Where is the prize?

There is a culture in Trinidad and Tobago when numerous competitions are advertised where persons are encouraged to participate yet you never hear of the winners. I guess I am somewhat bitter this morning as I only got one number in the lotto, which I never play unless the prize is a considerable sum, and I really thought this time I was going to realize my dream of walking into the office, flipping them off and packing my bags to jet off to some pristine beach location where I could sip margaritas and plan on how to spend my millions. Sad fact is that in Trinidad we never learn the identity of the lotto winner and skeptics like me believe the lotto is just another tool to rob people of their money and dreams as all the money goes right back to the lottery board; honestly, do you know anyone who admitted to winning the lotto in Trinidad?

I also have a weakness for those kids that approach you with a raffle sheet asking for you to take a chance to win some rather mundane prize; though the money is always for school repairs I feel somewhat perplexed when the winners are never advertised. To me it is much better when the kids ask for a donation instead, at least the school is up front on the real business behind asking for money without fooling you into thinking that there is a real chance you might win a bucket of KFC chicken (yes that was the prize of the last school raffle that I took a chance in!). My husband’s sister won a raffle once, the prize was a computer but the whole thing was rigged as her boyfriend’s sister worked at the company where the raffle was issued!

How many of these competitions suffer a similar fate of nepotism and favoritism seeing as winners are never advertised? From my experience I have been a winner three times; one was a Colgate competition to win a trip to see Boyz to Men in concert, I did not win the big prize but the slogan I wrote won me and my school mate free music from Chinese Laundry store. The other prize was a Panorama lime from Du Maurier for me and several friends; needless to say that was a prize we all enjoyed and finally I was a winner of First Citizen’s Bank loan promotion. The prize was a weekend in Tobago for two, but being the diva that I am and the Bank not having any clear plans on what the prize consisted of, my weekend in Tobago would have been staying at the Hilton on an all-inclusive basis with a rental car too booth! In the end after all the calculations of what that would cost they offered me the cash instead which I readily accepted as it was a pretty penny for just two days at the Hilton!

Now I have a bone to pick with both TRIBE and Island People as they both advertised Carnival competitions and I am yet to see a winner announced! I am sure all masqueraders at TRIBE saw this advertised when they went to collect their costume:

Club Zero
Clubbing at sub-zero levels
Win a VIP night out with your Crew this Carnival
The Heineken Club Zero Competition is about to take you there
How to win?
Look for Heineken Club Zero (in front of the band)
Come in with your crew and “Do Wha yuh want” for 3 minutes
Your entry will be filmed and placed on www.youtube.com
So that on line voters can see who is the best TRIBE crew this year
Whoever wins gets a complete VIP night for the entire crew courtesy Heineken

And who could miss the Tan Lines competition advertised on Island People’s website:

Island People Mas introduces TAN LINES

Hey!!!.... ya know that annoying tan line you get after wearing your costume on Carnival Monday and Tuesday? Guess what, Island People Mas is asking you to send us a picture of your tan and some interesting lines on how you got it. We will choose the 10 best entries and reward you for being proud of your tan lines.

It is now one month and one week after Carnival and there has been no word on either competition! I have yet to get an email asking me to vote for the best Club Zero Crew nor have I seen any updates on Island People’s website with any new information on the Tan Lines competition. Now for me it is less about the prize, since I did not enter, but more about follow through and not perpetuating the culture of having competitions where mysteriously no winner is ever advertised.

The idea of having these competitions is all good, and encourages us masqueraders to try our luck at getting something a little “extra” from our Carnival experience, though a really great prize would be a free costume for the following Carnival! But there is absolutely no sense in having a competition where there are no winners. So here is hoping that someone on the Public Relations or Marketing team of both TRIBE and Island People give some information on the outcome of these competitions and proudly display the winners if they want masquerader’s support in another promotion next year

Joke's Over....

Today is April the 2nd, which means the April fool’s joke is over. Please be advised that both stories I posted yesterday are no way true and are both just entirely made up and a hoax, well all but the part where Slaughter will be getting married soon, that part is true. I had great fun reading all the comments, since I always play a trick on my friends for April fool’s day it was awesome to be able to do it to those coming to read blog as well and it was all in good fun! Thanks for indulging me and having a great sense of humour!