It seemed that way when New Covent Garden Soup packs stood out a mile on shelf, with ‘Win a Farm worth £500,000’ emblazoned on them. Alas, the competition was all too good to be true. Sadly, no one won the prize of a ‘new life’ on a farm, despite over 260,000 entries.

Headline news was not great: ‘Win a farm competition where everyone is a loser’, ‘Win a farm competition leaves a sour taste’. Social media channels went into overdrive with the brand’s Facebook page being populated with public complaints from aggrieved customers.

NCG have seemingly shrugged the episode off, stating that if every pack code had been used, a winner would have been found. Terms and conditions for the competition were in good order.

What about damage caused to the brand though? Surely there will be a loss of trust and loyalty in a brand that oozes feel-good feelings? Back in the day, short of writing to the competition promoter, how did we know if a competition winner had been found or not? With social media however, there is nowhere for brands to hide as consumers share, like, love and share their views online and en-masse. It will be interesting to see if the competition runs again in the future, and how other brands manage similar promotions.