Strange Consolation Prizes

[uncamark]

The rationale for the movie tickets had to be that the studios were looking for a low-cost way of promotion in those years before teenagers became the dominant movie audience.  Game shows seemed to be a way to try that.

I suspect that what the contestants got was a pass to a preview screening of the movie, which they may or may have not used, depending on where they lived.  In this instance, the only expense the studio was out here was the promotional fee.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'147607\' date=\'Mar 7 2007, 10:58 AM\']
One thing I always wondered about was the Ben Franklin Stores gift certificates that they used to give out on certain shows...what good would that do you if you didn't live in an area with a Ben Franklin store?
[/quote]
A few other companies did this as well; two that come to mind are Fashion Bug and Tony Roma's (neither one is close to me; a Ben Franklin is).  I guess you could always send it to a relative or something.

[PYLdude]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'147642\' date=\'Mar 7 2007, 08:57 PM\']
[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'147607\' date=\'Mar 7 2007, 10:58 AM\']
One thing I always wondered about was the Ben Franklin Stores gift certificates that they used to give out on certain shows...what good would that do you if you didn't live in an area with a Ben Franklin store?
[/quote]
A few other companies did this as well; two that come to mind are Fashion Bug and Tony Roma's (neither one is close to me; a Ben Franklin is).  I guess you could always send it to a relative or something.
[/quote]

I've heard of Fashion Bug...got a few in my area. Tony Roma's, not so much. What were they?

(FWIW, there were two Ben Franklin stores within some driving distance of my house. One closed, the other burned in a fire. Go fig.)

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'147646\' date=\'Mar 7 2007, 11:53 PM\']
I've heard of Fashion Bug...got a few in my area. Tony Roma's, not so much. What were they?
[/quote]
Rib place.

ObGameShows: was a common shopping prize on "Wheel".

[PYLdude]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'147648\' date=\'Mar 8 2007, 12:40 AM\']
[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'147646\' date=\'Mar 7 2007, 11:53 PM\']
I've heard of Fashion Bug...got a few in my area. Tony Roma's, not so much. What were they?
[/quote]
Rib place.
[/quote]

Figured it was some kind of restaurant.

/if I could live on ribs for the rest of my life, I would
//Cubby's in Hackensack, NJ has the best

[Jimmy Owen]

What about those Tiffany gift certificates on WOF?  Not everybody has a Tiffany in their town and just how much can you buy there with $25?  The valet parking alone would eat up your winnings! You'd be better off with $25 at Western Auto.

[Robert Hutchinson]

The humor's getting subtler and subtler around here, so I'll just whisper "mail-order catalog" and move on.

[calliaume]

[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'147670\' date=\'Mar 8 2007, 06:35 PM\']
The humor's getting subtler and subtler around here, so I'll just whisper "mail-order catalog" and move on.
[/quote]
Not to mention "Christmas gift."

Ben Franklin, even now, is in 38 states.  The one we used to go to in Chatham, MA is still open 40 years after I first set foot in the place.  And Western Auto had 1,800 stores at one point -- which is more stores than Target has today.

Me, I'd take the Tastee Freez gift certificate.

[uncamark]

The reason for Tiffany's on "Wheel":

SCENE:  Office of Lin Bolen as Merv Griffin pitches her "Wheel":

MERV:  Lin, do you remember ever playing a game called Hangman in school?  That's what our show is based on...

BOLEN:  ...and we'll set it on Rodeo Drive and have contestants shop for fabulous prizes with their winnings!

MERV:  Oooooohhh...

Giving out Tiffany's gift certificates was part of the whole "shopping on Rodeo Drive" vibe that Bolen wanted with the show.  Nothing more, nothing less.

[BrandonFG]

Not a consolation prize, but I was watching an older show on one of the sites (either one of the Barry/Enright shows or "Face the Music), and I noticed a police scanner offered as part of a prize package.

As a news assignment editor, I got a big kick out of it...and got an even bigger kick when I saw how big scanners were back then. :-P

/yes I bumped a six-month-old thread
//I have almost 5,200 posts dammit!
///and an outside life!!!