NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.
SPONSOR/ADMINISTRATOR: BIC USA Inc., at One BIC Way, Suite 1, Shelton, Connecticut 06484 (“Sponsor”). Match Marketing Group, 800 Connecticut Avenue, 3rd FL-east, Norwalk, Connecticut 06854 ("Administrator").
DESCRIPTION: The BIC “If I Were Principal For A Day” Promotion consists of (i) the BIC “If I Were Principal For A Day” Contest ("Contest") and (ii) the BIC “If I Were Principal For A Day” Voting Sweepstakes ("Sweepstakes") (collectively, the Contest and Sweepstakes will be understood as the “Promotion”). The Promotion consists of three phases: Phase One: Entry into the Contest. Submissions into the Contest begins 7/15/16 at 12:00:01 PM Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends 8/15/16 at 11:59:59 AM ET ("Contest Submission Period"). Phase Two: Judging of Submissions (as defined below) begins 7/18/16 at 12:00:01 PM Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends 8/17/16 at 11:59:59 PM ET by a panel selected by Sponsor (“Judging”); and Phase Three: Public Voting on the Finalist Submissions (as defined below) for Sweepstakes entry. Voting and Sweepstakes begins 8/22/16 at 12:00:01 PM Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends 9/9/16 at 11:59:59 AM ET ("Sweepstakes Voting Period"). The Sweepstakes Voting Period will be divided into nineteen (19) daily entry periods (“Daily Entry Period”). For the purposes of this Promotion a Daily Entry Period shall be defined as 12:00:01 PM ET to 11:59:59 AM ET. By participating in the Promotion, you agree to abide by and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor, Administrator and judges, which shall be final, binding, and conclusive in all respects.
ELIGIBILITY: Contest Eligibility: The Contest is open to individuals who are legal residents of, and reside in, the 50 United States and District of Columbia, twenty-one (21) years of age or older and a parent and/or legal guardian of a child between the age of 6 and 14 at the time of entry (“Eligible Child”). Sweepstakes Eligibility: The Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, who are eighteen (18) years of age or older. Persons in any of the following categories are NOT eligible to enter the Contest or Sweepstakes or win any Contest or Sweepstakes Prize(s): (a) employees, representatives or agents of Sponsor and Administrator and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, distributors, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies; (b) individuals engaged in the development, production or distribution of materials for the Promotion; (c) persons with whom they are domiciled or who are in the immediate family of a person in any of the preceding categories (including mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son, spouse, grandmother, grandfather, children or grandchildren or any of their respective spouses), regardless of where they live; or persons who reside in the same household, whether related or not, as any person in any of the preceding categories; and (d) anyone who is employed by a business that produces or distributes writing instruments. All applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
PHASE ONE: HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST: During the Contest Submission Period, ask your Eligible Child to explain what he/she would do if he/she were principal for a day and have your Eligible Child handwrite their response (75 words or less) on a piece of 8.5” X 11” paper, then take a photo of your child’s handwritten response and visit www.bicfightforyourwrite.com (“Website”) and follow the directions to complete the registration form fully and accurately with all the required information and upload the photo (the “Submission”). All Submissions must be received by 8/15/16 at 11:59:59 PM ET to be considered. The handwritten Submission must be large enough to be legible via the photo, cannot exceed one 8.5” x 11” page or 75 words in length. Submissions should not be created, enhanced or modified using any special effects, including, without limitation, filters or photoshop. Limit of one (1) Contest Submission per person for each Eligible Child (up to a maximum of ten (10) Eligible Children per person) during the entire Contest Submission Period. You may only use one (1) email address to participate in this Contest. For greater clarity, only one person can enter on behalf of any Eligible Child.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
You understand that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may disqualify any Submission for any reason, including if it determines, in its sole discretion, that the Submission fails to conform to these Official Rules in any way or otherwise contains unacceptable content as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.
RIGHTS IN AND USE OF SUBMISSION:
SUBMISSION REPRESENTATION AND WARRANTIES: You represent and warrant that the Submission is your Eligible Child’s own original work and you, on behalf of your Eligible Child, own all the rights to the Submission.
You agree to waive all claims to receive any payments, compensation and/or royalties of any kind now or in the future from the Sponsor and Administrator and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, licensees, and designees (collectively, “Sponsor Parties”), for any use of your Eligible Child’s Submission, including copyright or trademark payments, compensation and/or royalties. You represent, warrant and agree that no other party is entitled to claim any payments, compensation and/or royalties with respect to the Submission. You acknowledge and agree that the Sponsor Parties have no duty or liability, now or in the future, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of any copyright in any materials developed or created and incorporated into the Submission by your Eligible Child.
CONTEST GALLERY: The Contest Gallery will publicly display the Submissions (along with the first name, last initial, age and state of the Eligible Child who created the Submission) that have been approved by the Sponsor as a section on www.bicfightforyourwrite.com (the “Contest Gallery”). Sponsor reserves the right to post any and/or all Submissions in the Contest Gallery at www.bicfightforyourwrite.com. Sponsor does not guarantee the posting of any Submission and reserves the right to remove any posted Submission at any time or for any reason. The Submissions posted in the Contest Gallery does not in any way reflect the results of the judging process. Sponsor reserves the right to delete and/or disqualify any Submission for any reason, in Sponsor’s sole opinion and discretion, even if a Submission has been posted to the Contest Gallery.
USE OF SUBMISSIONS: By making a Submission, you, on behalf of your Eligible Child, hereby grant to Sponsor Parties a nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, create derivative works based upon, and otherwise exploit the Submission and all elements embodied therein, edited or altered as Sponsor sees fit, in whole or in part, together with your Eligible Child’s first name, last initial, city and state of residence, age, likeness, and image, together with any other material, in any manner, in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world in perpetuity, for advertising, promotional, commercial and other purposes, without further compensation, notification or permission, whether or not the Submission is a winning Submission. You understand that Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Submission by third parties. Sponsor has no obligation to make use of the rights granted herein.
Finalist Submissions, along with the first name, last initial, age and state of the Eligible Child, may also be featured on the Sponsor’s Website and social media pages.
You agree and acknowledge the Sponsor Parties may have access to material that is similar or identical to your Eligible Child’s Submission and that neither you nor your Eligible Child are entitled to any compensation for any use by the Sponsor Parties of this similar material.
PHASE TWO: JUDGING OF SUBMISSIONS:All eligible Submissions will be divided into two age groups (“Age Groups”) for judging based on the age of the Eligible Child:
Using the above criteria, the eligible Submissions will be evaluated on the basis of Originality (1-40pts maximum) – how imaginative and unique the content of the Submission is and if it shows outside of the box thinking, Creativity (1-40pts maximum) – how eye-catching and engaging the Submission is, and Presentation (1-20pts maximum) – how comprehensive the Submission is (idea). The judging panel, chosen by Sponsor, will evaluate the Submissions to determine the top five (5) Submissions per Age Group (“Finalist Submissions”). In the event of a tie, an additional “tie-breaking” qualified judge will determine the potential Finalist Submissions from among those tied based on the Judging Criteria set forth herein for the applicable Age Group. Sponsor reserves the right to select fewer than five (5) Finalist Submissions per Age Group if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Submissions. All decisions of the judging panel shall be considered final, binding and are not appealable, subject to challenge or review. Sponsor will not reveal judging scores of any Submission.
PHASE THREE: VOTING AND SWEEPSTAKES:
HOW TO VOTE AND ENTER THE SWEEPSTAKES: To vote for the Finalist you think has the best principal for a day idea in each Age Group and to receive one (1) entry for a chance to win a Sweepstakes prize: (a) visit the Website during the Sweepstakes Voting Period; (b) browse the Finalist Gallery for the applicable Age Group and vote for your favorite Finalist Submission; (c) you will then be taken to a page to complete the Sweepstakes entry form fully and accurately with all the required information; (d) read and accept the Official Rules; and (e) submit the entry by clicking the enter button. Limit of one (1) Sweepstakes entry/vote per person/email address per Daily Entry Period, per Age Group.
CONTEST WINNER DETERMINATION: At the conclusion of the Sweepstakes Voting Period, the one (1) Finalist Submission with the highest number of valid votes in each applicable Age Group, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will be deemed a potential Contest prize winner (for a total of two (2) Contest prize winners), subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules. In the event of a tie, the Sponsor will determine the winner using the judging criteria set forth above. Notwithstanding the popular vote; Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to ultimately select the winners of the Contest. All decisions of the Sponsor shall be considered final, binding and are not appealable, subject to challenge or review.
GENERAL VOTING CONDITIONS: Sponsor has the right, in its sole discretion, to maintain the integrity of the Promotion including the right to void votes, including, but not limited to, for the following reasons: multiple votes from the same user from different IP addresses or from different email addresses; fraudulent entry votes (using a redirect link, a disguised link, a fraudulent link, etc.); technical malfunction of servers or internet connection; user(s) recanting their own votes; technical or content upgrades that render votes incompatible or inconsistent; and inappropriate conduct in promoting votes (spam, harassment, offering prizes or other inducements, trading votes, etc.).
Votes received from any email account or person in excess of the stated limitations will be void, as will any votes received in violation of the Official Rules. Finalists are prohibited from obtaining votes, and entrants are prohibited from submitting votes, by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, including, without limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to any person, trading or exchanging votes, attempting to enter more than the number of times authorized herein using multiple names or email addresses or encouraging others to do so, paying third parties or companies to vote and/or create fictitious accounts for voting or using other fraudulent or deceptive voting mechanisms, or directly or indirectly using automated or improper means to submit votes or create accounts. Sponsor reserves the right to validate all votes received through any such means as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and void any votes Sponsor deems do not comply with these Official Rules. In addition, any Finalist or entrant deemed to be involved in such behavior shall be disqualified. Finalist Submissions may be disqualified if they are found to have benefited from votes submitted in violation of these Official Rules. Use of script, macro or any automated system to vote or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process is prohibited and all such votes will be void.
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER DETERMINATION: Nineteen (19) potential daily Sweepstakes Prize winners (one (1) per Daily Entry Period) will be randomly selected approximately two (2) days following each day from among all eligible Sweepstakes entries/votes received for each day. There will be nineteen (19) separate random drawings conducted, one for each Daily Entry Period of the Sweepstakes Voting Period. One (1) prize per Daily Entry Period will be awarded in a random drawing (each random drawing is a separate “Drawing(s)”). Sweepstakes entries into one Drawing do not automatically enter you into other Drawings. Non-winning entries for the Drawings will not be carried over to subsequent Drawings. Participants must reenter the next Daily Entry Period to be eligible for the next Drawing. Odds of winning a Sweepstakes Prize depends upon the number of eligible Sweepstakes entries/votes received for each day.
CONTEST PRIZES: Two (2) Contest Prizes will be awarded, one (1) to each Age Group:
The Scholarship prizes will be awarded as a payment to a qualified 529 College Savings Plan established for the benefit of the Eligible Child and winner will be required to establish a 529 College Savings Plan account, unless winner already has an existing qualified 529 College Savings Plan account for the benefit of the Eligible Child, in which case the prize will be deposited into that account. Check will be payable directly to a Section 529 education savings plan account established for the benefit of the Eligible Child. An annual account maintenance fee may apply. Non-qualified educational withdrawals may be taxed and an additional penalty may apply. All federal, state and local taxes and any other costs and expenses associated with the receipt or use of the Contest Prize are the sole responsibility of each Contest winner. All terms and conditions associated with applicable 529 accounts apply. Approximate Retail Value of Contest Prize: $12,500.00 each. WINNERS SHOULD CONSULT WITH A TAX ADVISOR ABOUT THE TAX TREATMENT AND IMPLICATIONS OF ACCEPTING THIS PRIZE (INCLUDING INCOME TAX AND GIFT TAX). Limit one (1) contest prize per household.
SWEEPSTAKES PRIZES (19) (One (1) awarded per day): A BIC Back to School prize pack of school supplies and a $100 VISA gift card (“Sweepstakes Prize”). Gift card subject to terms and conditions set forth by the issuer. Approximate retail value (“ARV”) for this prize is $200 each. Total ARV of all Sweepstakes Prizes: $3,800. Prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. Prizes may not be transferred, substituted or redeemed for cash, except at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of a Sweepstakes Prize. All federal, state and local taxes, and any other costs and expenses associated with the receipt or use of the Sweepstakes Prize are the sole responsibility of each Sweepstakes Winner. Limit one (1) Sweepstakes Prize per person/email address/per household. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.
CONTEST WINNER VERIFICATION/NOTIFICATION: Potential Contest winners ("Potential Winners") will be notified by telephone and/or email on or about 9/12/2021 through 9/26/2016. For the purpose of this Promotion, the parent or legal guardian of the Eligible Child who created the Submission will be deemed the “Potential Winner” and, upon verification, the “winner” and must comply with all requirements imposed on the Potential Winners and winners as set forth herein. If a Potential Winner is found to be ineligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, declines to accept a prize, or if the notification that the Sponsor sends is returned as undeliverable, or a Potential Winner is otherwise unreachable for any reason, the prize will be forfeited and Sponsor may award the prize to an alternate Potential Winner. If a Potential Winner cannot be reached or fails to respond for a period of five (5) calendar days following first attempted notification, prize may be forfeited and an alternate potential winner may be notified. Potential Winners will be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability and Publicity Release to be completed, executed, and returned within five (5) calendar days of initial notification. Non-compliance by the Potential Winner within this time frame will result in the Potential Winner being disqualified, and the prize may be awarded to an alternate Potential Winner. Potential Winners must agree to and clear a criminal background check as part of the eligibility requirement, internal review and verification process and may be contacted and required to provide further information within two (2) calendar days in order to conduct the background check. If a Potential Winner fails to agree to a background check and/or pass a background check, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, such Potential Winner may be disqualified. Email notification shall be deemed to have occurred on the date Sponsor or Sponsor’s designee first attempts to make email contact with the Potential Winner. In compliance with United States Internal Revenue Service regulations, Administrator will send a Form 1099-MISC to all prize winners receiving a prize valued in excess of $600. Sponsor and Administrator require disclosure of such prize winner’s social security number for tax purposes. Sponsor is not responsible for any change in entrant's email address or unsuccessful efforts to notify the Potential Winner.
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER VERIFICATION/NOTIFICATION: Potential Sweepstakes daily prize winners will be notified by email following the applicable Drawing using the information provided on such potential winner’s entry form. In order to receive a Sweepstakes prize, each potential winner (and if a winner is an eligible minor, his or her parent or legal guardian) will be required to respond and provide their full name, mailing address (No P.O. Boxes), date of birth and phone number (including area code) within forty-eight (48) hours of the email sent by Sponsor in order to verify the Sweepstakes potential winner and award a Prize, or an alternate winner may be randomly selected from among all remaining Valid Entries for the applicable Drawing, at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Email notification shall be deemed to have occurred on the date Sponsor or Sponsor’s designee first attempts to make email contact with a potential winner. If a potential winner is found to be ineligible for any reason, declines to accept the prize, or if prize email notification is returned as undeliverable, any non-response by a potential winner within the prescribed response period, or if a potential winner is non-compliant with these Official Rules, the Prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner may be randomly selected for the applicable Drawing from among all remaining Valid Entries. Sponsor is not responsible for any change in entrant's email address or unsuccessful efforts to notify the potential Prize winner.
PUBLICITY GRANT: Submission and/or entry and acceptance of the Contest or Sweepstakes Prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to use Sweepstakes or Contest winner's (and the applicable Eligible Child’s) name, age, city, state, likeness and/or photograph and statements for advertising/trade and all other purposes, in any manner, in any and all media, and all media now or hereafter known worldwide, including the Internet and social networking sites, without further compensation or notification to, or permission from any Sweepstakes or Contest winner, unless prohibited by law in perpetuity.
FOOTAGE: The Sponsor may elect to conduct a “Handwriting Day” event that highlights each of the Contest winners, which may also be videotaped/recorded at a date and time to be determined by Sponsor, in their sole discretion. Contest winners and may be photographed, videotaped and otherwise recorded by Sponsor (collectively, "Footage") during such event. Footage will be owned by Sponsor who has the right to use, edit, adapt, post, stream, copy and exploit such Footage and all elements embodied therein, including the names and likenesses of any persons appearing in the Footage, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised throughout the world, in perpetuity, for advertising, promotional, trade and other purposes. As a condition of participating in the “Handwriting Day” event, Contest winners must agree that their names, age, city, state, likenesses, and those of any other individuals present at the event may be included in the Footage, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. Contest winners agree to help Sponsor obtain necessary releases (as applicable) if requested by Sponsor to do so.
GENERAL CONDITIONS: Entrants, by participating, agree that Sponsor, Administrator, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and advertising and promotion agencies and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents (collectively, “Released Parties”) will have no liability whatsoever for, and shall be held harmless by entrants against, any liability, for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind, including death, to persons, or property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of prize(s) (including any travel or activity related thereto) or participation in this Promotion. Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, inaccurate, stolen, misdirected, undelivered, delayed, garbled, illegible or damaged Submissions and/or entries, votes or email; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), Website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Promotion, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Promotion, the processing of Submission and/or entries or votes, the judging of Submissions, the tabulating of votes, the announcement of the prizes or in any Promotion-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to entrants’ or to any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Promotion or downloading materials from or use of the Website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Promotion or Website or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Submissions and/or entries and/or votes will be void. If for any reason the Contest and/or Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes, which corrupts or affects the administration or proper conduct of the Contest and/or Sweepstakes, the Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest and/or Sweepstakes or any element thereof and/or to disqualify any individual who tampers with the Submission and/or entry process. If the Contest is cancelled, Sponsor may select the Contest Winner from among all non-suspect, eligible Submissions received up to time of such action using the winner determination procedure set forth above or as otherwise deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor. If the Sweepstakes is cancelled, Sponsor may randomly select the Sweepstakes Prize Winners from among all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of such action for the applicable daily drawing(s) or as otherwise deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor. The use of any automated launching or entry software or any other mechanical or electronic means that permits the entrant to automatically enter repeatedly is prohibited. Any entries found or suspected to be submitted in this manner will be deemed ‘void’ by the Sponsor.
DISPUTES: This Promotion is governed by the laws of the United States and the State of Connecticut, without respect to conflict of law doctrines. As a condition of participating in this Promotion, entrants agree that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with this Promotion, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court located in Connecticut having jurisdiction. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will entrants be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waive all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages, including attorneys' fees, other than entrant's actual out-of-pocket costs associate with entering the Promotion, and entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
DATA COLLECTION: All Submissions and/or entries become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be returned or acknowledged. All Submission information will be held and used in accordance with the Official Rules and Sponsor’s Privacy Policy located at www.bicfightforyourwrite.com.
WINNER’S LIST CONTEST AND SWEEPSTAKES: For the names of the winners (available after 10/14/16), send a self-addressed, stamped #10 envelope by 11/15/16 to: Winner’s List Request, BIC If Were Principal For a Day” Contest and Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 282, Wilton, CT 06897-0282.
©2016 BIC USA Inc.