NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER, PARTICIPATE OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
OPEN TO ALL ELIGIBLE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES, 18 YEARS AND OLDER AS OF DATE OF ENTRY. RESIDENTS OF PUERTO RICO ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO ENTER OR WIN.
1. BRIEF PROMOTION OVERVIEW: The Emerald® Nuts “Underdog Bracket Instant Win Game & Sweepstakes” (the “Promotion”) consists of an Underdog Bracket Instant Win Game (“Game”) and an Underdog Bracket Sweepstakes ("Sweepstakes"). The Game starts 2/2/10 at 12:00 A.M., ET and ends 4/15/10 at 11:59:59 P.M., ET (“Game Period”). You may play the Game (“Game Play”) once a day anytime during the Game Period. To participate in the Sweepstakes, you must play the Game between 2/2/10 at 12:00 A.M., ET and 3/18/10 at 11:59:59 A.M., ET. (“Sweepstakes Registration & Selection Period”) and you must select the team in each of the four (4) regional Conferences (“Underdog Teams”) you think will advance the furthest in the national collegiate basketball competition to be held in March-April, 2010 (“Competition”) and your favorite team (“Favorite Team”) to win the Competition, as instructed in Rule 4. You may participate on-line or via text-messaging. All entrants, regardless of method of participation, will initially be randomly assigned Underdog Teams and a Favorite team (hereinafter, the “Underdog Teams” and the “Favorite Team” will collectively be referred to as the “Teams”). If you participate on-line, you will have the opportunity between approximately 12:00 AM., ET on 3/15/10 and 11:59:59 A.M., ET on 3/18/10 (“Team Selection Period”) to change your randomly assigned Teams and personally select your Teams from the list of Teams shown on the Website; however, if you have not personally selected your Teams prior to the end of the Team Selection Period, your randomly assigned Teams will be deemed to be your Team selections. If you participate via text-messaging you will have your Teams randomly assigned to you and you will not be able to personally select other Teams. Each day that you log onto underdogbracket.com, the “Website” or text-message the Keyword, UNDERDOG to 87963 ("Short Code") during the Game Period and follow the instructions (“Game Play”), you will receive one (1) automatic Game message which will reveal whether or not you are the potential winner of a Game Prize. NOTE: Your first Game Play during the Sweepstakes Registration & Selection Period will qualify you for your (1) one opportunity to participate in the Sweepstakes. After the conclusion of the Competition, the names of all entrants who correctly selected the Underdog Team that went the furthest in its respective regional Conference bracket play-offs and the names of all entrants who selected as their Favorite Team the team that won the Competition will be entered into the Underdog Team Random Drawing and the Favorite Team Random Drawing to determine the one (1) potential winner of the Underdog Team Random Drawing and the one (1) potential winner of the Favorite Team” random drawing. The computer of the independent agency administering this Promotion shall be deemed to be the official Promotion clock. A day will be deemed to start at 12:00 A. M., ET and end at 11:59:59 P.M., ET of a calendar day. Regardless of the email address or mobile phone number you use, you may only participate in the Game once each day throughout the Game Period and you may only participate in the Sweepstakes on one (1) occasion throughout the Promotion. You may only win one (1) Game prize; however, a winner of a Game Prize is eligible to win a Sweepstakes Prize.
2. ELIGIBILITY: The Promotion is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are at least 18 years old as of the date of entry. Residents of Puerto Rico are ineligible to enter or win. Officers, directors and employees of Diamond Foods, Inc. (“Sponsor”), MARS Advertising, Inc. (“MARS”), PrizeLogic, LLC ("PrizeLogic"), Mercury Promotions & Fulfillment (“Mercury”) and their respective parent, subsidiary and affiliate companies (collectively, “Sponsor & Others”), and suppliers and other individual or entities associated with the development, administration, fulfillment or supply to this Promotion and the members of each of the aforementioned’s household and immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, children, “steps” of each, and each of their household members) are ineligible to enter or win.
3. HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GAME: There are two (2) ways to participate in the Game. (A) ON-LINE: Go to the Website during the Game Period and register by entering your valid email address, the 10 digit UPC symbol found on the outside of the package of any participating Emerald Nuts product and all other requested information including your name, valid street address (P.O. Boxes not accepted), date of birth, and telephone number. After you have successfully registered, each day during the Game Period, follow the instructions to enter your email address. If you do not have a UPC symbol, click “I Don’t have a Code” link. Each day that you log onto the Website and play the Game, you will receive one (1) automatic Game message which will reveal whether or not you are a potential winner of a Game Prize, subject to verification (B) TEXT MESSAGING: To enter via text messaging, you must be a wireless service subscriber with two-way capable text-messaging service, using a participating service provider in order to enter via this method. Each day during the Game Period that you text-message the Keyword, UNDERDOG to the Short Code, 87963, you will receive one (1) automatic return text-message message which will reveal whether or not you are a potential winner of a Game Prize, subject to verification . You may opt-out from participating in this Sweepstakes via this method at anytime by texting any of the following words to 87963: STOP, QUIT, END, UNSUBSCRIBE or CANCEL. IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR TEXT-MESSAGING METHOD OF ENTRY: Your wireless service provider may charge you standard text messaging and data rates for each text message you send and receive. Please consult your wireless service providing regarding their pricing plans prior to participating in the Promotion. Not all cellular phone providers carry the necessary service to participate. Please check your phone's capabilities for specific text-messaging instructions. Text-message Game Plays must be received by 4/15/10 at 11:59:59 P.M., ET. If you are a potential winner of a Game Prize, you will receive a text-message informing you of how to claim your Game Prize. NOTE: Regardless of your method of entry, in order for your Game Play to be a potential winner, the Game Play must have occurred either at the exact randomly predetermined winning time as determined by PrizeLogic, or if no Game Play occurred at the exact randomly predetermined winning time, then it must be the Game Play that occurred at the closest time immediately following the randomly predetermined winning time. All potential winning Game Plays, Game messages and Game Winners are subject to verification and compliance with these Official Rules as determined by PrizeLogic, whose decisions are final and binding in all matters pertaining to this Promotion. (Screen shots of Game messages will not be accepted as verification.) Limit: One (1) Game Play per person per day regardless of method of entry and email address or mobile phone number used. (C) GAME PRIZES & ODDS OF WINNING: A maximum of 500 Game Prizes are available to be won throughout the Game Period. Game Prizes consist of the following:
Description of Prize |
Quantity |
ARV/TARV |
$200 Visa® Prepaid Card Plus one (1) coupon good for one FREE Emerald product (ARV: $5.99) |
50 |
$205.99 each; |
$100 Visa Prepaid Card Plus one (1) coupon good for one FREE Emerald product (ARV: $5.99) |
100 |
$105.99 each; |
$50 Visa Prepaid Card Plus one (1) coupon good for one FREE Emerald product (ARV: $5.99) |
150 |
$55.99 each; |
$25 Visa Prepaid Card Plus one (1) coupon good for one FREE Emerald product (ARV: $5.99) |
200 |
$30.99 each; |
Total Retail Value of all Instant Win Prizes: $35,495.00 |
||
NOTE: Visa Prepaid Cards must be used in compliance with their terms and conditions as stated at http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/using-gift-cards.html. Sponsor is not responsible for misplaced, lost, stolen or tampered with Visa Prepaid Cards. Prizes are not redeemable for cash and they are not transferable or substitutable, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a Game prize with a prize of equal or greater value. Limit: One (1) Game Prize per person or household address. Game Prize will be mailed to verified winners within 8 -10 weeks of verification of winning. (ii) Odds of Winning: Odds of winning an Instant Win Prize depend on the date and time of Game Play and number of Game Plays.
4. SWEEPSTAKES: There are two (2) ways to participate in the Sweepstakes, either on-line or via text messaging. Regardless of the method by which you choose to participate, you must first register to play the Game during the Sweepstakes Registration Period. Your first Game Play during the Sweepstakes Registration Period will qualify you for your (1) one opportunity to participate in the Sweepstakes. (A) On-Line: If you participate in the Sweepstakes on-line, your Teams will initially be randomly assigned to you. Starting on or about 12:00 A.M., ET on 3/15/10 and through 11:59:59 A.M., ET on 3/18/10 (“Team Selection Period”), you will be presented with a list of Teams. During the Team Selection Period, you may change your Teams from the Teams initially randomly assigned to you to your own personal selection of Teams of those shown on the Website. If you decide to personally select your Teams, you must do so by the end of the Team Selection Period. You are only allowed one opportunity to change your Teams selection. If you decide not to personally select your Teams, the Teams initially randomly assigned to you will be deemed to be the Teams you personally selected. (B) Text-Messaging: All entrants who participate via text-messaging will have their Teams randomly assigned to them and will not be able to personally select other Teams during the Team Selection Process. The randomly assigned Teams will be deemed to be their personally selected Teams. (C) Random Drawings: The names of all entrants, regardless of method of entry, who correctly selected an Underdog Team that went the furthest in its respective regional Conference will receive one (1) entry into the Underdog Team Random Drawing for each Underdog Team they correctly selected. For example, if an entrant correctly selected only one (1) Underdog Team that went furthest in its regional Conference, the entrant will receive one (1) entry into the Underdog Random Drawing; if an entrant correctly selected the Underdog Teams that went the furthest in three (3) regional Conferences, the entrant will receive three (3) entries into the Underdog Random Drawing. The names of all entrants who correctly selected as their Favorite Team, the team that won the Competition will be entered into the Favorite Team Random Drawing. Both the Underdog Team Random Drawing and the Favorite Team Random Drawing will be conducted within approximately three (3) business days after the conclusion of the Competition by the independent agency administering this Promotion which will select the one (1) potential winner in each of the two drawings. (D) Random Drawing Prizes: The Winner of the Underdog Team Random Drawing will receive a check in the amount of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000); The Winner of the Favorite Team Random Drawing will receive a check in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000). Both potential Random Drawing Winners will be notified within approximately five (5) business days of the Random Drawing by either phone, email, mail, postal mail and/or courier. Each potential Random Drawing Winner, or his/her parent/legal guardian if a potential Random Drawing Winner is a minor in his/her state of residence, will be required to sign and return a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility/Compliance (including, without limitation, providing his/her respective Social Security Number for tax purposes) and a Liability/Publicity Release, as allowed by state law, by the return date specified in the prize notification letter. Additionally, each Random Drawing Winner will receive an IRS Form 1099 in the amount of the actual value of his/her respective Prize, as required by law. Sponsor may, at its sole discretion, disqualify and select an alternate potential Random Drawing Winner if: (a) a potential Random Drawing Winner fails to respond to notification within the time specified by Sponsor; (b) the return of notification as undeliverable; (c) a potential Random Drawing Winner’s failure to provide Sponsor with satisfactory proof of age, identity and residency; (d) a potential Random Drawing Winner’s failure to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Compliance (including, without limitation, providing his/her respective Social Security Number for tax purposes) and a Liability/Publicity Release by the return date specified by Sponsor, regardless of the cause of such failure; or (e) any other non-compliance with the Official Rules. All federal, state and local taxes are solely the responsibility of the Random Drawing Winner. Prior to the award of a Prize, Sponsor reserves the right to require a potential Random Drawing Winner to submit to a confidential background check to confirm eligibility as a condition of awarding the Prize to help ensure that the use of any such person in advertising or publicity for the Promotion will not bring Sponsor & Others into public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule or reflect unfavorably on the Promotion as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. (E) Limit: An entrant will not be eligible to win both Team Random Drawings. In the event that the same entrant is randomly selected as the potential winner in both the Underdog Team Random Drawing and the Favorite Team Random Drawing, an alternate entrant will be randomly selected as the potential winner of the Favorite Team Random Drawing. (F) Odds of Winning: The odds of winning either Random Drawing depend upon the total number of all eligible entries received.
5. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY/INTERNET: Sponsor & Othersare not responsible for illegible, lost, late, incomplete, stolen, misdirected postage due, or undeliverable, email, or postal mail; or for any computer, telephone, satellite, cable, network, electronic or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections, or availability, or garbled, corrupt or jumbled transmissions, service provider/Internet/web site/use net accessibility, availability, or traffic congestion, or any technical error, or unauthorized human intervention, or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of registration information, or the failure to capture, or loss of, any such information. Sponsor & Others are not responsible for any typographical or factual errors, incorrect or inaccurate information or answers, whether caused by any web site users, tampering, hacking, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion and assume no responsibility for any omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, technical or factual error, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to any web site(s). Additionally, Sponsor & Others bear no liability for acts of Force Majeure or other acts which result in a cancellation or delay of the Competition or any part of the Competition or otherwise interfere with the intended proper administration, operation and fulfillment of this Promotion. Sponsor & Others are not responsible for any injury or damage, whether personal or property, to participants' or to any person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Promotion. If, for any reason, the Promotion is not capable of running as planned, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Promotion and/or proceed with the Promotion in a manner deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor, including the selection of winners from among eligible entries received prior to said cancellation, termination, modification or suspension. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner based on an email address, the winning entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a submitter of a text-message, the authorized mobile phone account holder will be deemed to have submitted the message "Authorized mobile phone account holder" is defined as the natural person in whose name the wireless device has been issued and the services are billed. Text-message submitters may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that the text-message submitter is the authorized wireless device account holder associated with the text-message. Sponsor reserves the right, to disqualify any individual found, in its sole opinion, to be tampering or attempting to tamper with the operation of the Promotion; to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, including attempting to participate in the Promotion more than once daily; to be acting with the intent to disrupt the normal operation of this Promotion; or to be otherwise acting in an unsportsmanlike manner. Any use of robotic, automatic, macro, programmed, third party or like methods to participate in the Promotion will void any attempted participation effected by such methods and the disqualification of the individual utilizing the same. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF the PROMOTION IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON (S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. NOTE: SPONSOR & OTHERS MAKE NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT AS REGARDS ANY PRIZE OR ANY COMPONENT OF A PRIZE. AS SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS OF EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS TO LEARN IF ANY OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
6. PRIVACY POLICY: Any personally identifiable information collected during an entrant's participation in this Promotion will be collected by Sponsor or its representative and used by Sponsor for purposes of the proper administration and fulfillment of the Promotion as described in these Official Rules and in accordance with Sponsor's Privacy Policy as such are stated at http://underdogbracket.com.
7. PUBLICITY RIGHTS: By accepting a Prize, each winner agrees to allow Sponsor and/or Sponsor's designee the perpetual right to use his/her name, biographical information, photos and/or likeness, and statements for promotion, trade, commercial, advertising and publicity purposes, at any time or times, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, world wide, including but not limited to on the World Wide Web and Internet, without notice, review or approval and without additional compensation except where prohibited by law.
8. RELEASE: By acceptance of a prize, each winner releases and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor & Others from and against any and all costs, claims, damages, or any other injury, whether due to negligence or otherwise, to person(s) or property (including, without limitation, death or violation of any personal rights, such as violation of right of publicity/privacy, libel, or slander), due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, to participation in the Promotion, or arising out of participation in any Promotion or Trip-related activity whether hosted by Sponsor or a third party, or the receipt, use or misuse, of any prize.
9. GENERAL: By entering this Promotion, participants agree to abide by these Official Rules as stated herein throughout the Promotion Period and the decisions of Sponsor and/or PrizeLogic which are final and binding in all matters pertaining to this Promotion. In no event will more prizes be awarded than are stated in these Official Rules. In the event that due to technical, typographical, printing, mechanical or other errors, there are more potential prize winners than are stated in these Official Rules, a random drawing among the claimants will be held to determine the winners. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Except where prohibited, by participating in the Promotion, participants agree that: (a) except as otherwise specifically set forth in these Official Rules, any action arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the rights and obligations of any participant and/or Sponsor shall be filed exclusively in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division) or the appropriate Michigan State Court located in Oakland County, Michigan; and participants hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such court for the purposes of litigating any such action, and any right to a trial by jury is hereby waived; (b) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with these Official Rules, and/or the rights and obligations of any participant and/or Sponsor shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (c) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred and in no event will participants be entitled to receive attorneys' fees or other legal costs; (d) under no circumstances will participants be permitted to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief and a participant's sole remedy will be an action at law for damages to the extent allowed by sub-paragraphs (c) and (e) of this Rule 9; and (e) under no circumstances will participants be permitted, and participants hereby waive all rights, to: (i) claim punitive, exemplary, special, incidental, indirect and consequential damages and any other damages (whether due to negligence or otherwise), other than for actual out-of pocket costs described in (c) above; and (ii) have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of any participant and/or Sponsor shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan without giving effect or regard to any principles or doctrines of conflicts of law of the State of Michigan or any other jurisdiction. If any provision or provisions of these Official Rules shall be held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable or in conflict with the law of any jurisdiction, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby. All federal, state, and local laws apply. All entries become property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law.
10. WINNERS LIST: To obtain a Winners List, send a self-addressed stamped envelope postmarked by 4/30/10 to: Underdog Bracket Winners List, 35610 Mound Road, Dept 900, Sterling Heights, MI 48310-4725.
11. SPONSOR: Diamond Foods, Inc., 600 Montgomery Street, 17th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111.
The Official Rules for the Emerald Nut “Underdog Bracket Instant Win Game & Sweepstakes Promotion” may not be reprinted or republished, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Diamond Foods, Inc.
© 2010 Diamond Foods, Inc.