Competitions – LawQuest

A few months ago I entered a Baby Bump competition, which was part of a marketing campaign run by a manufacturer of baby products. I landed up winning a hamper of goodies. When I tried to claim the prize, they said that before I could get the goods, I had to post a picture of their products on my social media feeds, say something complimentary about them, and link them in so that they can share my “compliments” in their feeds. They even gave me some sample wording! I’m really angry about this. They didn’t tell me this when I entered the competition. Can they really insist on this?

In short – no. The Consumer Protection Act provides that the winners of promotional competitions must be afforded the opportunity to decline their consent to being used in the promoter’s marketing initiatives. Entrants to a promotional competition must also be made aware of conditions like this upfront, in the rules of the competition.