May 5, 2004
Free Prize Inside
I can attest to the lure of the free prize. Stand in the supermarket cereal aisle with my kindergartener and you can hear it firsthand.
"Look, Mom! This one has a DVD inside!"
"Over here is one with a Spongebob top!"
"Oh, oh, Mommy! A free Yu-Gi-Oh card!"
The cereal could be muesli or ground roaches for all he cares. He would pay $4.99 to dig through food to reach the toy. The cereal doesn't have to sell itself. The toy sells the cereal.
Jiffy Pop is another product that enjoyed (and still enjoys in my house) popularity because of the free prize. No, it's not a tangible toy, but when you're standing in the kitchen with a two-foot foil ball of popcorn on the stove and a giddy child next to you, there's a reward. It's the experience. Trevor gets the thrill of watching the ball rise, fearful that it might explode at any instant. I get the wistful nostalgia of doing something with my child that my parents did with me.
Free prizes are everywhere. They're the reason to buy a Louis Vuitton purse instead of a Sears bag. They're the reason Target does so well over Wal-Mart with moms like me. They're the reason we bite through dry cookie to get to the fortune inside.
What's your free prize?