martes, 5 de octubre de 2010


McDonald's Monopoly



The McDonald's Monopoly game is a sweepstakes advertising promotion of McDonald's and Hasbro which uses the theme of the very popular game Monopoly. The promotion has been offered in the United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, and Switzerland since 1987. In recent years, Best Buy has been involved in the U.S. version, and later in the Canadian one as well. It has also gone by various other names, including "Monopoly Best Chance Game" (2003-2005, the first three years of Best Buy's involvement) and "Monopoly/Millionaire Game", a version based on the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire TV show.

History

Like many merchants, McDonald's offered sweepstakes to draw customers into its restaurants. Laws generally forbid a company from administering its own contests, in order to prevent fraud and to ensure that all the offered prize money is paid out. McDonald's had a relationship with Simon Worldwide Inc., which was responsible for the distribution of the contest pieces, and the payment of major prizes.
McDonald's sweepstakes were almost always based on a "collection" basis, in which more than one piece had to be collected to win a prize (although some pieces were "instant winners"). Similar giveaways generally make one collection piece rare, printed in small quantities under secure conditions, and then mixed with more common pieces to ensure they are randomly distributed to the customers.

[edit]Fraud

In 2001, the US promotion was halted after fraud was uncovered. A subcontracting company called Simon Marketing (a then-subsidiary of Cyrk), which was hired by McDonald's to organize and promote the game, failed to recognize a flaw in its procedures, and the chief of security, Jerome P. Jacobson,[1] was able to remove the "most expensive" game pieces, which he then passed to associates who would redeem them and share the proceeds. The associates "won" almost all of the top prizes over several years, including McDonald's giveaways that did not have the Monopoly theme. The associates "netted" over $24 million. The scheme was uncovered when one of the participants informed on its ringleaders to theFederal Bureau of Investigation. While the fraud was perpetrated without McDonald's knowledge, the McDonald's Corporation voluntarily attempted to rectify the situation by issuing payouts to new (legitimate) winners, awarding five $1 million annuity prizes, and 50 $100,000 prizes over a five-day period.[1]
While the fraud appeared to have been perpetuated by only one key employee of the promotion company, and not by the company's management, eight people were originally arrested, leading to a total of 21 indicted individuals.[2] The relationship between McDonald's and Simon Marketing broke down in a pair of lawsuits over breach of contract, eventually settled out of court, with McDonald's' claim being thrown out and Simon receiving $16.6 million.[3] Although McDonald's was not involved in the fraud, it came under much criticism for what appeared to be lax oversight of the promotion company.[citation needed]
In 1995, St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee received an anonymous letter postmarked Dallas, Texas, containing a $1 million winning game piece. Although game rules prohibited the transfer of prizes, McDonald's waived the rule and is making the $50,000 annual payments.[4] Investigations later indicated, and Jacobson himself admitted, that he had sent the winning piece to the hospital.[5]

[edit]Gameplay

The game mimics the game Monopoly. Originally, customers received a set of two tokens with every purchase, but now tokens come only with certain menu items. Tokens correspond to a property space on the Monopoly board (with the exception of the Golden Avenue/Arches Avenue "properties", which were added in the 2008 edition.) When combined into color-matched properties, the tokens may be redeemed for money. Historically, the grand prize ($1 million; annuity-only) has been the combination of the two most costly properties, Park Place and Boardwalk, but in a 2006 game the grand prize (in this case $5 million, with the traditional $1 million prize for Boardwalk/Park Place) was awarded for collecting the four railroads. There are also "instant win" tokens the recipient can redeem for McDonald's food (typically small menu items, such as a free small McFlurry or medium fries), money, or other prizes, including an Xbox 360.

[edit]Coupon pieces

Additionally, in the 2007 edition, certain foods always came with one coupon which could be used at either Best Buy, Toys R Us, or Foot Locker (including online stores). The value of each coupon was random, with Toys R Us coupons ranging from $1 to $5; up to $5 in coupons could be used in a single transaction. In 2008, these coupons were redeemed for up to 25% off any Foot Locker item(s). In 2009, the promotion did not feature any coupons.


Products with game pieces

In 2010, the following products feature game tokens:
  • Big Mac
  • Filet-o-Fish
  • Large Fries
  • Chicken McNuggets (20 pc. or 10 pc.)
  • Medium Fountain Drinks
  • Medium and Large McCafe Drinks (Hot and Iced)
  • McGriddles
  • Hash Browns
In 2009, the following products feature game tokens:
USA[6]Canada[7]
Angus BurgersBig Mac sandwich
Chicken McNuggets (20 pc. or 10 pc.)Chicken McNuggets (20 pc. or 10 pc.)
Large FriesLarge Fries
Medium & Large Fountain DrinksMedium or Large Cold Drink Cups
Large Hot McCafe DrinksAngus Burger bacon and cheddar or Angus Burger
Hash BrownsMcMuffin breakfast sandwiches (excluding Sausage McMuffin)
Large Sweet TeaMedium or Large Hot Beverage
Small Frutopia Beverage
Classic Chicken or Southwest Chicken sandwich (Crispy or Grilled)
In 2008, the following products feature game tokens:
  • Medium or Large Premium Roast Coffee
  • McSkillet Burrito
  • Southern Style Chicken Sandwich
  • Big Mac
  • Premium Chicken Sandwiches
  • Large French Fries
  • Medium & Large Fountain Drinks
  • Hash Browns
In 2007, the following products feature game tokens:[8]
  • Big Mac
  • McMuffin Sandwiches
  • Large French Fries
  • Hash Browns
  • Medium and Large Fountain Drinks
  • Premium Chicken sandwiches
  • 3-piece and 5-piece Chicken Selects
Law requires that game pieces are available upon request, by mail.[9]

9 comentarios:

  1. I hate McDonalds.. keep this goin' man

    ResponderEliminar
  2. If only their food wasn't so fucking good :(

    ResponderEliminar
  3. Well, That certainly was interesting! I love little factoids like this.

    ResponderEliminar
  4. I used to have so many of those pieces. I've only been able to match enough for 2 burgers though. I'm not complaining.

    ResponderEliminar
  5. Yeah man, it's awful. McDonalds is whey there's fat kids everywhere.

    ResponderEliminar