Written by Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
Yes, I’m a sucker for free movie tickets, and whenever there’s a promotion in a cereal box or candy, I sometimes bite and buy the pre-requisite amount of boxes to qualify. Sadly, M&M’s (aka Mars Canada) made a huge gaffe. Not only are there plenty of reports from people not able to find the codes dating as far back as early July to enter (myself included), but when all three packages I bought did not have them, that’s problematical. I know I was not the only one hit. Also, the webpage where people have to submit the code to does not quite work.
The latter is easy to fix. People have to “like” M&M’s Facebook page in order for the proper web page to activate and the settings perhaps have to allow for Adobe Flash to work. Some tablet users will be out of luck unless they have the said plugin installed. But for the former, the complaints on Facebook are a mile long. It seems the factory where the candy is packaged has had more than a few malfunctions.
The code is stamped on the Share n’ Go packages at a very inconvenient corner, and in other larger sized packages, a proper slip of paper with the code is supposedly provided. Of course, I’ll be as cheap as a Scotsman to avoid paying more than I have to just to earn this reward. But when I think about the math, is the $4 per package multiplied by eight worth the price of two theatre admission tickets?
$32 pays for two IMAX 3D priced admission tickets than regular shows (at least in Canada). Unless people play this trading game smartly, I’d recommend that people use their tickets for those bonus theatre experiences than to use it for a general admission.
But when this contest is either rigged (a harsh accusation, I know) or poorly coordinated at the factory front, I cannot endorse any M&M or Mars Canada product at all. They lost a customer on this day. The social media team is hard at work trying to rectify the problem by asking that all customers call 1-888-709-6277 to report packages, but even the wait to get to a service agent is a mile long.
I find that there are better ways to earn free movie tickets through other points rewards programs than this. In my world, a movie goes down better with sushi. I’m sure no movie theatre is willing to dare go this route lest they get the ire of Health Canada when they make their regular inspections. To properly license their facilities for cold storage is one thing but quality control of any seafood product is another.
