OAK BROOK Ill. McDonald’s is featuring past winners of its Monopoly promotion in TV spots and on packaging for the first time to encourage participation in this year’s game, which will run through Oct. 29.
The chain said it’s using the winners in promotional materials to show that customers actually can win the top prize of $1 million. Last year’s $1 million winner, Charlotte Meade of West Virginia, is featured in a TV spot “in hopes that she’ll inspire others to play and believe they have a chance to win, too,” said Marlena Peleo-Lazar, McDonald’s chief creative officer.
During the past four years, the popular promotion has contributed on average to increased U.S. sales of 8.25 percent and increased customer transactions of 4 percent, according to McDonald’s.
The Monopoly promotion also has been the subject of scandal in the past. In 2001, McDonald’s helped the FBI arrest several people who were accused of having rigged the Monopoly’s game and other McDonald’s contests for six years. McDonald’s resumed the Monopoly sweepstakes in 2003 after improving its security.