History Main / CompetitionCouponMadness

* In ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'', Scooby and Shaggy go through 450 boxes of cereal to be the first to ride a new roller coaster at a local amusement park. When the park owner asks in astonishment how they were able to eat that much cereal, Shaggy replies, [[BigEater "Like, we were hungry."]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'', the ''Slimer!'' segment "Dr. Strangedog", Slimer consumed numerous boxes of Freaky Flakes in order to save 100 coupons for a Super Duper Spy Kit.

* The ''WesternAnimation/BumpInTheNight'' episode "Made in Japan" had Mr. Bupy save some box tops from Choco Space Flakes cereal to receive a Turbo Totrenoid robot. When disappointed by the robot being tiny and non-threatening, he and Squishington then decide to mail Little Robot back for a full refund and start saving up on box tops from Sugar Frosted Shark Puffs in order to get a toy submarine.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' had our titular character devouring 100 boxes of Kelpo Krunch practically all at one sitting, all in order to get the box tops needed to send in for a free toy. He then realizes he didn't necessarily have to eat ''all'' the cereal in the aforementioned boxes.

* In the Dorothy Sayers novel ''[[Literature/LordPeterWimsey Murder Must Advertise]]'', Lord Peter Wimsey comes up with a marketing campaign based on this scheme while working undercover in an advertising agency.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* In the first two seasons of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' , Ash wears the hat he won from a competition like this.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film]]
* In ''Film/AChristmasStory'', Ralphie collects label after label from containers of Ovaltine, coming to hate the stuff, but drinking it anyway because he knows if he collects enough labels he'll get that coveted ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie decoder ring. When he finally gets the ring and decodes the secret message, he discovers that the message reads: [[spoiler: Be sure to drink your Ovaltine]].

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

-->'''Palaeno:''' Would you like some more ink? I've got plenty!
-->'''Edgeworth:''' Ah... thank you, I shouldn't need any more.
-->'''Palaeno:''' Oh... in that case, let me make it up to you with some coupons!
-->'''Edgeworth:''' I-I have plenty of those, too! ''(Where is he conjuring them up from?!)''

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

-->'''Bart:''' Nice jacket!
-->'''Milhouse:''' Thanks, it cost me 50,000 Bazooka Joe comics!

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* ''Series/TheGoodies'': In "It Might As Be String", one of the violent advertisements the ad industry has sunk to at the start of the episode involves Captain Fisheye (a parody of Captain Birdseye) announcing that he has your children and will only release them if you send in box tops from 10 packets of Fisheye Fish Fingers.

* There's a book of short stories - "Clarence, the TV Dog" - where in one of them there's a prize for the best entry on why they like the sponsor's product, which is cod liver oil. Well, the dog likes it, and the kid who wants to win pretends to be the dog by claiming that's his name. A rep from the manufacturer comes to see them because his was the only entry that claimed the actual person entering liked it (all the others said someone else, other than that person, did) and has brought some cod liver oil with him to see the contest winner actually drink the product. Calling out the kid's "name" - which is actually the dog's name - keeps making the dog come over, and the kid can't pretend that the awful tasting liquid is delicious. So he doesn't win the first prize, but does win the second. A six months' supply of cod liver oil.
* In Robert [=McCloskey=]'s ''Centerburg Tales'' the town's children proudly show off the jacks sets and tops they received from sending in Whoopsy-Doodle Breakfast Food boxtops to Grampa Hercules, who reminisces about the time when he saved up chewing tobacco plugs to receive a music box. Uncle Ulysses, however, complains about how his lunchroom is now the "proud" owner of six dozen topless boxes of Whoopsy-Doodles, which Grampa Hercules offers to feed to his chickens.
-->"It's a deal," said Uncle Ulysses. "Last year I had to throw out seventy-two boxes of Wheatsy-Beatsies."\\
"I remember," growled the sheriff. "And all of you young uns were shootin' up the town with yer Wheatsy-Beatsy Ray Guns! Every time I turned around, an Eatsy-Wheatsy Gay Run anged off in my beer--I mean ear!"

* Music/TomLehrer's "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier", on the album ''Music/AnEveningWastedWithTomLehrer'', parodies this, or rather parodies the military's staffing standards of the time through the medium of this trope. An up-and-coming young Lieutenant is said to be destined for a promotion to Captain... once he collects enough boxtops.

* There's a book of short stories - if some other editor remembers, please insert its name - where in one of them there's a prize for the best entry on why they like the sponsor's product, which is cod liver oil. Well, the dog likes it, and the kid who wants to win pretends to be the dog by claiming that's his name. A rep from the manufacturer comes to see them because his was the only entry that claimed the actual person entering liked it (all the others said someone else, other than that person, did) and has brought some cod liver oil with him to see the contest winner actually drink the product. Calling out the kid's "name" - which is actually the dog's name - keeps making the dog come over, and the kid can't pretend that the awful tasting liquid is delicious. So he doesn't win the first prize, but does win the second. A six months' supply of cod liver oil.

-->--'''Music/TomLehrer''', "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier"

* Music/TomLehrer's "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier" parodies this, or rather parodies the military's staffing standards of the time through the medium of this trope. An up-and-coming young Lieutenant is said to be destined for a promotion to Captain... once he collects enough boxtops.

* Music/TomLehrer's "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier" parodies this, or rather parodies the military's staffing standards of the time through the medium of this trope. An up-and-coming young Lieutenant is said to be destined for a promotion to Captain... Once he collects enough boxtops.

* In Robert [=McCloskey=]'s ''Centerburg Tales'' the town's children proudly show off the jacks sets and tops they received from sending in Whoopsy-Doodle Breakfast Food boxtops to Grandpa Hercules, who reminisces about the time when he saved up chewing tobacco plugs to receive a music box. Uncle Ulysses, however, complains about how his lunchroom is now the "proud" owner of six dozen topless boxes of Whoopsy-Doodles, which Grandpa Hercules offers to feed to his chickens.

* In the Dorothy Sayers novel ''[[LordPeterWimsey Murder Must Advertise]]'', Lord Peter Wimsey comes up with a marketing campaign based on this scheme while working undercover in an advertising agency.

* In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'', Colias Palaeno, the Ambassador of Babahl, keeps handing out coupons in order to drum up tourism -- they can only be redeemed in Babahl.

* In the ''AngryBeavers'' episode "Box Top Beavers", Dag picks brands of cereal that have cheap toys in the box, while Norb picks brands of cereal that give you cool toys for sending in the box tops. When Dag decides to go for the cool prize (a ''[[RefugeInAudacity street sweeper]]''), and finally finishes eating 10,000 boxes of cereal, he finds out that the sponsors have discontinued the promotion, and the brothers infiltrate the factory to get the prize.

* In ''HeyArnold'', Arnold and Gerald need to collect 50 cereal box coupons to earn a children's telescope so they can see an upcoming passing comet. Since they collected half of the coupons, they invite their friends and neighbors for the remaining cereal.

* In the ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'' comic book story "Dennis vs. Television", which was also translated into Spanish, Dennis collected cereal box tops without actually buying the cereal, hoping to win a big prize.
* Calvin from ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' once saved up weeks of cereal box tops to get a propeller beanie that he incorrectly thought would make him fly.

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* Pepsi ran an ad for its "Pepsi Points" program that advertised an AV-8 Harrier in exchange for 7,000,000 points. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc As you might expect, a man presented them with the cash value for the points and demanded the fighter jet]]. Fortunarely, the judge used the Reasonable Person clause and decreed that Pepsi was not legally obligated to fulfill the man's wishes.

* During a 1999 promotion run by Pepsi where sending in 7,000,000 points off of 2 liter bottles would get you an AV-8 Harrier jet. According to the story, this was a joke, because they didn't expect anyone to collect that many points. The story tells that Pepsi got into serious legal trouble [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc when a man presented them with the cash value for the points and demanded to know "Where's my fighter jet?"]]. Aside from the fact the judge used the Reasonable Person clause, there were several legal rules in which there was actually no binding contract and Pepsi was not legally obligated to fulfill the man's wishes.

** [[http://www.snopes.com/business/deals/pepsijet.asp Here's the snopes link.]]