightfully demonized, it makes me wonder if they're really just happy to target themselves down to a demographic that is willing to tolerate this nonsense. And perhaps this demographic might also respond more favorably to advertising, influencing, and other corporate ends.
The same thing has also happened in the movie industry as well. If you think the vast majority of modern movies suck, it would not necessarily just be because of nostalgia or other effects. The modern movie viewer demographic has changed radically and thus movies are being made for these people. Even more interesting is that movie ticket sales are down hard, but they're somehow convincing the new demographic to pay even more which actually means that gross receipts have been stable and even increasing at times.
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Of course there's also a chicken and egg question. In the movie industry for instance, did movies change because the demographic changed, or did the demographic change because movies changed?
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#25I've got a friend who actually won the car in the mall once. Not US though.
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#26Even worse, i followed a lottery for a car to raise money for alzheimers.
On the draw date given on the ticket in the newspaper the notice said the draw was delayed to a later date.
Dutifully i waited for that date and surprise surprise it was delayed again to another new date.
Finally there was simply no notice of the draw being completed in rhe newspaper on the last date specified..
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#27...And there is still people considering the GDPR a bad thing...
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#28The TV giveaways are also a con. You know the deal, you watch the whole show because the competition details will be given at the end. Then the questions are multiple choice and rather easy. For example, where is the final stage of the Tour de France? Option a) Peterborough, option b) Potters Bar, option c) Paris. In this semi-fictional example if you get the answer right then you could get to win a bicycle shaped ob…
> the text you send will be to one of those premium rate numbers One of the curious laws in Northern Ireland requires postal entry to be an option for all submission competitions hosted here. So QRadio station advertises its 'win free money' competition, entry by a text message costing £1.50, but also has to state that postal entry is possible. I really should write a letter. NI law also prohibits requiring purchase…
Not sure whether what you're describing is different; I understand UK law is that you have to have free* entry as an option otherwise it's gambling, and the company has different regulations plus a bunch more tax to pay. Most companies therefore include a free option so they can avoid being classed as gambling. Many actually have it online since that's cheaper to run than reading post! Of course, the URL is not easy to find...
*or at least, something where the competetion runner doesn't make money from the entrant, so postal is fine even though you have to pay postage
Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#29I used to know someone who worked for one of the companies behind those "We'll Fix Your Credit Score, Call Us" and "We'll Buy Your House, Call Us" signs on the side of street intersections (among other things), and I asked her to explain to me how those signs could possibly make any money. The way she explained it was (mostly her words), way less than 1% of people are dumb enough to dial the number, but of the people…
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Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall
#30Back in the 90s there was a hilarious trend of winning the car in the mall by being the person to be in the car the longest. This was when SUVs were becoming a really big thing.
People were sleeping in the car with 5 other strangers to see who could outlast the others, with only short bathroom breaks allowed.
I'm not really sure what the advertisers/dealers won in that exchange.