We’ll Pay You to Read Our Newspaper

The UK’s Sun newspaper is running a promotion where they hide cash money inside their newspapers for a few lucky customers to find. Just like Willy Wonka with the Golden Tickets.

“Will you find a fiver? A tenner? Or even a crisp 20-pound note inside your copy?” shouts the radio ad. “Get an early Christmas present. Only in tomorrow’s Sun!”

The Saturday we’re talking about is Saturday, November 6, 2010. So if you’re in the UK, try your luck, why don’t ya?

Bribed to Buy

It’s amazing what you can learn from listening to commercials on other countries’ radio stations (in this case, Absolute Classic Rock, which you can stream through iTunes). Usually it’s fairly mundane trivia, like “Neat, I didn’t know T-Mobile did business in the UK,” or “Wow, the Brits start their obnoxious holiday ads even earlier than we do,” or “Weird, they say ‘anticlockwise’ instead of ‘counterclockwise’ in England.”

In this case we’ve learned that UK citizens are increasingly getting their news just like Americans are. On their computers and iPhones, of course. Why else would a company bribe people to buy its newspaper?

Now, the Sun is not exactly highbrow journalism (today’s headline: “One Show Jason’s Twitter Sex Shame!”). It’s hard to imagine the New York Times ever doing such a thing. Or is it? They’re hurting financially just like every American newspaper is.

It will be interesting to see how this trend plays out in future years. Maybe we’ll see even odder bribes. “Play the Globe’s new Monopoly game. A game piece in every paper! One in three is an instant winner!” Or perhaps, “Find a Golden Ticket in your Sunday Tribune and win a tour of Blommer’s Chocolate Company along with a lifetime supply of chocolate.”