Game Doesn’t Know What A “Millionaire” Is - My Issues With Their Latest Marketing Stunt

“Retailer Game will make you a millionaire,” the press release subject line exclaimed about a competition where they were giving away £10,000 in £200 reward card point increments… Oddly, that misleading statement wasn’t the biggest problem I had with this piece of PR.

I got this email from Game’s agency, announcing the above Fortnite giveaway - tied into Epic Games’ own massive tournament. 

Turns out it’s a thinly veiled ploy to use their Reward Card, to use your card on purchases for the chance to be given 200 quid in points. Let me start by saying doing this is totally fine (did that plenty of times with Boots Advantage Card initiatives back in the day), but there’s just something about this one that I don’t like…

Maybe it’s the fact it’s rather misleading and just jumps on something everyone is talking about (Fortnite in this example). Talking about making someone a millionaire, when actually they’re not giving away anything near that and claiming it was their handy work. 

Maybe it’s the fact that tying it to this trend and putting a big money number on it is a pretty cheap attempt at getting press attention (…which I guess worked since I’m talking about it…whoops). They could’ve done so much more with it - offered training courses at their Belong arenas across the country to people who want to play for the pot. That would’ve promoted across everything Game does and been a far softer touch than this.

Maybe there’s a slightly element of encouraging gambling from a young age. I will fully accept that the entry mechanic does not directly ask for money to bet. But to make winning money the sole object of this email - from that over-the-top (and mathematically incorrect) subject line to every element of the release, it’s expecting media to educate an audience (21% of which is under 18 according to WSJ) about making financial transactions for potential gains based on chance.

Or maybe I’m just thinking too much into it. It just irks me, but open to your thoughts.