THANK YOU MOM REUNIONS CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
1. HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: Go to
www.thankyoumom.com and write an original essay of 600 characters or fewer that describes your great relationship with your Mom or why you want to be re-connected with your Mom. Then, submit your essay into the contest. There will be seven entry periods and at the conclusion of each, a Sponsor-specified panel of experts will determine the top 30 finalists which will then be posted online for consumer voting to select the monthly winners.
2. HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
Beginning 12:01 AM (ET) on 5/6/10, visit
www.thankyoumom.com and follow the on-screen instructions to register and enter your essay into the contest. Limit of one entry per e-mail address per entry period. Non-winning entries from each entry period will NOT be rolled over into subsequent rounds. Entry periods are as follows:
| ENTRY PERIOD |
STARTING TIMES AND DATES |
ENDING TIMES AND DATES |
| #1 |
12:01 AM ET on 5/6/10 |
11:59:59 PM ET on 5/31/10 |
| #2 |
12:00 AM (Midnight — start of day) ET on 6/1/10 |
11:59:59 PM ET on 6/30/10 |
| #3 |
12:00 AM (Midnight — start of day) ET on 7/1/10 |
11:59:59 PM ET on 7/31/10 |
| #4 |
12:00 AM (Midnight — start of day) ET on 8/1/10 |
11:59:59 PM ET on 8/31/10 |
| #5 |
12:00 AM (Midnight — start of day) ET on 9/1/10 |
11:59:59 PM ET on 9/30/10 |
| #6 |
12:00 AM (Midnight — start of day) ET on 10/1/10 |
11:59:59 PM ET on 10/31/10 |
| #7 |
12:00 AM (Midnight — start of day) ET on 11/1/10 |
11:59:59 PM ET on 11/30/10 |
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
- If Sponsor deems that the essay submission does not comply with the Official Rules of the Contest or if essay depicts experiences that are not in compliance with the Sponsor's standards (in Sponsor's sole discretion), entrant's essay will be disqualified and will not be eligible to participate in the Contest.
- ALL ENTRIES MUST BE YOUR OWN ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED WORK THAT HAS NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED NOR WON A PRIZE OR AWARD. ENTRY CANNOT CONTAIN, INCORPORATE OR REFERENCE ANYTHING THAT IS OWNED BY ANY THIRD PARTY OR ENTITY OR WOULD REQUIRE THE CONSENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY OR ENTITY IN ANY JURISDICTION. Modifying, enhancing or altering a third party's preexisting work does not qualify as Entrant's original creation.
- ALL ENTRIES MUST BE IN ENGLISH.
- You may enter in more than one entry period; however, A COMPLETED ENTRY FORM MUST BE SUBMITTED FOR EACH ESSAY THAT IS UPLOADED.
- Do not include any personally identifiable information in your essay entry or title.
- Submissions must not contain defamatory words/statements (including words or symbols that are widely considered offensive to individuals of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic group); they must not include threats to any person, place, business, or group; they must not invade privacy or other rights of any person, firm, entity, and they must not in any other way violate applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulations as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion. The submission cannot display or make reference to any commercial/corporate advertising other than Sponsor's (including but not limited to corporate logos, brand names and slogans). Submissions may not contain any references to indecent behavior, profanities or obscenities, including but not limited to nudity, pornography, and may not in any way disparage persons or organizations associated with the Sponsor. Sponsor/judges reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any entry that, in their sole opinion, refers, depicts or in any way reflects negatively upon the Sponsor, the Contest or any other person or entity, or does not comply with these requirements or these Official Rules. Submissions must be suitable for presentation in a public forum, in sole determination of judges and/or Sponsor.
- If entrant is considered a minor in his/her state of residence, entrant will receive prior permission from their parent/legal guardian.
3. ELIGIBILITY: This promotion is open only to residents of the 49 United States (excluding Maine) and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Employees of Procter & Gamble, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and internet agencies and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void in Maine and where prohibited by law.
4. JUDGING TO DETERMINE THE TOP 30 FINALISTS FOR EACH ENTRY PERIOD: All eligible entries will be preliminarily judged by D.L. Blair Inc., an independent judging organization whose decisions are final on all matters relating this Contest to determine the top 50 entries. The top 50 entries will then be judged by a sponsor-specified panel of experts to determine the top 30 finalists who will be posted online for voting. All judging will be based on the following criteria:
- Originality & Creativity of Essay — (40%)
- Overall Inspiration of Quality of Essay — (25%)
- Appropriateness of Essay to Contest Theme — (25%)
- Appropriateness of Title to Essay — (10%)
In the event of a tie during judging, the tie will be broken based on the highest score for Originality & Creativity.
5. ONLINE VOTING TO DETERMINE MONTHLY WINNERS: The top 30 finalists for each entry period will be posted at
www.thankyoumom.com. Website visitors will be given the opportunity each month to vote for their favorite entry based on Originality & Creativity to determine the 15 monthly winners. The top 15 entries that receive the most eligible votes as determined by the Sponsor will be deemed the monthly Grand Prize winners. Limit one vote per computer per day. If more than one vote per computer per day is received, only the first such vote received will be eligible. In the event of a tie for the monthly winners, tie breaker will be broken by the Sponsor- specified panel of experts' score for Originality & Creativity from the judging round.
6. PRIZES: 105 Prizes with a total approximate retail value of $126,000 will be awarded as follows: (105) Grand Prizes (15 per month) — A $1,000 gift card and a portable digital video camera; (Approximate Retail Value: $1,200.00 ea.). Terms and conditions on gift card apply. All applicable federal, state, and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner (or parent/legal guardian if winner is deemed a minor in his/her state of residence). Grand Prizes consist of only the items specifically listed as part of the Prize. Limit one Grand Prize per person or household.
7. GENERAL RULES: Potential Grand Prize winners (or parent/legal guardian if potential winner is deemed a minor in his/her state of residence) will be required to complete an Affidavit of Eligibility certifying that the essay submitted is his/her own original work and he/she holds all rights to the essay and all elements therein, that the essay has not been previously published, has not won a previous prize or award and that he/she has followed the Official Rules of the Contest and meets the requirements set forth in Rule #2. Additionally, Potential Grand Prize winners (or parent/legal guardian if potential Finalist is deemed a minor in his/her state of residence) will be required to complete a Release of Liability, Prize Acceptance Form and, if legally permissible, a Publicity Release. All documents must be completed and returned within 5 days of attempted delivery of same. Noncompliance within this time period or return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable will result in disqualification without further notice and an alternate winner may be selected. Winners will be notified by express delivery carrier/phone. No substitution or transfer of prize by winner permitted. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize of equal or greater value. All federal, state, and local taxes are the sole responsibility of winner. By accepting prize, winners (or parent/legal guardian if winner is deemed a minor in his/her state of residence) agree to release and hold Sponsor, their respective directors, officers, employees and assigns, harmless from and against any and all claims and liability arising out of use of prize. Winners (or parent/legal guardian if winner is deemed a minor in his/her state of residence) assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in this promotion or use or redemption of any prize. Acceptance of prize constitutes permission for the Sponsor and its agencies to use winner's name, essay, excerpts of essay, and/or likeness for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. Entrants (or parent/legal guardian if entrant is deemed a minor in his/her state of residence) agree to release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, its respective directors, officers, employees and assigns, harmless from and against any and all liability and damages. By participating in this promotion, entrants (or parent/legal guardian if entrant is deemed a minor in his/her state of residence) agree to be bound by the Official Rules and the judges' decisions which are final. In the event there is a discrepancy or inconsistency between disclosures or other statements contained in any contest materials and the terms and conditions of the Official Rules, the Official Rules shall prevail, govern and control. All material submitted including the essay becomes the sole property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Sponsor/judges reserve the right to: (a) use contestant's name and likeness and reproduce/distribute all entries submitted in any and all media throughout the world in perpetuity, (b) alter, amend, edit or change entries prior to distribution and (c) use, distribute, reproduce, alter, amend and copyright entries for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. Sponsor not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the contest or in the announcement of the prize. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.
8. WINNERS: For the names of the monthly Grand Prize winners, visit
www.thankyoumom.com throughout the promotion.
9. SPONSOR: The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, One P&G Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
NOTICE TO ONLINE ENTRANTS: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS PROMOTION IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Not responsible for faulty, incorrect or mistranscribed phone transmissions, incorrect announcements of any kind, technical hardware or software failures of any kind including any injury or damage to any person's computer related to or resulting from participating in or experiencing any materials in connection with the promotion, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission that may limit a user's ability to participate in the promotion. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify the promotion if fraud, misconduct or technical failures destroy the integrity of the program; or if a computer virus, bug, or other technical problem corrupts the administration or security of the program as determined by Sponsor/judging agency/administrator, in their sole discretion. If technical malfunctions or suspect voting/irregularities corrupt the voting process, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to award prizes based solely on the Finalist Judging scores or non-suspect votes. In the event of termination, a notice will be posted online and entries will be judged from among all eligible entries received prior to termination. Any damage made to the Web Site will be the responsibility of the authorized e-mail account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. Proof of submitting entries/votes will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor. Any entries/votes which are suspected of being fraudulent (including those using robotic, automatic, programmed or similar methods of participation) will be disqualified, based on determinations made solely by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to prohibit the participation of an individual if fraud or tampering is suspected or if the account holder fails to comply with any requirement of participation as stated herein or with any provision in these Official Rules.