The competition, which ran earlier this year and was created in-house, offered the opportunity to win tickets to London 2012 Olympic events. Travel costs and accommodation were also included.
The ad included the following text, "Win London 2012 men’s 100 metres final tickets. Be a winner with Cadbury Thanks to Cadbury, Official Treat Provider of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we’ve got our hands on the tickets that EVERYONE wants!.... All you have to do for a chance to win is answer this question: How many Cadbury Dairy Milk (49g bars) does a shot put weigh?"
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The Advertising Standards Association (ASA) was hit with a complaint from a winner of the competition, who complained that the ad was misleading as it failed to make clear the short response period given for claiming the prize. The winner also complained that the prize had been withheld without justifiable reason; and the promotion was not administered fairly.
Kraft Foods denied any involvement in the competition. Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Daily Mirror, said it had been organised by a public relations company, which has not been named in the adjudication.
Trinity Mirror explained that the winner of the competition had been phoned four times between July 19 and July 20, but were unavailable to confirm that she was able to pick up the prize.
Then, after sending an e-mail to the winner and receiving no response, the prize was passed on to someone else.
Trinity Mirror, in its defence, highlighted that the ad stated "… in the event that time is of the essence and a winner cannot be contacted by Trinity Mirror within a reasonable period, Trinity Mirror reserves the right to award the prize to an alternative winner…."
In its ruling, the advertising watchdog noted that Trinity Mirror had not included a specific deadline for prize winners to confirm their ability to accept the prize.
It said: "We understood that TM had not included a deadline for prize winners to confirm their ability to accept the prize, because they denied being aware that such a deadline existed."
The ASA acknowledged that due to the nature of the prize, the competition would not be repeated. But, it told Trinity Mirror and Kraft Foods to ensure that a date by which winners must claim their prize was included in their ads for any future prize promotions.
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