Charmin Contest Winners See Their Prizes Go Down The Drain

Well, poo!

The punny headlines practically write themselves, as Charmin fans who were flushed with pride at having won free toilet paper for a year suddenly found their wins had been wiped away, and their super supply of Super Mega rolls had been replaced by a not-so-super coupon.

Many contest participants took to social media this week to share the exciting news that they had won Charmin’s latest monthly Super Mega Sweepstakes, after taking a short online quiz and providing their email address in order to earn a free 18-pack of Charmin Super Mega toilet paper every month for a year, worth a total of more than $400.

The problem is, there’s only meant to be one winner per month. So why were so many individuals told they were the one?

Most of those individuals soon found out that they weren’t.

“Oopsie, we made a poopsie!” read an email that landed in the inboxes of the “winners” several hours later. “You recently received an email from us stating that you were the winner of the Charmin Super Mega Sweepstakes this month. Unfortunately, that message was sent in error.” As an apology, email recipients were told to await “instructions on how to receive a $2 coupon.”

$2 is a far cry from $400, and many disappointed contest winners-turned-losers let Charmin know it. “REALLY pitiful to offer a $2 coupon as an apology. TWO DOLLARS,” one complained on social media. “I am extremely disappointed with Charmin for the anxiety and then ‘oopsie’!” another wrote.

Charmin maker Procter & Gamble has not yet responded to an inquiry about how many contest entrants were told that they had won, and then told that they hadn’t, and how all of this happened at all. But based on the number of social media posts about the incident in recent days, it appears that a whole lot of people thought they were winners – perhaps everyone who entered the contest.

“I called the company to complain and tell them they should honor the winning email. The customer service rep sighed and sounded like she was fed up answering these calls,” one would-be winner wrote.

The silver lining at the end of the toilet paper roll is that the $2 offer was quickly boosted to a much more impressive $50. “We’re sorry you were impacted by our sweepstakes error,” a follow-up email read. “Rather than the initial offer, please accept two coupons, each valid for up to $25 off one Charmin package.”

Making things right by giving away $400 worth of toilet paper to the dozens, hundreds or perhaps thousands of contest entrants who were told they had won, would have cost P&G a small fortune. Giving away an equivalent amount of $50 in coupons is no small expense, either. A $2 apology would have been a lot less expensive, but likely not worth the PR headache it would have generated. “Somebody got fired,” one online commenter surmised about the whole debacle.

When it comes to contests, they say you can’t win if you don’t play. But apparently, in this case, you can lose even when you “win,” and win even when you lose. So most disappointed contest entrants appear to have decided to roll with it and not pooh-pooh their consolation prize. After all, $50 in toilet paper coupons may not have been their top choice – but for these Charmin fans, it turned out to be a strong number two.