Promotional Giveaway a Big Secret?

by erica ~ May 22, 2009

When you see contests that giveaway diamonds and other extraordinary items, do you really believe in them? Personally, I’ve never participated in any contest presented by large multinational corporations that ask you to text, email, or buy the product to enter the product code for a chance to win something fabulous. I just think they are too good to be true.

According to AdAge, the Procter & Gamble deodorant, Secret, has been facing some difficulty in their current promotion, which is giving away one $15,000 diamond, $500 Visa gift cards, $50 Visa gift cards, $250 gift cards to a five star restaurant, AMC Movie Theatre gift cards, and Secret® deodorant products. I’m assuming that those who heard about these prizes are just as skeptical as I am about winning.

It’s been eight months since the inception of this promotional giveaway and not one person has won yet. Is Secret keeping a secret of their own? It seems that not many people know about the giveaway or they are simply uninterested.

Although their YouTube video had only 281 views since May 18, the website, secretdiamondgiveaway.com, has gotten an average of 20,000 to 30,000 unique visitors monthly since last September.

P&G made the contest simple for participants who can enter the product code on the website instead of using up or cutting through their Secret deodorant to find the Grand Prize. Still, no winners have emerged that way, either. Contestants can also get a free code emailed to them since the contest rules say “no purchase necessary.”

Looks like an interesting concept but not a successful one. It’s one thing to win diamonds from a jewelry store but another to win from a deodorant company. Nice try, I guess?

Erica Berkovich is an Associate Account Executive at Mediashop PR.  She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Corporate Communications at Baruch.