To splash its status as NFL Canada’s official national newspaper sponsor, The Globe and Mail has launched a contest offering sports fans a chance to win a grand prize of a trip for two to the 2008 Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, or weekly prizes of $150 gift certificates redeemable at www.nflshop.ca.
But for true football aficionados, the prizes are only gravy. The big fun in this high-engagement contest is the chance for armchair quarterbacks to get in on the playoff games, at least virtually. Between now and Jan. 18, contestants can register at a new microsite and then submit selections in three categories, Rushing Yards, Passing Yards and Return Yards, for the team whose players they think will record the most total number of yards in each category in a given week.
To be eligible for the grand prize draw, entrants must finish in the top 25 weekly point standings in at least one of the eight weekly prize periods. The big winner will be selected at random on Jan. 18 and receive round-trip air fare to Phoenix, four nights accommodation and two tickets to the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
With creative by Toronto’s Naked Creative agency, the contest is being promoted with ads in the Globe and Mail newspaper and website, plus in an e-mail blast sent to online registered users who have opted to receive contest information. Fantasy Sports Services created the contest microsite.
‘The Globe and Mail is now the official national newspaper sponsor of NFL Canada,’ explains Sean Humphrey, the paper’s marketing director. ‘And it was only fitting for us to announce it with an online contest for readers offering the ultimate prize for any NFL fan – a trip to the Super Bowl.’
