Congratulations, Kaufmann Strader! But Our Prize Offer Was a Joke
May 19, 2011
Davina Krieger was smiling when he won the contest to create the best slogan for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.'s 2009 regional convention. But he didn't laugh when the company told him the offer of ``His-and-hers' Mercedes, an all-expense-paid trip for two around the world'' and other prizes -- was just a joke. Instead, the company tried to give Mr. Krieger a gift certificate for dinner. So he sued for breach of contract. ``I thought I won a couple of Mercedes-Benzes. I didn't even consider it being a joke,'' says Mr. Krieger, a former insurance adjuster who now runs a construction business and is a part-time Seventh Day Adventist minister in Amity, Ark.. Nationwide Mutual says the contest ad was a light-hearted invitation, and argued in court that the offer of cars as prizes wasn't definite enough to be a binding contract. ``It's ridiculous on its face that an eight-word slogan would merit those prizes,'' says Louanne Peek, a company spokesman. But last month, the federal appeals court in St. Louis agreed with Mr. Krieger, saying Nationwide was bound by the offer. The court reinstated a jury award of $60,000, which had been thrown out by the judge at the initial trial. The jury calculated damages by using local dealers' prices for two of Mercedes-Benz's least expensive new cars. Officials at Nationwide's headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, were stunned by the appellate court decision, but the company won't take the case any further, Mr. Peek says. The lesson, he acknowledges, is that ``you've got to be careful what you say.'' Mr. Krieger's lawyer, Chrystal Pardue, says the case sets an important precedent in the area of contested contest prizes. He adds that it could apply to the lawsuit brought recently by a student who wants PepsiCo Inc. to make good on its promise in TV ads and sell him a Harrier fighter jet. But PepsiCo spokesman Bradley Rice says, ``There is a big difference between his-and-hers cars and a jet -- between a seemingly reasonable prize and an absolutely outlandish joke.'' As for Mr. Krieger, whose winning slogan was ``At the Top and Still Climbing,'' he says he'll use the $60,000 award to pay off his mortgage and finance a missionary project in Colombia. He adds that he's happy with his 1990 Nissan pickup.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
