We’ve barely seen any tacky 9/11 promotions over the years but this year… [head shake] there’s something about this year’s anniversary of the attacks that has companies and businesses climbing all over themselves to prove they, too, can push out a tone deaf promo in the name of patriotism and respect. We’ve seen a golf course do it, AT&T did it, and now we’ve got enough additional examples today that we have to do a round-up of the awful things. [More]
promotions
After 14 Years, Taco Bell Stops Giving Free Chalupas To Portland Trail Blazers Fans
By 9.6.13
For more than a decade, whenever the Portland Trail Blazers scored at least 100 points during a home game, every person at the game got a coupon for a free Taco Bell Chalupa. But when the new season starts, the Blazers will have less of an incentive to put up triple-digit numbers, as Taco Bell has apparently pulled the plug on the longtime promotion. [More]
SiriusXM Takes Away Free Subscriptions From People Who Didn’t Win Them, Internet Is Outraged
By 10.9.12 — Updated: 1.28.13
If you get something free under false pretenses, then the company contacts you to take away your prize, have you really lost anything at all? That existential question is brought to you by SiriusXM. Back during this year’s Super Bowl, the satellite radio monolith took part in a Chevy sweepstakes, giving away 375 one-year Internet subscriptions. That winners’ link and promo code circulated on deals sites and blogs a few weeks ago, and someone forgot to turn it off, meaning that a whole lot more than 375 winners used it to get free subscriptions. [More]
This May Be The Greatest Drugstore Promotion Ever
By 7.17.12
Colin, one of our readers over the border in Canada, noticed what he thought was a hilarious coupon at chain London Drugs. “Super-bizarre!” he wrote. It does seem random at first…if you’re not equipped with a uterus. If you are, then you know that a promotion offering a free chocolate bar along with certain brands of sanitary pads and tampons is the greatest idea ever. [More]
Uno's Military Discount Available To All Veterans, Not Just Retirees
By 11.4.11
Uno Chicago Grill, the chain that has brought the deliciousness of deep-dish pizza to suburban wastelands everywhere, is honoring veterans next week. That’s excellent. But their publicity for the event gets some terminology wrong. Despite what a current press release says, the 19.43% discount doesn’t just apply to active-duty personnel and those who spent decades in the military and retired with a pension. It’s for everyone who has served. [More]
Utah KFC: Buy Humongous, Sugary Drink And We'll Contribute $1 To Diabetes Research
By 6.20.11
A promotion at a Utah KFC seemingly gives customers the opportunity to aid diabetes research while doing their best to make themselves possible patients. [More]
Report: Amazon Lost $3 Million By Selling Lady Gaga Album For A Buck
By 6.3.11
When Amazon tried a publicity stunt in which it sold Lady Gaga’s album Born This Way for 99 cents for two days last month, it may have had to swallow $3 million due to licensing fees it had to cover. [More]
McDonald's Canada Accepts Monopoly Money
By 4.14.11
Paying “in Monopoly money” may cease to be a pejorative after McDonald’s Canada started selling fast food in exchange for bills from the classic board game. [More]
Verizon Tells Us We Can't Return Phone Because We Bought It On A Promotion That's Over
By 12.27.10
Andrea and her husband took advantage of a Verizon buy-one-get-one-free promotion, taking comfort that if either didn’t like their new devices, they could return them thanks to Verizon’s 30-day guarantee. But the company has refused to let her husband exchange his device because the BOGO promotion had ended. [More]
Time Warner Cable Keeps Bugging Me, Brags It's Immune To Do Not Call Registry
By 12.8.10
Julius thought he was protected against telemarketers by signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry, but a gleefully irritating Time Warner Cable rep informed him that this isn’t so. Because he’s a subscriber, TWC is allowed to toss telephonic sales pitches his way. Businesses with an established relationship with customers can phone them up to 18 months after their last transaction. [More]
No Free Burritos At Chipotle For Dressing In Foil This Halloween
By 9.30.10
This year instead of a free burrito, showing up to Chipotle on All Hallow’s Eve wrapped in tin foil will only score you a discounted $2 burrito. “It cost us a fortune,” Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle’s chief marketing officer told Advertising Age. “And it wasn’t doing a whole heck of a lot for me from a marketing perspective.” Expensive + ineffectual, seems a good reason to stop doing something. [More]
Strip Club Nearly Blinds Southwest Pilots At Love Field
By 9.6.10
Strip clubs and cockpits don’t mix, at least not when there’s a spinning search light involved, says the FAA. The agency has asked Bombshells, a club near Love Field Airport in Dallas, TX, to keep its newly installed rooftop light turned off after the pilot for a Southwest flight reported his cockpit was flooded with light while trying to land the plane. The pilot feared that it was a laser strike, which can cause temporary blindness. [More]
Got A Shrek Drinking Glass? McDonald's Will Pay You $3 For It
By 6.8.10
McDonald’s is upping the ante in its recall of the not-so-collectible Shrek drinking glasses. Although the four glass designs were recalled officially on June 4th by the CPSC, McDonald’s has announced that starting tomorrow you’ll be able to bring them back to the restaurant, fill out a refund form, and get a $3 refund per glass. [More]
Chick-Fil-A Will Accept Your Free Sandwich Reservation Now
By 6.3.10
Perhaps hoping to avoid the chaos, madness and chicken shortages of other recent food giveaways, Chick-Fil-A is trying a novel approach for its current free spicy chicken sandwich promotion. You reserve a specific time slot at a specific restaurant, print out a coupon tied to your reservation time and e-mail address, show up at the appointed time, and…. nom nom nom nom nom. [More]
Best Buy Might Give You A Free iPod If You Know To Ask
By 6.2.10
Apple is running their regular back-to-school promotion for students and teachers this summer. Buy a Mac, get a free iPod Touch. Neat deal. But let’s say that you’re another retail outlet that sells Apple computers, but doesn’t offer that deal. Say that you’re….Best Buy. How do you convince customers to buy a computer from you, when you can’t offer them a free iPod? Well…offer them 18-month financing. Then point out how many RewardZone points they’re going to earn. Finally, you could just give up and give them a free iPod…. but only if they ask.
According to an inside source, that’s exactly what Best Buy plans to do.
My Friend Gets Subway $5 Foot Longs And I Am Cruelly Denied
By 3.11.10
Reader Brad keeps trying to get a “specialty” sub from Subway for $5 because the ads say that all subs are included in the deal except “premium” subs. He says his friend has no trouble doing this, but for some reason Brad is cursed to leave the store with no sub. [More]
Cox Accidentally Offers Everyone In Arizona A Free PlayStation 3
By 2.7.10
Christopher writes about a promotion from Cox that sounded pretty great. The cable company and ISP offered a free Playstation 3 slim to customers who either signed up for a new account or upgraded to faster broadband. The problem with such a great offer? People tend to tell their friends. And those friends tend to call Cox to see if they can get in on the deal, too. [More]
Target Testing "Warehouse Club" Style Deals
By 1.5.10
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune says Target is testing out “warehouse” style deals in space usually used for seasonal merchandise. Examples mentioned include: “supersize jugs of laundry detergent “;”bulk-size packages of batteries”;”bins of $1 neon-colored flip flops,” and “packs of athletic socks for $7.” [More]
