By Deanna Harris
A prominent blogger is calling for a boycott of the National Business Review and Veuve Clicquot over a “less than transparent” competition.
Whale Oil blogger, Cameron Slater says the jointly run competition to Win Your Weight In Veuve Cliquot was unfairly adjudicated.
“Yes you heard it here first NBR have chosen their winner and it isn’t Busted Blonde who won by a margin as large as her arse. We are unaware of who the winner is but I doubt it is Liar Joe either considering votes didn’t seem to matter and the simple fact he couldn’t spell the sponsors name,” says Mr Slater.
Read about the online world's reaction here.
To celebrate NBR’s 40th birthday entrants were asked to say how they would ‘celebrate [winning] their weight in Veuve’ and the public was encouraged to vote on their favourite entries through social media including Facebook and Twitter.
NBR managing editor Todd Scott says over 16,000 votes were received and the competition was a success.
However, Mr Slater has alleged the competition did not adhere to its published terms and conditions.
Mr Scott says changes were made but it did not make a difference to who won.
“The terms and conditions didn’t change the winner, what we did do was extend the closing hours from 5pm to midnight because we had an ad in NBR on the Friday before,” says Mr Scott.
A letter purporting to be from Mr Scott to ‘Busted Blonde’ was published on Whale Oil’s website yesterday.
In the letter Mr Scott writes:
“With the help of a Veuve Clicquot representative we judged the top ten voted entries based on their creativity and decided an overall winner. This was not a popular vote and, as such, the terms and conditions on the competition page stated that the judges’ decision was final.
“The judges have awarded the overall winner to a very deserving and creative entry and this will be announced in NBR this Friday. You are however being recognised as our social media vote winner and will receive a magnum of Veuve Clicquot for your efforts.”
Mr Scott dismissed Mr Slater’s suggestions that NBR and Veuve Cliquot changed the way the winner was chosen.
“To be honest that sort of talk doesn’t even warrant engagement,” he says.
But Mr Slater is not satisfied with the NBR’s response, asking bloggers to boycott both the NBR and Veuve Clicquot.
“Quite what NBR and Veuve Clicquot were thinking running a social media campaign and ignoring the results of the social media is beyond me, but it will be a hard lesson for them to learn in what happens when you do ignore the power of the blogs and social media that you have used like a cheap whore to promote your products. If you unleash the online world in promoting something expect an online backlash when you root them over.
“NBR and Veuve Clicquot can’t be trusted to run a raffle in a bowling club anymore, in future all competitions that they run are to be ignored for the jack-ups that they are,” says Mr Slater.
The competition winner will be announced in the NBR’s 40th anniversary edition – out this Friday.
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