Bertolli's Romantic Nights Contest and Sweeps

Over the weekend I received an email from Bertolli informing me that the time has come to choose a winner in their Dinner and Your Movie contest! They have chosen four finalists who have submitted videos in this user-generated contest that began back in early February. The email was inviting me to view the finalists and vote for my favorite for a chance to win a trip to New York City.

Now to participate in the contest the submitted videos needed to explain what a romantic night means to them, what ingredients go into making a romantic night as well as they had to use Bertolli's Frozen Dinners as one of their ingredients. They then submitted these user-generated videos that were all posted on this microsite, www.BertolliNightsIn.com. From what I can tell there are a total of 328 videos submitted.

Well I watched the four videos that are posted on the site as the chosen finalists. I honestly wasn't too impressed by them, expect for one that I voted on which is clearly the favorite. So, please check it out and guess which one I voted on. You have up until the end of this month, April 30th, to vote and enter the sweepstakes.

So, now since I voted and filled out my online entry form I'm entered into the random-drawing sweepstakes for a chance to win the trip to New York. Not only does it include airfare and hotel accommodations for two, but it also comes with a chance to meet celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and two invitations to the Bertolli's premiere and party. The finalist that has the most votes at the end of the voting period will also win the same New York City trip package. The other three finalists will receive $1,000 each.

Bertolli has also partnered with NetFlix and is sponsoring a weekly sweepstakes in which they will draw 20 names each week to receive free dinner and NetFlix movies for a year. There is a separate online entry form for this sweeps, however, since I had to supply my email and a password to vote on the contest all I had to do was sign-in and I was automatically entered into this as well. So, they've done a pretty good job of collecting my personal data and asking me to opt-in to receive future info on Bertolli as well other Unilever products, who is the parent company.

The last part of this interactive promotion, which is being administered by ePrize, offers consumers a $2.50 coupon on any Bertolli's frozen dinner. Unfortunately I had to fill out another form to get the coupon, I couldn't just log-in. This form asks for additional information regarding which Bertolli products I've purchased in the past and how much. Well I haven't purchased any of the frozen dinners, but now that I have a coupon, I'll try one and then I'll probably receive future offers from Bertolli as well. Now isn't that what these interactive promotions are all about?

If you do vote, let me know here in the comments which one is your favorite and what you think overall about the promotion.

Comments

[James Dehnart]

If you've checked out the 4 Finalists, I'm sure you can guess who I voted for, my son Tim! FYI: I think it is a great contest because it's "wholesome". There's a lot of junk out on the internet trying to promote even good product through deceptive and misleading means. Bertolli has at least invested in something that is needed into today world which is building relationship and food, esp. good food, is a great intermediary. Saving a few bucks is good too! Hey, if you get the chance, check out our website www.dehnart.com and think about vboting for us. Thanks for your interest, Jim Dehnart

[Donna DeClemente]

Hi Jim,
Good luck to your son. I checked out the website you created to get some extra votes for him. Good job.

[Mackenzie Stewart]

This is a great promo. I would guess that you voted for Sidney and Phoebe. They are adorable and original, and sure got my vote!

[Donna DeClemente]

You're absolutely right Mackenzie. I'm a sucker for anything with cats or dogs in it. I thought it was a very creative entry and definitely my favorite. The voting has ended but it'll take another couple of weeks before we'll know the winner.