| Free Gift Cards from Old Navy | |||
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| Netlore Archive: Free gift cards from Old Navy for people who forward a chain letter? Just more proof that some folks will believe anything... | |||
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Email example contributed by Cathleen H., 21 July 1999:
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Subject: Fw: OLD NAVY GIFT CARD DEAR OLD NAVY SHOPPER, I AM LAURA THIMIS, THE FOUNDER OF OLD NAVY. AS YOU KNOW, THERE HAS BEEN SOME PRMOTION THINGS GOING ON WITH ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH AND THE GAP. NOW I WANT TO BE PART OF THE INTERNET PRMOTION "GIG". FOR EVERY 10 PEOPLE THAT YOU SEND THIS TO, YOU GET A FREE $25.00 GIFT CARD FOR ANY OLD NAVY STORE, IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, FROM THE U S A TO CHINA, FROM ICELAND TO PARIS!! MAKE SURE THAT YOU SEND THIS TO LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE!!!! AFTER YOU SEND THIS TO AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE, YOU WILL RECIVE YOUR FREE OLD NAVY GIFT CARD IN 2-4 WEEKS!!!! WATCH THE MAIL!!!!!!!! |
Comments: Pranksters are having a field day with this chain letter formula, of which there are now several versions in circulation. You're supposed to believe that rival companies are competing for your business by giving away free stuff if you forward their emails. But every single one of these messages is a hoax.
Old Navy is not in competition with The Gap; it's a subsidiary of The Gap. Whoever "Laura Thimis" may be — if she even exists — she was not Old Navy's founder. Moreover, one would think that a person with the wherewithal to found a large company would know how to spell the word "promotion."
The message claims you'll automatically receive your free gift card after forwarding it to at least 10 people. But stop and think. How will anyone know when you've forwarded it to 10 people? Magic?
To compare this message with previous versions of the same hoax, peruse the following:
- Abercrombie & Fitch Giveaway
First sighted in late June, 1999 - The Gap Giveaway
First sighted in May, 1999 - IBM Computer Giveaway
First sighted in June, 1999 - Microsoft Cash Giveaway
First sighted in May, 1999
