I can see where that might be a problem. I’m sure there that hundreds of times a year people driving a van marked “Prize Patrol” with loads of video cameras and a huge outsized novelty check stop by some deaf person’s house to tell them there’s a pig in the back yard, so it would be easy for someone to get confused like that.
It would be funnier the other way around. The poor guy is trying to grab the check, and Ed’s saying “No, you don’t understand; the real winner is down the block a few houses, I just wanted to let you know there’s a PIG in your BACK YARD.”
I can see where that might be a problem. I’m sure there that hundreds of times a year people driving a van marked “Prize Patrol” with loads of video cameras and a huge outsized novelty check stop by some deaf person’s house to tell them there’s a pig in the back yard, so it would be easy for someone to get confused like that.
It would be funnier the other way around. The poor guy is trying to grab the check, and Ed’s saying “No, you don’t understand; the real winner is down the block a few houses, I just wanted to let you know there’s a PIG in your BACK YARD.”
Oh, man. I just realized that Ed and Dick also host that bloopers and practical jokes show. They could DO that. But PCH (or whoever it is they shill for) probably wouldn’t allow them to do it.
Handy suggested that some people will not permit the use of their film footage. This might be so, but then no prize is awarded.
Use of your photo, etc., is wrapped up in a little clause known as “promotional consideration” in the fine print. Your lottery agent and many contests have similar strings attached.
You sign to collect your prize. They don’t just want your autograph, but your consent! Hey, you didn’t think you got something for nothing, did you???
The at home, on-the-spot giveaways are definitely real. I worked for the NFL during Superbowl XXXI. Part of the half-time show was a live broadcast of the prize winner. (Actually, it was the same broadcast all of America saw on television, but we switched it up on the giant screen TVs in the Superdome.)
The contest people wanted to make sure their little drama would look good on the Diamondvision screens so they brought us the tape of an earlier winner to test play. Needless to say, it was the now classic “girl-in-a-towel” bit. Not only that, it was also the raw footage from the event. Take it from a professional videographer… nothing about that scene was staged!
A bit of clarification is in order: Ed & Dick represent American Family Publishers. Publishers Clearing House is a whole 'nother outfit.
Does anyone else remember the trouble these jerks got into a few years ago with their misleading “You may have won…” notices? They were so misleading that a few, easily-confused elderly folks hopped a plane for Tampa, home of AFP, and asked for their winnings. There was a HUGE brouhaha over it, but I don’t recall how it all sorted out.
I used to fill out all the entries, too, but at least I knew I had only a snowball’s chance in Hell of winning. And paying for a subscription $5 per month instead of $15 all at once was easier on my bank account.
Nowadays, I just go to the Library for the magazines I want. Except for Playboy, of course
