| Free Beer for the Millennium! | |||
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| Netlore Archive | |||
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Email example contributed by D. Monfred, 16 April 1999:
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Hello:
We here at Miller Brewing Company, Inc. would like to help bring in the new millennium for everyone. We like to think of ourselves as a progressive company, keeping up with our customers. We have found the best way to do this via the Internet and email. Combining these things, we would like to make a special offer to our valued customers: If this email makes it to 2,000,000 people by 12:00 PM on New Year's Eve of 1999, we will send a coupon for one six-pack of any of our Miller Brand beverages. In the event that 2,000,000 people are reached, our tracker/counter, embedded in this message, will report to us with the list of names and email addresses. Thereafter, each email address will be sent an electronic coupon which you can print out and redeem at any Miller Brand beverage carrying store. The coupons will be sent as soon as 2,000,000 people are reached, so the sooner, the better. Enjoy, and Cheers, Gary D. Anderson, Chief Marketing Director
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Comments: Before you hit that "Send" button, stop and ask yourself how the Miller Brewing Company is going to track and reward 2 million email forwards. For that matter, ask yourself why they'd go to all that trouble and expense and give away 2 million six-packs of beer to boot. (Miller issued a press release in April 1999 disavowing this nonexistent "special offer.")
Basically, this is a good, old-fashioned something-for-nothing chain letter. A hoax. Its only real purpose is to motivate recipients to replicate the message as far and wide as possible.
The "email tracking" gimmick — an utter fiction, as regards chain letters of this ilk — ought to ring familiar to anyone unfortunate enough to have received the Walt Disney Jr. chain letter of 1998. If a "tracker/counter" is embedded in this email, I'd appreciate it if someone would show me where.
I'm waiting...
Further reading:
More Free Beer!
A similar hoax as circulated in 2003Phony 'Freebie' Chain Letters
More "free stuff" for gullible email forwarders
