Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK is launching The Sweetstake, a new football-themed on-pack promotion offering consumers the chance to win millions of prizes including free products and cash instantly, plus entry into a final draw for £10,000.

An adaption of the classic football fan tradition of “sweepstakes”, the unique promotion will run across 11 brands in singles, multipack and pouch packs. There will be 100 million promotional packs in the market from the 23rd of April in the lead up to and during the football this summer.

Mars Wrigley is not an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, taking place in Russia this summer, which is why there are no overt references to the tournament, just generic football references; but the confectionery giant is obviously hoping to benefit from increased consumption of its products by fans watching the matches on TV. Mars Wrigley suggests that 80% of UK football fans will watch the games at home.

Every promotional pack purchased gives consumers entry to The Sweetstake and there will be over 700 different The Sweetstake gameplay scenarios available across the promotion. Shoppers will need to enter the unique codes found inside the packs onto a microsite to see if they have won a prize, if their gameplay scenario occurs.

Each pack carries a 1 in 7.7 chance of winning prizes, which include cash prizes of £5, £20, £500 and £10,000, and also free products which are redeemable by coupons, driving shoppers back in store. Every entrant will also be added to a £10,000 super draw to be held at the end of the promotional period (16th July).

Promotional packs will all carry a visible flash, with a WIN beacon consistent across all of them. On top of this, the Mars brand is the official chocolate partner of the Men’s England Football Team, and Point Of Sale displays will be available featuring three famous players to capitalise on the nations support: Dele Ali, Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy.

Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK will also drive awareness of the promotion with a £1.2 million media spend, including a TV commercial featuring England players Marcus Rashford, Jamie Vardy and Jordan Henderson.

The promotion will also be supported by digital and live Out Of Home (OOH) media.

Katie Walland, Mars Brand Director – Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK, says: “Rooted in cutting edge shopper and consumer insight, we’re confident The Sweetstake can, with a £1.2m media spend, drive growth across the category, boost sales for retailers, and provide consumers with a way to enjoy football even more with Mars Wrigley Confectionery UK’s blockbuster brands.”

Walland adds: “As a partner of the England Football Assocation, and as supporters of the England football team, the Mars bar has football in its DNA and Mars Wrigley Confectionery produces the perfect products to stock up on ahead of a big tournament.”

Mars is the 10th biggest chocolate brand in the UK, with of £77.5m. Mars Wrigley confectionery brands include M&M’s, Snickers, Dove, Galaxy, Mars, Milky Way and Twix, Doublemint, Extra, Orbit and 5 chewing gums, Skittles and Starburst candies, and Altoids and Lifesavers mints.

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Budweiser is to reward the fans of the football team which achieves the greatest against-the-odds upset in the Third Round of the FA Cup this weekend with free beer, delivered by a helicopter with FA Cup winner David James on board.

Budweiser, the official beer of The Emirates FA Cup, has put an official Bud Chopper on standby to airdrop a Budweiser beer delivery to fans of The Emirates FA Cup’s lower-league teams which defeat their higher-ranking competitor. If no underdog victories take place, Budweiser will make the executive decision to reward the fans of the team that played the hardest on the pitch, or where the fans’ loyal support came through strongest.

The helicopter will be delivering thousands of bottles of free beer to the hometowns of the teams selected.

On Sunday 8th January from 12.00 (noon), David James and Budweiser’s dedicated team will be ready and waiting to take off from London’s Biggin Hill Airport and make its way to the home stadium of the most successful lower-league team playing in the Third Round. The Bud Chopper’s journey will be covered on Budweiser’s social channels (@BudweiserUK).

FA Cup winner, David James, says “The Third Round is an incredibly exciting and unpredictable stage in The Emirates FA Cup no matter how big your team is or what league you’re in. It’s a privilege to be able to work with Budweiser to reward the commitment and passion of all underdog teams this weekend, and celebrate the unwavering support of football fans across the UK. This Bud’s for you.”

Steph Okell, Marketing Manager, Budweiser UK, says “At Budweiser, we’re proud to be the Official Beer of The Emirates FA Cup, and celebrate great moments of ambition, unwavering belief and commitment. We think celebrating the underdog victories in the Third Round is the ultimate expression of this and is worth raising a Bud to. When the underdog defies all the odds, this is the beer we’ll drink – it’s going to be epic!”

Lucy Roberts-Hartley, The Emirates FA Cup Senior Brand Manager, says: “The Emirates FA Cup competition embodies the idea that anything is possible, with smaller teams being given the opportunity to take on Premier League giants in the Third Round. We are delighted that our partners Budweiser are celebrating the underdogs and their loyal fans over this truly iconic weekend in English football.”

This is not the first time Budweiser has given away free beer to celebrate the success of an underdog team. After the Wales team qualified for the semi-finals of the Euro 2016 football tournament in July 2016, Budweiser offered every adult resident of Wales of legal drinking age a free can of Bud. Consumers could get a voucher from a range of local Welsh newspapers or register for the offer online and download a digital voucher. Vouchers were redeemable at Tesco, One Stop and Co-op stores.

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