APPEAL COURT DECISION KEEPS CONTESTS LEGAL
By Adnews Staff
A recent appeals court decision in Alberta means marketers can breath a little easier. Last week the court overturned the conviction of street corner poet Edward Cornelius Brennan, who had been found guilty last year in Edmonton Provincial Court of running an illegal lottery. If his conviction had been upheld it could have doomed an important part of sales promotion - the contest. The court "could have put some major companies in jeopardy," Association of Canadian Advertisers president Patrick McDougall commented after the appeal court announced its decision. McDougall said Canadian marketers run $450-million worth of promotional contests annually. The ACA obtained intervener status at the appeal hearing and helped get Brennan off. The man's lawyer, Mark Feehan, told the Edmonton Sun that the ACA had a strong impact on the appeal. He said the association packs "a lot of punch." Brennan was convicted for giving five tickets in a raffle for a new Ford Mustang to anyone who bought a book of his poetry. He gave a single ticket to any person who asked for one but didn't buy the book. Brennan was charged by police under a law that makes it illegal to give away a prize in any game of chance in which money is paid to enter. The Provincial Court judge who convicted Brennan ruled that even if facsimile or non-purchase entries are allowed in a promotional contest, it is still an illegal lottery if most contestants enter with a purchase. The ACA became involved in the case when it realized this could make most companies' promotional contests illegal.April 18, 1996