Post by buffysmglover on Nov 24, 2007 2:30:46 GMT -5
www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/ci_7471653
Local man wins car
By JESSE B. GILL, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 11/15/2007 12:02:34 PM PST
If Redlands resident David Pruszinski didn't love the television show "Smallville" before, he certainly does now.
Pruszinski recently won a 2007 Toyota Yaris through the national "Smallville Legends: Justice and Doom" contest, an interactive marketing campaign launched by television network The CW intended to generate interest in "Smallville," a show about Superman's teenage years as Clark Kent.
The "Justice and Doom" campaign was launched near the end of the program's sixth season. The multilevel marketing program involved an on-air digital comic book that drove Smallville viewers to The CW's Web site, which in turn presented viewers with a weekly online puzzle.
Erin Poole, public relations manager at Saatchi & Saatchi, a public relations firm representing Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., said the contest was perfectly designed for fans of Smallville and drivers of the Yaris.
"The Yaris is our small sub-compact car, but it has a lot of personality," Poole said. "It's for the young and the young at heart. We find that the comic book fads are a great match for that."
A week after Pruszinski found out that he had won the "Justice and Doom" sweepstakes, his car, a Chevrolet Metro, was totaled in a hit-and-run accident.
"I was at work and I had parked on the street, Pruszinski said. "I didn't see the accident; no one did. The police came in and asked for me and they told me that my car had been hit."
The vehicle had been totaled, and though Pruszinski's car had been insured, but he owed more money on the vehicle than the cost of the repairs, which left him with little money to buy a new car.
"The insurance company paid for the damage, but I owed more than the cost of the repairs so when they were done, they handed me $10," he said.
Life without a vehicle was difficult for Pruszinski, who works in information technology. He travels a lot in his work, and at the time that his car was totaled, he was working in the Indio area.
"I told my boss that I might have some trouble getting out to Indio, and my boss was getting upset because he would have to go and take care of my work there," Pruszinski said. "So I just told him that I'd find a way to get out there."
Pruszinski devised a system in which he would take an Omnitrans bus to downtown San Bernardino, where he caught a Greyhound bus out to Indio. The system worked, though it took a lot of time.
"The trip would take four hours each way," he said. "I was spending eight hours a day on a bus trying to get to work."
So when Pruszinski won the "Justice and Doom" sweepstakes, he was surprised and and delighted. An avid fan of the show "Smallville," Pruszinski entered the "Justice and doom" sweepstakes unintentionally.
"I didn't even realize that I had entered the sweepstakes," he said. "I just went to the Web site to play the game. I just wanted to find out more about the Green Arrow character."
Shortly after his car was destroyed, Pruszinski went on a vacation.
"I decided that I wasn't going to turn on my computer or answer my cell phone," he said.
It was during his vacation and self-imposed communications blackout that representatives from The CW began trying to contact him to let him know that he had won the sweepstakes.
"I got back to work on July 5th and I had all these phone messages and e-mails," he said. "The guy from The CW told me that July 4th was actually the last day for me to respond to win the car, but since it was a holiday, they gave me an extra day."
After months of waiting as Toyota and The CW worked to settle the details of the sweepstakes, Pruszinski received his car on Friday. Originally, the sweepstakes advertised that the winner would be awarded a 2007 Toyota Yaris, but Pruszinski said that he was given a 2008 model.
"It's fully loaded and I was able to get the color I wanted (nautical blue), even though I didn't get to choose," he said.
When Pruszinski traveled to El Monte to receive his Yaris from Longo Toyota, he was relieved to have the new car waiting for him.
"He was really excited and had a big smile on his face the whole time he was here," said Longo Toyota fleet manager Mel Castelo. "He said that the car was heaven-sent."
Suzanne Castaneda, director of marketing and communications for the Penske Motor Group,said that though Longo Toyota presented the Yaris to Pruszinski, the dealership was otherwise not involved with the "Justice and Doom" campaign. Castaneda said that the campaign was born of the effort of Toyota and The CW.
"I don't know anyone who has won anything like this ever," Pruszinski said. "But things like this do happen."
Local man wins car
By JESSE B. GILL, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 11/15/2007 12:02:34 PM PST
If Redlands resident David Pruszinski didn't love the television show "Smallville" before, he certainly does now.
Pruszinski recently won a 2007 Toyota Yaris through the national "Smallville Legends: Justice and Doom" contest, an interactive marketing campaign launched by television network The CW intended to generate interest in "Smallville," a show about Superman's teenage years as Clark Kent.
The "Justice and Doom" campaign was launched near the end of the program's sixth season. The multilevel marketing program involved an on-air digital comic book that drove Smallville viewers to The CW's Web site, which in turn presented viewers with a weekly online puzzle.
Erin Poole, public relations manager at Saatchi & Saatchi, a public relations firm representing Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., said the contest was perfectly designed for fans of Smallville and drivers of the Yaris.
"The Yaris is our small sub-compact car, but it has a lot of personality," Poole said. "It's for the young and the young at heart. We find that the comic book fads are a great match for that."
A week after Pruszinski found out that he had won the "Justice and Doom" sweepstakes, his car, a Chevrolet Metro, was totaled in a hit-and-run accident.
"I was at work and I had parked on the street, Pruszinski said. "I didn't see the accident; no one did. The police came in and asked for me and they told me that my car had been hit."
The vehicle had been totaled, and though Pruszinski's car had been insured, but he owed more money on the vehicle than the cost of the repairs, which left him with little money to buy a new car.
"The insurance company paid for the damage, but I owed more than the cost of the repairs so when they were done, they handed me $10," he said.
Life without a vehicle was difficult for Pruszinski, who works in information technology. He travels a lot in his work, and at the time that his car was totaled, he was working in the Indio area.
"I told my boss that I might have some trouble getting out to Indio, and my boss was getting upset because he would have to go and take care of my work there," Pruszinski said. "So I just told him that I'd find a way to get out there."
Pruszinski devised a system in which he would take an Omnitrans bus to downtown San Bernardino, where he caught a Greyhound bus out to Indio. The system worked, though it took a lot of time.
"The trip would take four hours each way," he said. "I was spending eight hours a day on a bus trying to get to work."
So when Pruszinski won the "Justice and Doom" sweepstakes, he was surprised and and delighted. An avid fan of the show "Smallville," Pruszinski entered the "Justice and doom" sweepstakes unintentionally.
"I didn't even realize that I had entered the sweepstakes," he said. "I just went to the Web site to play the game. I just wanted to find out more about the Green Arrow character."
Shortly after his car was destroyed, Pruszinski went on a vacation.
"I decided that I wasn't going to turn on my computer or answer my cell phone," he said.
It was during his vacation and self-imposed communications blackout that representatives from The CW began trying to contact him to let him know that he had won the sweepstakes.
"I got back to work on July 5th and I had all these phone messages and e-mails," he said. "The guy from The CW told me that July 4th was actually the last day for me to respond to win the car, but since it was a holiday, they gave me an extra day."
After months of waiting as Toyota and The CW worked to settle the details of the sweepstakes, Pruszinski received his car on Friday. Originally, the sweepstakes advertised that the winner would be awarded a 2007 Toyota Yaris, but Pruszinski said that he was given a 2008 model.
"It's fully loaded and I was able to get the color I wanted (nautical blue), even though I didn't get to choose," he said.
When Pruszinski traveled to El Monte to receive his Yaris from Longo Toyota, he was relieved to have the new car waiting for him.
"He was really excited and had a big smile on his face the whole time he was here," said Longo Toyota fleet manager Mel Castelo. "He said that the car was heaven-sent."
Suzanne Castaneda, director of marketing and communications for the Penske Motor Group,said that though Longo Toyota presented the Yaris to Pruszinski, the dealership was otherwise not involved with the "Justice and Doom" campaign. Castaneda said that the campaign was born of the effort of Toyota and The CW.
"I don't know anyone who has won anything like this ever," Pruszinski said. "But things like this do happen."