I’ve been watching something play out this month that reminds me of another situation that people didn’t find so funny. Both scenarios involve jokes gone awry.
Earlier this month, a man created a meme advertising a fake play set for kids. The image shows a plastic kid-sized bar set, complete with bar stools, a serving counter and plastic beer bottles. An age-restriction icon on the fake play set advertises it for ages 3 and up. Click here to read an article about how the Internet has gone crazy over the image.
You see, some people didn’t think it was a joke and they were angry – make that ANGRY – that a make-believe bar and alcohol play set would be marketed to children. (Others did find humor in the situation and some even said they were sad to learn the play set wasn’t real.)
To its credit, Fisher-Price patiently answered inquiries about the fake product, noting on its social media pages that the play set wasn’t real and it was not a product the company had produced or had on the market.
Which brings me to the other situation I referenced. It’s something we’ll likely hear about before the holiday season is over: fake lottery tickets that some people give as gag gifts to family and friends. Some people really, really don’t think they’re funny. And boy, do we hear about it!
I have one of the gag tickets on my office bulletin board that someone gave me years ago. You can see images of it here. From the front, “Camelot’s Gold” does a pretty good job of imitating a real lottery ticket. And I haven't scratched the fake ticket, but I'm sure if I did, it would look like I'd won a $20,000 prize. That's where the joke (some might say cruel hoax) comes in.
A lot of people scratch the fake tickets and really think they've won until they look closely at the wording on the back. The spoof ticket that I have says: "Claim forms supplied by Santa Claus. All winning tickets must be validated by the Tooth Fairy and conform to her game rules. Winning prizes may NOT be claimed anywhere, so forget about it! All winners are losers and must have an excellent sense of humor." It also notes that the ticket is a joke for entertainment purposes only.
Now, lots of people will receive real lottery tickets as gifts this holiday season, and many of them will win real prizes on their tickets. And I’m sure there are good sports out there about the gag-gift tickets. But they’re not the ones who have contacted the lottery. The folks who have reached out to us about the joke that has been pulled on them have been very unhappy/extremely mad/really disappointed.
One woman told us she thought it was extremely mean of the Iowa Lottery to distribute gag-gift tickets. We let her know -- and I’m letting you know here -- that: 1.) They aren’t our product, 2.) We don’t sell them, and 3.) Whoever gave her the fake tickets likely just meant them as a joke.
We didn’t hear back from her, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t find it funny.
So, if you receive real lottery tickets this holiday season, we wish you the best of luck as you play them. If you get fake lottery tickets, please take them in stride. Or, if you want to complain to someone about them, please consider reaching out to Santa and/or the Tooth Fairy!
Clever girl! :) I wonder what would show up under a Google search for those contacts...? Have a Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | December 22, 2016 at 09:47 AM
Can you please provide an email or phone # for Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy? 😉
Posted by: Iowa Girl | December 22, 2016 at 09:32 AM