Radio Candy Stunt Not So Sweet

[nickel]

Woman sues when "100 Grand" prize turns out to be chocolate bar http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/0623051inside1.gif
JUNE 23--A Kentucky woman who thought she won $100,000 in a radio station giveaway is suing for breach of contract after learning that her prize was actually a Nestle's 100 Grand candy bar. According to the below June 22 Circuit Court complaint, Norreasha Gill, 28, claims that she was listening to Lexington's WLTO-FM on the evening of May 25 when host DJ Slick announced that he would award "100 Grand" to the tenth caller. When Gill, the pregnant mother of three children, was that tenth caller, the radio host told her she could pick up her prize the following day at WLTO's studio. She subsequently learned that the contest was a "joke," according to her lawsuit, which names the radio station's parent company, Cumulus Media, as a defendant. Gill's lawsuit seeks the $100,000 prize and additional punitive damages. The 22-year-old DJ Slick, whose real name is Jason Hamman, is no longer working for WLTO, a departure apparently hastened by the May stunt. Hamman, pictured at left, declined to speak about the "100 Grand" incident when contacted by phone today. In a May 25 blog posting promoting that night's giveaway, Hamman wrote that he would be presenting "our loyal listeners with a chance to Win 100 GRAND!!!! It's sitting in a bag to my left ready for someone to take off with just like the Runaway bride!" The tenth caller, he added, would be "100 GRAND RICHER!!! No joke."
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/0623051grand1.gif
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/0623051grand2.gif
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0623051grand1.html

[Airencracken]

Reminds me of the Toyota/ Toy Yoda thing.

[zippyjuan]

A local radio station had a promotion to "win ten grand" (with all the national corporate stations it may have been running in other places too), but instead of $10,000 it was in something like yen or pesos and was only a couple hundred dollars.

[avlena]

wow... i can understand being pissed... that's a cruel joke! i'm sure that woman already spent a large chunk of it mentally, and may have spent some of it physically too! I'm not sure I'd sue... but I'd definitely raise a fuss.

[Grafalgar]

You kidding? I'd sue in a heartbeat. If they had a competition for something trivial like movie tickets, I'd just complain. But making someone think they've won a crapload of money and end up not is just plain cruel.

Personally I think she's entitled to it. And I hope she wins :)

[AlpineJay]

See, I don't know about this... I'm very torn about it but I'm not sure if she's entitled to the money. Without hearing the broadcast myself I'd say it's no worse than the jokes played on radio stations during the morning talk shows and whatever. From what I can see it sounds like she got what she was told she'd receive - 100 Grand. Unless there was explicit talk about her being handed the money - and I mean being told outright she'd receive $100,000 in that exact term, I don't know if she's entitled to it.

I'd say it's a funny joke to the listeners but clearly not funny to the victim - if I can call her that - and the host who obviously no longer finds this funny. I'm betting that the woman sued to get a settlement out of the company for her "mental anguish" which I'm not even sure should be a significant amount.

That being said, I do feel for her because she clearly thought one thing when it wasn't the case, and I do think it was a practical joke gone real bad. But to seek the full amount AND punitive damages? I would have had sympathy for her if she was looking for punitive damages only but come on... I don't think it was really false representation.

[ufcrusher]

Badly drafted motion at least by the standards out here.


On another note:

When ever there is a monetary award, most radio stations say, the tenth caller will win One Hundred, thousand DOLLARS . Its that last word, dollars which makes it clear you are winning money. If the DJ only stated that the 10th caller will win a 100,000 grand, then its the candy bar.

The FCC has gone after companies that said they would win X currency, without saying that it was pesos/lira, so most broadcasters are sheepish and walk a very fine line. I really doubt she will win anything, but cannot be certain without hearing the tape.

[Thesifer]

Reminds me more of the kid that tried to get the Harrier Jet from Pepsi.. (wasnt it pepsi?) .. I guess 100,000$ from a radio station might not be TOO much to expect.. but.. maybe.

[Grafalgar]

We'd have to hear the tape to figure out exactly what's going on, but the FCC, FTC and whatever consumer protection agencies usually frown heavily on this sort of thing. Just because you omit information does not mean it is legit or legal afaik. From the information provided it is looks like the station intentionally tried to make her THINK she won $100000, and not just via a prank call, via a promotional contest as it seems. So they duped their entire audience to that extent. They left the competition open for interpretation, which is very bad mojo. Who in their right mind thinks "98 Grand: money, 99 Grand: money, 100 Grand: Candy, 101 Grand: Money."

I don't think she's entitled to damages, but imo the station certainly does owe her the money.

[Devhux]

"I want the elephant!"

(I just had to toss a Simpsons reference in here). :)


The tenth caller, he added, would be "100 GRAND RICHER!!! No joke."

If this line was mentioned word-for-word, then I could see the point -- being rich or poor is usually directly associated with money.

[zippyjuan]

It is the question of "reasonable expectations". When you say 100 grand, you do not say the word dollars after it. If it was a conversation about grabbing a snack, then a candy bar might come to mind. You would expect someone to say Nestles or bar or candy with that. But you hear on the radio that you can win 100 grand and they hype it and make a big deal about it, you could reasonably believe that it was about money. Did they give it away only once? That would also give the impression that it was more than a candy bar than if it was done every hour or had several winners a day- then that may raise questions. Does she deserve to get $100,000? I don't think so. But I also think she should get more than a candy bar. The line about it "sitting here in a bag" may have left the DJ OK, but when he added the line about being "100 grand richer, no joke" he crossed the line on misleading the audience.

[DarkFury]

Give her a $100 and tell her "Hey... isn't that grand". :D

She really worked hard in being the 10th caller... and deserves it. :heh:

[Markel]

In the case of the Toy Yoda, the waitress worked her buns off to try to win the prize, which provided benefit to the restaurant. In this case, the woman hardly had to lift a finger, and there was little benefit that she provided to the radio station. I say that there's too many lawyers....

[YanksFanRy]

I dunno, it's a play on words. I see the humor in it, but I see her point too.

[ShawnLee]

My points on this matter:
1) They offered her $5,000. She's not taking it and wants $95,000 more. Screw her, let's see this in court and see her lose.
2) 100 Grand is a good candy bar. Shoot, I'd be happy to win that candy bar.

[Jeffbx]

Since they fired the DJ, I assume the stunt wasn't endorsed by the station, so I'm guessing that he didn't give out any good disclaimers that they weren't, in fact, awarding any money.


My points on this matter:
1) They offered her $5,000. She's not taking it and wants $95,000 more. Screw her, let's see this in court and see her lose.


If they made me that offer, I would have countered with 10k, and then walked away with whatever they gave me. The station will likely pay that much on the lawyer if they go to court, so they probably would have stepped it up to 10. Also, for the hassle & expense she'll have to go through to go to court, I don't think it would be worth it.

[attgig]

Reminds me more of the kid that tried to get the Harrier Jet from Pepsi.. (wasnt it pepsi?) .. I guess 100,000$ from a radio station might not be TOO much to expect.. but.. maybe.


let's snope that one away
http://www.snopes.com/business/deals/pepsijet.asp

[tupacboy]

i saw an interview of this lady... and she's all dramatic saying how she had to explain to her kids that they weren't getting a new home (she already has one)... or a new car... and i'm thinking... ok... lets say it really was $100,000.... 40% goes to taxes or more.... maybe 60k left... i dunno... doesn't seem like that much... but i'm here in oc... so... housing is too crazy here to begin with...

[molecularfire]

Ok, what the DJ did was mean and stupid and I'm glad he was fired. The station hired him and is ultimately responsible for the actions of their employees so they should also be punished. That said, what the heck did the woman do to "deserve" $100,000? I am really getting sick of our we all deserve something for nothing attitude. I say fine the radio station for their DJ pulling that stunt and if the lady doesn't want the candy bar, I'll take it.