../../../..//2009/04/28/today-only-participating-el-pollo/
Today only, participating El Pollo Loco restaurants are giving away free 2-piece chicken meals, one per customer, dine in or carry out only. [El Pollo Loco]
promotions
KFC's Grilled Chicken Giveaway Used Very Small Chickens
By 4.28.09
We sort of figured today’s grilled chicken giveaway at participating KFC’s would be approximately meal-sized—if you could stand the crowd and make it to the counter before they ran out, you’d have a free lunch in your belly. Apparently we were wrong. Here, for your freebie-craving pleasure, is a virtual KFC chicken piece just like what reader BlazerUnit received earlier today.
Pepsi Yankees Promotion Leads To Fans Chanting "Pepsi Sucks!"
By 4.20.09
It’s probably never a good idea to offer Yankees fans free tickets for showing up and forming a crowd, because then you’ve got a crowd of Yankees fans with nothing to do, and that’s not going to end well. In this case, after the fans found out that Pepsi over-promised the number of free tickets it was giving out, they turned hostile.
Virgin Mobile Offers To Pay Your Phone Bill For 3 Months If You Get Laid Off
By 4.14.09
Starting tomorrow, Virgin Mobile will offer all customers who sign up for $30 or more post-paid plans coverage under their free Pink Slip program, which means if you get laid off and can provide proof, they’ll pay your cellphone bill for three months, and you won’t have to put a Skype number on your resume.
Domino's Accidentally Gives Away 11,000 Pizzas in Bailout Promotion
By 4.1.09
This morning, Rick Broida posted a great deal from ubiquitous pizza chain Domino’s at his Cheapskate blog on CNET. Customers could get a free one-topping pizza (carryout only) by ordering online and using the coupon code “BAILOUT.”
Baseball Team Offers Flatulence Filters To Go With All You Can Eat Games
By 3.27.09
We love Minor League Baseball. Cheap tickets, sloppy play, and fun stadiums (our New Orleans Zephyrs boast a pool, a levee, and a “party shack”) make for a great spring or summer day. Minor League games are also known for their ridiculous promos and giveaways, and the Lake Elsinore Storm have made a natural pairing: fans who come to their all-you-can-eat Fat Tuesday games will also receive Subtle Butt, a “flatulence filter” that attaches to one’s underpants.
Watch Out For Payment Date Errors—And Related Finance Charges—From Chase
By 3.4.09
Mike used an Office Depot Visa card issued through Chase to take advantage of a pay-no-interest deal through 2008. He paid off the remaining balance a couple of days before the offer period ended, but Chase still slapped him with a nearly $40 interest charge. Why? Because they’ve been “having problems like that” with Office Depot cards.
Outside Magazine Will Send Your Free 2009 Calendar When It's In The Discount Bin
By 3.3.09
Outside Magazine offered Tracey two free 2009 Calendars if she signed up for an annual subscription early last December. She thought her dad would enjoy the magazine and the calendar, so she accepted. Now it’s March and there’s still no calendar, and Tracey says every time she calls to complain, they tell her they’ll send it. In the meantime, her dad still has no idea what day it is.
Customer Refuses To Give Up, Convinces Apple To Give Him What He Paid For
By 3.3.09
James almost got cheated out of CS4, the suite of graphics software sold by Adobe, when he bought a new Macbook Pro recently. He kept pressing the issue though, and his persistence and level-headedness finally, after several near misses, convinced Apple to do the right thing and send him what he paid for. Congrats to James!
This Ace Hardware Promotion Requires That You Go Back In Time To Use It
By 3.2.09
Marketer: [gleam in her eye] …oh, I know how we can afford it. [cue evil laughter]
Chase Promises To Honor Promotional APR Until Balance Is Paid Off Or They Change Their Mind—Whichever Comes First
By 2.1.09
Chase doesn’t want to honor an old promotion promising to lock in a customer’s APR until their balance is paid off, so they’re just ignoring the original terms and jacking up interest rates. The bank wants to hike a promised 3.99% rate to either 7.99%, or 5% of the total balance plus a $10 monthly service charge, terms that are dull enough to put you to sleep until you receive the next month’s bill. Inside, Credit Slips walks us through how this is legal, along with tips for recapturing the stolen promotional rate.
Orbitz: Act Fast, This Promotion Expired Four Days Ago!
By 1.25.09
Orbitz sent out an “email exclusive” advertising 20% off select hotel rooms, which might have been a decent deal if hadn’t expired four days before the email was sent.
CarX Auto Service Will Change Your Oil, Give You A Puppy
By 11.19.08
Kari sent us this photo she took last night in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. We’ll give them points for finding a unique promotional angle, but we wonder if they saw sales increase or drop off? Update: is it legal to give away animals as a store promotion?
How To Save $323.40 On Your Comcast Bill Just By Asking
By 10.29.08
Reader aishel says that he saved $323.40 yearly on his Comcast bill just by asking! Yes, it can be just that easy.
Verizon Told Me Their FiOS Gift Card Promotion Never Even Existed
By 9.30.08
Reader Jacob says that he’s been getting the runaround for months after signing up with Verizon during their free $200 Circuit City gift card promotion, but he finally reached his breaking point when a Verizon rep told him that the promotion never even existed. Too bad it did exist, and we wrote about it.
3M Steals Viral Image Idea To Avoid Licensing It
By 9.16.08
There is probably nothing more pathetic in the world of marketing than watching a big corporation try to do something “viral”—usually they end up looking like Elaine dancing. But sometimes, they’re so cynical and soulless about it that they don’t just come across as incompetent, but as exploitative cheapskates as well. In 3M’s case, they wouldn’t pay $2,000 to license a well-known photo with its own viral history, and instead recreated a fake version of it to save a grand. We guess they’re just hoping none of the sites and communities that made the photo popular in the first place will notice. Oh wait, this is supposed to be viral or something…
