Radio Giveaways/Contests

Thorpe · 02-09-2007, 07:35 AM

I swear it's all a scam. I have tried pretty much every other day for the last five years of my life and have never gotten through once. Has anyone actually won something from a radio station? How the hell do you do it? Should I stay on the phone when the busy signal comes up and hope they pick my line up or just keep hanging up and calling? I guess I am venting because I really wanted to win a trip to LA to visit the 24 set, but I can't even win the stupid little shit that they give away at eleven at night.

/rant off

James · 02-09-2007, 07:41 AM

One of my best friend's sisters won tickets to a, uhh, pre-screening? of Spawn back in the day. I'm not sure pre-screening is the right word, but the coffee still hasn't kicked in. That said, I've only tried calling a radio station once and that was for a request. I was on hold for about 5 hours, and they never played my song

. Pricks.

roosta · 02-09-2007, 07:51 AM

friend at work won a contest from the radio. it was one of the guess the song using a 1 second clip then she was in the drawing. so first she had to be the 9th caller, then guess the 1 second clip, then be one of the 10 finalists, then had to show up at a bar then have her name drawn. quite the clusterfuck she told me.

but she did win a 3 year lease on a saturn that included a remote car starter, a 1000 dollars in groceries, free concert tickets to pearl jam, and a few other odds and ends of shit.

Rooster

Ham n Cheese · 02-09-2007, 08:12 AM

When I was like 8 years old my mom was listening to this country station and I called and got the answer to some Michael Jackson question they asked. The prize was a fucking 6 pack of dr. pepper and a coffee mug.

Tea on tuesday · 02-09-2007, 08:24 AM

I won Jewel - Pieces of You once.

James · 02-09-2007, 09:10 AM

I probably wouldn't admit that. I'd say, 8 dudes jumped out of nowhere and beat the shit out of me. I gave them a good fight, but there's only so much you can do against a team of Swedish powerlifters, though I doubt the four of them will be powerlifting much anymore with shattered forearms. Anyway, I digress. They beat the shit out of me, took my wallet, and left me with a fucking Jewel CD. True story.

Dinthug · 02-09-2007, 10:12 AM

I won a cheese steak.

Taloo · 02-09-2007, 04:59 PM

When I was 13 or so I would win something pretty much every day on one of the local morning shows. Never actually went to pick an of it up though... Easy fucking questions but I guess people were just dumbasses. The contests where they want a correct answer instead of just some lucky dipshit getting throgh at the correct time are pretty much all you want to bother with.

Ashes Emberblade · 02-09-2007, 08:30 PM

FM radio is the bane of all that is good in this world.

Millie · 02-10-2007, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thorpe

I swear it's all a scam. I have tried pretty much every other day for the last five years of my life and have never gotten through once. Has anyone actually won something from a radio station? How the hell do you do it? Should I stay on the phone when the busy signal comes up and hope they pick my line up or just keep hanging up and calling? I guess I am venting because I really wanted to win a trip to LA to visit the 24 set, but I can't even win the stupid little shit that they give away at eleven at night.

/rant off

The trick is to know when they're going to have a contest, and call in well before they even announce it over the air. If it's even a halfway popular station, by the time the DJ has said word two about taking calls, 10,000 schmucks across the city have already called in.

Failing that, try to call in during commercial breaks. They're still taking calls when they're not "on the air."

Either way, realize and accept that you have absolutely no hope of "timing" which caller you are. You just have to keep calling in and hope you get lucky.

If you manage to get through to someone at the station, you will be placed on hold almost immediately. After that, a pre-screener will pick up and ask you a bunch of questions. He or she is doing this mostly to make sure that you're coherent, lucid and normal enough to be placed on the air and not make a fool out of the station. If you pass this test, you may (or may not) be placed through to the DJ. The pre-screener will give you plenty of indication as to whether this will take place.

In the event that you ever do get put through to the DJ, realize two things:

1) You need to turn off/down your radio, so there's no audio interference
2) You are not "live." You are on a roughly 10-second delay. This is basically in place so that, in the event you say anything stupid or offensive, the producer has time to cut you off or drop your call before it airs.

Cuppycake · 02-10-2007, 12:54 PM

When I was 16 I won some rap cd off the radio. I didn't even like the artist (I think it was Warren G or something) but I called in not knowing what the prize was. I was supposed to come pick it up from the station but I never did.

Rhaze · 02-10-2007, 05:49 PM

I won a nintendo 64 from nickelodeon once during one of thier halloween contests, was so excited i was like 10 or so. 6 months later i recieved an "Augh! Real monsters" tee-shirt that was XXL

Gindaorshaman · 02-11-2007, 04:58 PM

When I was a kid I won $50 bucks off the radio for being caller #7 and bought my friends NES. He got it not that long before and really wasnt into it anymore after finishing Super Mario Brothers. Best day ever!

McCheese · 02-11-2007, 06:54 PM

My aunt won $5,000 from a call-in radio contest many years ago. Her son was riding home on the school bus at the time, and the driver had that particular radio station turned on so he heard his mom call in and win.

AngryGerbil · 02-11-2007, 08:56 PM

My local rock station is 105.7 on the dial so they always take "caller 105" as the winner. I once called on a whim at work for Deftones tickets and was told, "Oh dude you're 103, so close. Good luck next time. *click*" That still bugs me to this day. Not that I was 103, but that I have a sneaking suspiscion that I was NOT 103, that I was just told that to appease me and to get me to call next time. Who knows.

Also, on requests, again on a whim at work I called and just requested a song for the hell of it. I got through easily enough (maybe 10-15 mins on hold) and made the request and the girl said no problem and that was that. I listened for the rest of the day but they never played it.

Something like 3-5 days later I was at work listening and bam I heard my voice and my exact conversation with the DJ girl played over the radio then they played my request. 3-5 days later.....

02-09-2007, 08:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
Ham n Cheese You can betray me Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Houston Posts: 8,574 +17 Internets	When I was like 8 years old my mom was listening to this country station and I called and got the answer to some Michael Jackson question they asked. The prize was a fucking 6 pack of dr. pepper and a coffee mug. __________________ Xeph Caito Cao'Li Hunky Dory

02-10-2007, 12:54 PM	#11 (permalink)
Cuppycake Plugged In Like Neo Join Date: May 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,048	When I was 16 I won some rap cd off the radio. I didn't even like the artist (I think it was Warren G or something) but I called in not knowing what the prize was. I was supposed to come pick it up from the station but I never did. __________________ Metaplace - Nothing I say here represents my employer, legalblahdiddyblah.

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02-09-2007, 07:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
roosta Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 264 +0 Internets	friend at work won a contest from the radio. it was one of the guess the song using a 1 second clip then she was in the drawing. so first she had to be the 9th caller, then guess the 1 second clip, then be one of the 10 finalists, then had to show up at a bar then have her name drawn. quite the clusterfuck she told me. but she did win a 3 year lease on a saturn that included a remote car starter, a 1000 dollars in groceries, free concert tickets to pearl jam, and a few other odds and ends of shit. Rooster

02-09-2007, 08:24 AM	#5 (permalink)
Tea on tuesday Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 1,467 +15 Internets	I won Jewel - Pieces of You once.

02-09-2007, 10:12 AM	#7 (permalink)
Dinthug Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 364 +0 Internets	I won a cheese steak.

02-09-2007, 04:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
Taloo Fires of Heaven WoW Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 536	When I was 13 or so I would win something pretty much every day on one of the local morning shows. Never actually went to pick an of it up though... Easy fucking questions but I guess people were just dumbasses. The contests where they want a correct answer instead of just some lucky dipshit getting throgh at the correct time are pretty much all you want to bother with.

02-09-2007, 08:30 PM	#9 (permalink)
Ashes Emberblade Better than You Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: NOLA Posts: 1,394 -18 Internets	FM radio is the bane of all that is good in this world.

02-10-2007, 05:49 PM	#12 (permalink)
Rhaze Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 896 -5 Internets	I won a nintendo 64 from nickelodeon once during one of thier halloween contests, was so excited i was like 10 or so. 6 months later i recieved an "Augh! Real monsters" tee-shirt that was XXL

02-11-2007, 04:58 PM	#13 (permalink)
Gindaorshaman Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ithaca Posts: 107 +1 Internets	When I was a kid I won $50 bucks off the radio for being caller #7 and bought my friends NES. He got it not that long before and really wasnt into it anymore after finishing Super Mario Brothers. Best day ever!

02-11-2007, 06:54 PM	#14 (permalink)
McCheese 3 time Neverending Pasta Bowl Champion Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,004 +2 Internets	My aunt won $5,000 from a call-in radio contest many years ago. Her son was riding home on the school bus at the time, and the driver had that particular radio station turned on so he heard his mom call in and win.