Simon Marketing began what is now called the Monopoly contest back in 1987. This is the same group of people who created the iconic Happy Meal. Based on the numbers alone, it was a huge success. After all, this particular plan boosted its sales by a whopping 40%. McDonald’s seemed to be all too happy to try a different marketing tactic to achieve the same results. Since lotteries and casinos attract crime, Simon Marketing and McDonald’s didn’t want to get involved in any kind of fraud or theft. And so, they asked the Dittler Brothers – a well-established company that handled lottery tickets and postage stamps to print pieces for the scheme. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the foolproof plan they thought it would turn out to be.
There Is A Good Reason You Have Never Heard Of This McDonald Monopoly Scam Before
They Thought It Was Foolproof
You will be surprised by the complex safeguards that Simon and Dittler implemented in an attempt to prevent counterfeit and forgery. High-value pieces, like the million dollars and the cars, were stored in a vault that only opened when two people entered a key code at the same time. The stickers were also made with watermarks and intentional imperfections that only showed themselves under black light. When the pieces were manufactured, they were first placed in an envelope that had a tamperproof seal. This is done before they could be placed on a Big Mac package or a soda cup. Only an employee called Jerome Jacobson could open them. Get ready because this is where the story really begins.
They Thought It Was Foolproof
