This is quite possibly the most perplexing sweepstakes I have ever seen. For reasons I cannot fathom, the singer Jewel has teamed up with the Oscar Mayer food company, in order to make this sweepstakes happen. You can win Jewel’s purse, and some, but not all, of the items inside it.
When I heard that Oscar Mayer was doing a sweepstakes that involved Jewel, I automatically assumed that the food company had made some sort of business deal with the Midwestern grocery store chain that is called Jewel. That would make a little bit of sense. After all, grocery stores are where people can go to purchase foods made by Oscar Mayer.
To my surprise, the sweepstakes instead involves the singer who goes by the name of Jewel. I have absolutely no idea what the connection is between a company that is known for making hot dogs, and a singer that is known for making ballads.
In order to enter this sweepstakes, you have to go to the Oscar Mayer Facebook page. A bright, yellow, banner reads: “Win Jewel’s Purse Sweeps. Lunchtime is now way more interesting”. At the top, seemingly out of context, the banner says “Oscar Mayer”. There is a photo of Jewel in the foreground, and behind her is an incredibly large purse, overflowing with a strange assortment of items.
Click the button that says “Enter the Sweeps” if you would like to enter. You will be then asked to allow something to attach to your Facebook page. You must allow it to, or you cannot enter the sweepstakes. Now, you are looking at a photo of Jewel, with a bright, yellow, cartoon bubble appearing under her face. The bubble says “Enter the Sweeps by telling me the most interesting thing in your bag”.
After you tell Jewel what you consider to be the most interesting thing in your bag, and hit enter, there will be a form for you to fill out with your name, address, phone number, and email address. You must fill this in, too, in order to enter the sweepstakes.
At some point in this process, there is an image of a large, brown, bag that has overturned, and spilled most of its contents out. I can only assume that these items are prizes that someone could win. In the center of it all, sits an Oscar Mayer lunchable.
Or, excuse me “Sandwich combo”. I guess this is what Oscar Mayer calls its lunchables for adults. Why is Jewel carrying around “Sandwich combos” in her purse? Again, I have no idea. Perhaps this is actually Jewel’s lunchbox, instead of her purse.
Other prizes include Jewel’s latest CD, a Blackberry phone, a travel certificate for American Airlines, and “pretty things”. The pretty things seem to be a small collection of various forms of cosmetics. You can also win the bag itself, which is a Brynn Capella bag. The way this is presented, it feels as though someone has stolen Jewel’s bag, and is now trying to “fence” it, as well as the items that were inside it at the time the bag was acquired.
Image by Like_the_Grand_Canyon on Flickr