Hershey's Ties Thousands of Prizes to Olympics

Hershey's is playing up its Olympic sponsorship with a instant-win game and premiums.

The Hershey Co. is promoting its sponsorship of the Olympics by giving away more than 100,000 prizes with the top prize of a 2008 Chevy Tahoe.

People who buy specially marked packages of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat Wafer Bar, York Peppermint Pattie, or Almond Joy candy bars look inside the wrappers to see if they have won a prize. In addition to the grand prize, five first-prize winners will each receive a 42-inch Panasonic Plasma TV, Another 100,000 people will receive $10 Visa cards.

The instant-win game, which runs through March 30, promotes Hershey’s sponsorship as the official U.S. Olympic Team Supplier for the 2008 Olympic Games. Visitors to http://www.hersheys.com/usolympicteam can read biographies of two Olympic hopefuls, Donny Robinson, a BMX biker and Sanya Richards, a 2004 Olympic 4x400m Gold Medalist.

On the site, Hershey’s is also offering a free set of U.S. Olympic Team Rings Wristbands with qualifying purchases. Each ring is inscribed with the words "Dream. Believe. Achieve." to represent the ideals of the Olympic athlete. People send in a form with three UPC codes from 9.2 oz. or larger size bags of Hershey’s Kisses Brand Milk Chocolates, York Peppermint Pattie, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey’s Miniatures Chocolate bars, or Twizzlers candy by Aug. 23 to receive the premiums.

On-pack materials and online marketing supports the promotion.