I see these contests all the time in candy, chips, soft drinks, etc. and I wonder if anyone has ever won, or known someone who has? The most I ever win in these is a free coke, or a free candy bar, but that’s what everyone wins, isn’t it?
Has anyone here ever won a huge cash prize? A car? A lifetime supply of chocolate?
If we’re restricting the prizes to those from candy and soda and what-not, no.
If we expand to other contests, then yes. I won a trip to England from MTV when I was in high school. They selected a winner from each state to go to London to coordinate with the release of Twisted Sister’s album Come Out and Play. We were “Twisted Commandos” on a “Twisted Invasion.” The gag was we all had to dress like lead singer Dee Snider.
No, you’re not restricted to candy and soda contests. That’s just what came to mind first. Any big contest will do.
So, Otto, did you have to dress like Dee Snyder the entire time?
For a few years, I subscribed to Contest News Letter. I sent out lots of 3x5 cards in number 10 envelopes. I won some stuff. I never bought the product. I won a USAir trip to anywhere in the US. I won a shotgun. I won a bicycle. I won several pairs of binoculars, a big inflatable pool thingie, and an assortment of Kahn’s meats in a nice picnic basket. Then my hands went bad from cumulative repetitive factory work. I couldn’t spend half an hour a day writing anymore, and that was the end of it.
Note: While the prizes are nice, and you don’t have to buy the product, there is a price. They sell the list of entrants to junkmailers.
I won a chili contest; the prize was a couple of nights in a classy hotel in Porto (Portugal). Years ago I won a crappy portable radio that conked out after about a month.
Yes, and before the obligatory next question, I used to have pictures but they are unfortunately long gone.
I won one hundred dollars in a Captain Crunch contest back in the '80s. I think I was nine or so. I had to split it with my younger brother though.
In 1983 I won a brand new Chevy Celebrity in a bingo game. What I didn’t have at the time was the $2100 for tax and license that had to be paid prior to delivery. And at the time I had no verifiable income so no one would loan me any money. I took a $2000 consolation prize instead and used most of it to get current with my child support.
My dad won a car, on the same day my mum found out she was pregnant with me. So I managed to get a mention in a newspaper before I was even born!
The biggest prize I ever won was a Supersized french fries at McDonald’s.
Does that count ?
What was last prize…three orders? 
I won a five pound chocolate bar (maybe it was 10? It was about 2 inches thick and about 10x20 inches) in some school magazine-selling fundraiser contest. That’s really big for a chocolate bar!!! (I felt sorta terrible because a lot of kids went door to door & hit up all their relatives, etc to amass dozens and dozens of subscriptions. It was a drawing prize, not a reward for the most sold because I had two: one from my mom and one from myself.)
My son won us a four-day cruise on the Disney Wonder, courtesy of McDonalds. They had stickers on cheeseburgers and his number came up.
Turned out that the contest had been over for a couple months, and the manager, instead of destroying the unused wrappers like he should have, decided to keep using them. Gotta save those pennies somehow.
Anyway, after a brief investigation, Disney honored the prize, and we had a FABBBBulous time.
Unfortunately, our state won’t let my son buy the lottery tickets.
On two different occasions when I was in elementary school, I won in raffles/drawings:
I won 2 years free car insurance from my insurers, worth about £600.
I also won £1000 on a lottery scratchcard but had to share it with my brother
My Dad won an airplane. It was a Cessna 172, brand new from www.sportys.com They give one away each year.
That’s awesome! I have entered that contest several times but (obviously) never won. Did he keep it?
Won a couple thousand on the lotto years ago - my first husband had picked five out of six numbers in the game that was the IL lotto’s biggest payout - remember? Like 40 million or something? And that guy from Northbrook won it? Well we had visions of THOUSANDS in our eyes since we had FIVE numbers - unfortunately, so did a bazillion other people. Yeah, we were pretty stupid.
My wins tend to come from radio station contests. I won an iMac from one radio station. I also won a $50 gift card to Macaroni Grill and two Cinemark movie tickets. Another time I won two tickets to see Sister Hazel. THe last win was a pair of tickets to see the Barenaked Ladies.
I have won sod-all but my parents had a big win on the British Pools in the sixties - it would be worth about £70,000 now.