As Chris Micallef went through yet another of his favourite Pringles, little did he imagine that they would win him the adventure of a lifetime. In fact, on Sunday 30 April, Chris left for a nine-day trip to New Zealand, courtesy of Pringles and V.J. Salomone Marketing.
It all started when Chris saw a massive Pringles display in a local supermarket, which enticed him into buying three limited edition Pringles cans. Each can had a code that gave him access to the Pringles Kong Trivia Challenge on the internet.
Although the challenge was taken up by 2,645 participants from all over Europe, it was the 30-year-old Maltese teacher who came first by amassing a whopping 4,830 points, beating one and all. He accumulated 10 points for each correct answer to the Kong trivia until, by the deadline at the end of January, he had won the grand prize.
On his first day in the competition Chris had just 30 points, while others had already accumulated over 800 points. However his determination to win the prize propelled him into first place by the end of December.
Equally resolved to win the prize were two other contestants – one from the Czech Republic and the other from Croatia – who briefly overtook him on points. A fierce rivalry existed up until the dying hours of the competition.
Undaunted, Chris bought Lm93 worth of Pringles, in two batches, and spent the last two days of the competition writing down codes and answering questions. On 30 January he had regained first place; the following day – the last day of the competition – he had once again slipped down to third. But with determination, he amassed the 4,830 points that won him the prize. The second place winner had 4,160 points and the third 3,890.
Chris was ecstatic to hear that he had won a week’s visit to the famous Weta Digital Studios in Wellington, New Zealand. In these studios writer/director Peter Jackson directed the new, large-scale remake of King Kong, featuring a monstrous computer-
generated ape, created by Jackson’s special effects company. Peter Jackson is also the acclaimed director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
“It gives us great pride to have a Maltese contestant win this prize from among millions of Pringles consumers across Europe. The Pringles/Kong association is a great example of the broad appeal and excitement generated by the brand due to its superior taste and unique packaging,” said V.J. Salomone Marketing executive director Victor A. Galea, as he presented Chris with his prize, some spending money and two additional nights at the Intercontinental in Wellington. “Pringles is a winner in a league of its own and we are very excited to have made it possible for Chris to visit the legendary Peter Jackson’s Studios in New Zealand.”
Although the first film featuring King Kong was released in 1933, the character continues to fascinate people to this day. Likewise, Pringles is no newcomer to the scene.
The P&G product was launched in October 1968. The name came about when the company made a list of street names that began with “P”, from a Cincinnati phone book. Pringle Avenue in Finneytown was available for trademark, and it appealed to the brand.
The first Pringles were packaged in a tall, cylindrical metal can with a red wrapper. And since then, many different flavours and varieties have been created.