Hi and thanks for your question,
I have found examples of using scratchcards as a mechanism to becoming
a game show contestant in the UK and Australia, the UK was first
country to try out the idea.
UK:
During 1998 a scratchcard of this type was launched in the UK; the TV
Dreams scratchcard was linked to a tv gameshow called 'The Big Ticket'
and was aired on BBC 1:
'People win the chance to take part in the programme through buying a
£2 TV Dreams scratchcard.
The new show had prompted strong criticism before its broadcast on
Saturday. It is the first to link a scratchcard game to a television
draw. '
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/71027.stm
The chances of getting on TV were slim:
'It is not easy. First of all, you have to buy a TV Dreams scratchcard
which cost £2. Then you try and match 3 stars on the Scratchcard.
There is a 1 in a 100,000 chance of appearing on the show. Then you
will be invited to the studio. '
http://www.jcwchan.clara.co.uk/lottbigt.htm
You can find out more about the concept at these websites:
TV Dreams Game Information Leaflet -
http://lottery.merseyworld.com/Info/TVD_Leaflet.html
Information about the gameshow-
http://www.ukgameshows.com/atoz/programmes/n/national_big_ticket/
Photo of scratchcard:
http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/games/instantRememberThese.do
The show began on 28th March 1998 and ended on 11th July 1998;
scratchcard sales were low and the BBC received much criticism for
promoting a commercial product. You can read more about the problems
here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/79910.stm
Australia:
In February 2001 in Australia a gameshow called 'Cash Bonanza' (based
on using 'Scratch'n'Win' tickets) was launched:
'For a chance to be part of the game show, people will need to
purchase a Scratch’n’Win Cash Bonanza ticket. This is the first time
in Australian history that Scratch’n’Win tickets have been linked to a
national half-hour television game show.
Not only is Cash Bonanza an Australian television and lottery first,
it represents only the second time in the world that a group of
Lotteries has joined to develop a TV game show based on instant
lottery tickets.
Cash Bonanza ticket tear-off stubs with three matching symbols in the
TV contestant game panel are eligible to enter the draw to be a
television contestant. Of the eligible entries, 15 people Australia
wide will be drawn to be a televison contestant.
Contestants will vie for the chance to pay three games of chance in
true Wild West spirit... The contestant with the most money at the end
of the three games then plays head-to-head with a home viewer
contestant to win the guaranteed $100,000 major prize. '
http://www.lotteryinsider.com.au/vol14/no5.htm#05
Although I only found 2 examples of this concept in operation, I also
found information about when Richard Branson was looking to run the
lottery in the UK and proposed a similar idea, although he lost the
bid:
'Players buying the new scratchcard would gamble according to The
Times on "the chance of winning one of one hundred places on a live
television show." Challenges would then eliminate contestants down to
the one million pound winner who would receive a cheque on live
television. The BBC is interested in airing the programme in an
attempt to compete with ITV’s phenomenally successful "Who Wants to be
a Millionaire" quiz show, according to The Times.'
http://www.newsmax.com/uk/showtrafalgar.shtml?a=2000/8/27/224941
Search Strategy:
I used the following search terms in Google in answering your
question:
scratchcard gameshow:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=scratchcard+gameshow
scratchcard game show:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=scratchcard+game+show&spell=1
scratchcard contestant tv:
://www.google.com/search?q=scratchcard+contestant+tv&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
"Tv show" scratchcard:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22Tv+show%22+scratchcard&btnG=Google+Search
I hope this answers your question, please advise if you need any
clarification.
Kind regards,
Ali |
