Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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NOVELTY ARTICLE AND PRODUCT PROMOTION USING THE
NOVELTY ARTICLE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a novelty article and to a method of promoting a
product
using the novelty article as a dummy product.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to promote sales of a product by distributing prizes in articles
which
simulate the appearance of the article being promoted, and seeding the prize-
containing articles amongst the products on sale. Examples of such articles
are
disclosed in US Patent No. 4,911,320, 5,056,659, 5,056,681 and 5,099,232 to
Howes,
in which a prize award is secreted in a compartment under the lid or in the
base of a
dummy drink can or bottle.
However, the simulated bottle constructions disclosed in the Howes patents
have
relatively small prize chambers and are thus limited in the size, and
therefore type, of
the prize which can be awarded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to provide an alternative construction for a prize-
containing simulated bottle for use in promotions.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a container for
a
prize, said container having an exterior appearance which simulates an
exterior
appearance of a bottle for a liquid product and including first and second
components
which are separably attached to each other, wherein:
the first and second components together defining a substantially closed inner
prize chamber within the container, the prize chamber being adapted to contain
said
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the first and second components together defining a substantially closed inner
prize chamber within the container, the prize chamber being adapted to contain
said
prize and being configured to be opened when the components are separated from
each other;
each of the first and second components has an exterior wall and a peripheral
space separate from and surrounding the prize chamber;
each of the first and second components is adapted to contain a liquid in the
peripheral space of that component;
each of the first and second components has a transparent exterior wall
through
which the liquid in the respective component is visible;
the article being configured such that the first and second components
together
appear substantially as a single component having an exterior appearance which
simulates the exterior appearance of a bottle and the liquid in the two
components
simulates a single body of said liquid product.
Preferably, the container has a first upper component which simulates a top
portion of said bottle and said second component which simulates a base
portion of
said bottle, the upper component simulating shoulder, neck and cap portions of
the
bottle.
Preferably, said liquid in said upper component partly fills said peripheral
space in the
upper component such that there is a headspace visible through the transparent
exterior wall of said upper component, and said peripheral space of lower
component
is substantially wholly filled with said liquid.
In one embodiment, the upper and lower components may join at along a
circumferential seam, said container further comprising a label covering said
seam.
Preferably the is substantially identical to a label of said bottle being
simulated, and
may be a band about a circumference of said container.
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The cap portion of said upper component may be removable to provide access to
a
further chamber of the upper component separated from said peripheral space
containing said liquid. The further chamber is adapted to contain a prize
notification.
Desirably, the liquid in said peripheral spaces of said first and second
components is
sufficiently opaque to prevent visible detection of said inner chamber through
said
transparent exterior walls of said components.
In one form, the container includes a prize article, preferably a mobile
communications device such as a mobile telephone, located in said inner
chamber.
A further form of the invention provides a method of promoting, to consumers,
a
bottled liquid, having an exterior appearance, the method including the steps
of:
providing a prize container according to the invention, having an exterior
appearance substantially corresponding to the exterior appearance of said
bottled
liquid product,
providing a prize item for a consumer within the prize chamber of said prize
container; and
positioning the prize container amongst a plurality of said bottled liquid
products such that the novelty article appears as a said product and thereby
constitutes
a dummy product, for chance selection by a particular said consumer.
Preferably the prize located in the inner chamber of the container includes a
mobile
telecommunications device which is pre-programmed to contact a prize
allocation
station.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of
example
only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of a novelty article in accordance with
an embodiment of the invention;
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Figure 2 is a schematic exploded partly sectioned view, from the side, of the
novelty article of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a schematic exploded sectioned perspective view of the novelty
article of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a schematic exploded perspective view of parts of components of
the novelty article of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a schematic exploded perspective view of parts corresponding to
those of Figure 4, but according to another embodiment, with the components
shown
alongside each other;
Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the encircled detail of Figure 1, shown partly
cut away; and
Figure 7 is a schematic exploded sectioned view, similar to that of Figure 2,
with the lid of the novelty article removed, and with a communication system
in the
chamber of the article.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a novelty article 10 which is
shaped in the
form of a bottle. The article 10 includes a first, upper component 12 and a
second,
lower component 14, these components, in a preferred embodiment, being of
plastic.
The upper component 12 and the lower component 14 have inner walls 16 and 18,
respectively. The article 10 is configured such that when the upper component
12 and
the lower component 14 are attached to each other, as described in more detail
below,
and as shown in Figure 1, the inner walls 16 and 18 together form a
substantially
closed inner chamber 20 of the article, indicated as hidden detail by the
broken line 21
in Figure 1.
The upper component 12 and lower component 14 also have exterior walls 22 and
24,
respectively. Additionally, the upper component 12 has a transverse wall 26
which
interconnects the inner wall 16 and exterior wall 22 of the upper component.
Similarly, the lower component 14 has a transverse wall 28 which interconnects
the
inner wall 18 and exterior wall 24 of the lower component 14. With reference
to
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Figure 1, it will be noted that the transverse wall 28 defines part of the
chamber 20.
The exterior walls 22 and 24 are transparent, while in a preferred embodiment,
the
inner walls 16 and 18, and transverse walls 26 and 28, are not transparent.
As can best be seen in Figures 2 and 3, the inner wall 16 of the upper
component 12
projects downward beyond the transverse wall 26, and hence beyond the exterior
wall
22, to form an extension wall portion 30, which has an external screw thread
32. In a
similar manner, the exterior wall 24 of the lower component 14 extends upward
beyond the transverse wall 28 and hence beyond the inner wall 18, to form an
extension wall portion 34 which has an internal screw thread 36.
The exterior wall 22 of the upper component 12 extends upwardly from the
transverse
wall 26, to a shoulder portion 38, and then to a neck portion 40, above the
shoulder
portion. As shown in Figure 6, the neck portion 40 has an external screw
thread 42
which is engaged with a complimentarily, internally threaded lid 44. There is
provided a blanking wall 46 (see Figures 3 and 6) which extends across the
neck
portion 40, approximately at the intersection between the neck portion and the
shoulder portion 48. Thus, the neck portion 40 and the blanking wall 46
together
define a small cavity 48 at the top of the upper component 12 beneath the lid
44,
which opens through an opening 50 defined by the uppermost edge, or rim, 52 of
the
neck portion 40 (see Figure 6).
It will be appreciated that the inner wall 16, exterior wall 22, transverse
wall 26, and
blanking wall 46 of the upper component 12 define a fully enclosed space 54 of
the
upper component, with a lower part 54.1 of the space being disposed between
the
exterior wall 22 and the chamber 20.
In the lower component 14, the exterior wall 24 extends inwardly at the bottom
of the
lower component, to form a base 56. The inner wall 18, exterior wall 24,
transverse
wall 28 and base 56 define a fully enclosed space 58 of the lower component
14, with
an upper portion 58.1 of the space being disposed between the exterior wall 24
and the
chamber 20.
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As shown in Figure 2, a coloured liquid 59 is provided in the space 54 of the
upper
component 12, and in the space 58 of the lower component 14. The liquid 59 in
the
space 58 of the lower component 14 substantially completely fills that space
while the
liquid in the space 54 of the upper component 12 does not quite fill that
space so that
there is a small volume 60 within the upper component 12, when the article 10
is in an
upright orientation as shown in Figure 2, in which there is no liquid.
The liquid 59 in the space 58 of the lower component 14 is poured into this
space
through an aperture 62 which is closed by suitable means after this liquid has
been
poured. The liquid 59 in the space 54 of the upper component 12 may be poured
into
that space through a similar aperture (not shown) which is also closed by
suitable
means after pouring of this liquid, or through the neck portion 40 prior to
the
provision of the blanking wall 46. In this case, once the liquid 59 has been
poured
into the space 54, the blanking wall 46 is inserted into the neck portion 40
and secured
thereto in a suitable manner, as will be understood by those skilled in the
relevant art,
so as to form a liquid-proof seal.
It will be appreciated that the spaces 54 and 58 of the upper and lower
components 12
and 14, respectively, are completely separate from the chamber 20 so that the
liquid
59 in these spaces cannot enter the chamber.
The upper component 12 and the lower component 14 are attached to each other
by
the screw threads 32 and 36, and can therefore be separated by unscrewing the
upper
component from the lower component. It will be appreciated that unscrewing the
components in this way separates the inner wall 16 from the transverse wall
28, thus
opening the chamber 20 and allowing any contents thereof (as described
further,
below) to be removed.
When the upper component 12 is connected to the lower component 14 as shown in
Figure 1, the lowermost extremity of the exterior wall 22 of the upper
component 12
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and the uppermost extremity of the extension wall portion 34 of the lower
component
14 abut each other in an aligned manner so as to define a seam 64.
If a label 66 is placed on the article 10 so as to extend entirely around the
article and
thereby completely obscure the seam 64 as shown in Figure l, it will be
appreciated
that the upper and lower components, 12 and 14, respectively, together appear
as a
single, unitary component, and the liquid 59 in the space 54 of the upper
component
and that in the space 58 of the lower component appears as a single body of
liquid.
This provides the article 10 with the appearance of a bottle filled with the
liquid. This
impression is facilitated if the liquid 59 is of relatively dark colour to
obscure view,
from a position exterior to the article 10, of the inner walls 16 and 18, and
of any
contents of the article.
Referring to Figure 5, there is shown a detail of another embodiment of the
article 10,
which, instead of having screw threads 32 and 36 to attach the upper component
12 to
the lower component 14, has a "bayonet" fitting. The bayonet fitting includes
a dog-
legged slot which comprises a vertical slot portion 70 and a horizontal slot
portion 72
within the extension wall portion 34 of the lower component, and a radially
outwardly
extending stud 74 on the extension wall portion 30 of the upper component. (In
Figure 5, for convenience, the upper component 12 is shown rotated relative to
the
lower component 14 so that the stud 74 is visible. In use, however, the upper
component is positioned for the stud to be received in the slot portions 72
and 74.) To
attach the upper component 12 to the lower component 14, the components are
mated
such that the stud 74 slides into the vertical slot portion 70, whereafter the
upper
component can be rotated relative to the lower component to allow the stud to
slide
into the horizontal slot portion 72 to prevent separation of the upper and
lower
components. A reverse process is used to separate the components 12 and 14
from
each other. It will be appreciated that an additional, similar arrangement of
slot
portions 70 and 72, and stud 74, can be provided on a diametrically opposite
side of
the article 10.
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The article 10 may be used in promoting, for sale, a product of a particular
type to
consumers. The method may, for example, be performed by a person or entity
such as
a promotion coordinator or a supplier of the products. According to this
method, the
particular embodiment of the article 10 which is used is such that the
exterior
appearance thereof is substantially the same as that of each product of the
type in
question.
The method involves positioning the novelty article 10 amongst a number of the
products in question, such that the novelty article looks substantially the
same as each
of the products, whereby the novelty article constitutes a dummy product. An
example of where this method may be employed is where each product is a bottle
containing a soft drink, where the products are placed on display in a retail
outlet, in a
commercial refrigerator.
To render the appearance of the dummy article 10 the same of that of each of
the
products, the liquid within the dummy product may selected so as to have an
appearance substantially identical to that of the relevant soft drink, and may
indeed be
that type of soft drink liquid itself.
The performance of the method relies on the chance selection of the novelty
article 10
by a particular consumer, in which the consumer believes that he or she is
selecting,
for purchase, an actual item of the product.
In one embodiment of the invention, the method relies on a prize being
provided,
within the chamber 20 of the novelty article 10.
Also provided is a set of indicia in the form of written instructions, on a
medium in the
form of a folded sheet of paper 82 within the cavity 4~.
After the consumer has selected the novelty article 10, believing it to be an
item of the
product, the consumer removes the lid 44 in an attempt to access the contents
of what
the consumer believes (in the present example) to be a bottle of soft drink.
Once
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having removed the lid 44, the consumer will realise that the novelty article
10 is a
dummy product rather than a genuine item of the product, and will observe the
sheet
of paper 82 within the cavity 48, and will thus be prompted to remove the
sheet
through the opening 50 and to read the instructions on the sheet.
The instructions include that the consumer should remove the label 66 on the
article
thus exposing the seam 64, and to separate the upper and lower components 12
and
14, respectively, from each other. The manner of separation of the components
12
and 14 will, of course, depend on whether the article 10 is the embodiment
having
10 screw threads 32 and 36, or the bayonet configuration described above with
reference
to Figure 5.
As the components 12 and 14 are separated from each other, the chamber 20 is
opened, and the prize within the chamber is revealed, as a surprise to the
consumer.
The prize may be of any suitable form to attract the interest of consumers,
such as
cash money, a ticket for an event such as a sporting event, a gift- or similar-
voucher,
a toy or trinket, jewellery, and so on.
In another embodiment, there is provided, within the chamber 20 of the novelty
article
10, a two-way communication system 76 which includes a navigation satellite
system
tracking device 78, for example a global positioning system (GPS) It will be
appreciated that other satellite navigation tracking systems, such as the
European
Galileo system, may also be suitable. The conununication system 76 is in the
form of
a mobile (cellular) telephone and is referred as such, below. The telephone 76
includes an actuation means in the form of a press-button 80.
In this embodiment, the piece of paper 82 with instructions is removed from
the cavity
48 in the manner described above. In this embodiment, the instructions may
require
the consumer to remove the telephone 76 from the chamber 20 once the chamber
has
been opened on separation of the components 12 and 14. The instructions may
also
require the consumer to move to a location at which a suitably strong signal
can be
received by the telephone 76, such as a location remote from tall buildings.
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The instructions may also be to the effect that the consumer should actuate
the
telephone 76 by depression of the button 80.
5 Once the button 80 has been depressed, the telephone 76 emits a suitable
outgoing
signal. This signal, as part of the method, is received by relevant receiver
means
which, in a preferred embodiment, is a receiving station. In addition, on
depression of
the button 80, the GPS device 78 is activated, and "locks onto" remote
location-
identifying means in the form of GPS navigation system satellites orbiting the
globe.
10 From signals emanating from the satellites, the GPS device 78 determines an
estimate
of its location. Once this estimation of location is determined, the telephone
76 emits
a location signal, to the receiving station. The location signal contains
information as
to the estimated location of the GPS device 78, so that the estimated
location, and
hence that of the telephone 76 and of the consumer, can be determined. Thus,
the step
of receiving the location signal by the receiving station, and the
determination thereby
of the estimated location, also form part of the method. It will be
appreciated that, to
emit such a location signal, the telephone 76 must be equipped with suitable
means for
doing so, which are referred to herein as location-transmission means, and
which may
form part of the GPS device 78.
Suitable conditions and a suitable GPS device 78 can assist in enabling the
location of
the GPS device to be estimated, in terms of relevant latitude- and longitude-
co
ordinates, and possibly also altitude, to within about 1 to 5 metres. A
suitable
communication device is a Track One GPS-enabled mobile telephone, by Benefon
of
Finland.
In one embodiment, the telephone 76 may be configured to automatically
transmit a
signal to the receiver station indicating the status of the process of
"locking onto" the
satellites by the GPS device 78, so that it can be determined once this has
occurred.
The relevant information about this process may be presented at the receiver
station
on a screen, such as a web-viewer screen.
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In one embodiment, the outgoing signal described above is the location signal
itself,
so that the steps of receiving the outgoing signal and receiving the location
signal by
the receiver station is the same step.
Once the above-mentioned outgoing signal has been received by the receiver
station,
the method involves transmitting a reply signal from the receiver station, to
the
telephone 76, and hence to the consumer. The reply signal represents a message
to the
consumer. The telephone 76 is configured to receive this reply signal and to
present it
to the consumer in a form that the consumer can comprehend. In preferred
embodiments, the message is in the form of an SMS message received on an SMS
display of the telephone 76, or in the form of a telephone call placed from
the receiver
station to the consumer. The telephone call may be a person-to-person call, or
may be
in the form of an automated audio message transmitted from the receiver
station to the
telephone 76, for receipt by the consumer.
A preferred embodiment of the invention involves a prize being given to the
consumer. Thus, the message sent to the consumer, according to a preferred
embodiment, advises the consumer that the estimated location of the telephone
76, and
hence of the consumer, has been determined, and that the consumer should await
the
approach of a prize bearer who will hand the prize to the consumer. It will be
appreciated that the message may instead contain different information or
instructions
for the consumer. For example, it might reduest the consumer to go to another
particular location to claim the prize, or to perform further activities
before the prize
may be claimed.
In an alternative embodiment to that described above, instead of the telephone
76
having a button 80 which must be depressed by the consumer in order to emit
the
outgoing signal, the article 10 may be configured to automatically emit the
outgoing
signal when the upper component 12 is removed from the lower component 14 and
the
chamber 20 is opened to expose the telephone 76. The article 10 might also be
configured to transmit the above-mentioned location signal automatically, so
that a
prize bearer may locate, and hand a prize to, the consumer, without the
consumer even
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knowing that his or her location has been determined, so that the approach of
the prize
bearer is a complete surprise to the consumer.
The ability of the telephone 76 to receive a human-comprehensible message is
advantageous as it allows the consumer, virtually instantly, to be informed
that
knowledge of the selection of the dummy product constituted by the article 10
has
been gleaned, for example, by the person or entity performing the promotional
method. It also enables the consumer to be informed of the nature of the
reward that
will be provided. In addition, it allows arrangements, if required, to be made
to
facilitate the provision of the prize to the consumer, or for the consumer to
be advised
of what further steps may be necessary to satisfy any further conditions for
receiving
the prize.
In the above embodiments, i.e. those relating to a prize being provided within
the
chamber 20, and a telephone being provided within the chamber, the nature of
the
novelty article 10, and the promotional methods described, provide useful
means for
promoting the products in question, by encouraging consumers to purchase items
of
the product in the hope that they will select a dummy product and derive any
benefits,
rewards or prizes that may be forthcoming.
Although the invention has been described above with reference to particular
embodiments, it is to be understood that it is not limited to those
embodiments, and
may be embodied in many other forms as well.
