Monopoly at McDonalds

“Will! Oh my gosh! Great news!”

I was greeted with this exhilarating statement about a month ago. It was an ordinary phone call, just calling my girlfriend to see what she was doing, but her tone quickly elevated my excitement level about the conversation. Eager to hear the big news, I asked her to explain. Interestingly enough, these were next words to come through the phone:

“Monopoly is back at McDonald's!”

Perhaps the most well-known of all promotional competitions is the McDonald's Monopoly game. Different items at the fast-food restaurant contain game pieces like Boardwalk or Pennsylvania Ave, and if you can combine all the pieces in a series, you win the prize. The competition began around the same day I posted my last blog, and ended just a few short days ago, so it’s only fitting that my final entry revolve around this competition. It’s also fitting, because for the last 30 days, I watched my girlfriend and her roommate consume more McDonald's than the writer/director of Supersize Me.

This fascinated me on so many levels. First of all, these girls are not your typical McDonald's consumers. They’re health-conscious, thin, attractive girls. They estimate that they visited McDonald's about once a month for the past year. However, during the month of October, they went to McDonald's 20 out of 31 days. Take a moment to re-read that. By the end of the month, they had nearly completed an entire game board, missing only one game piece in every category, winning nothing but a few free Angus Snack Wraps and McFlurries. So what is it about the Monopoly campaign that was so intriguing?

Apparently, one in every four games pieces wins some sort of a prize, whether it be a free drink or a free meal. However, the odds of winning a million dollars? 1 in 273 million. So if you’re playing the game at McDonald's to get MORE McDonald's, then it sounds like a safe bet. However, if you’re playing with the intention of winning $1,000,000… you’d be better off trying to get struck by lightning. So why play the game?

According to the girls, “If you’re just trying to get a fountain drink or a snack, why not make the effort to get it at McDonald's so you have a shot at winning a prize? It's the same price and same drink that you’d get anywhere else.” Sounds convincing enough, but as I was dragged to McDonald's on more than one occasion over the past month, I realized it was about more than just the chance of winning. It was still Monopoly, and it was very much still a game. Even though the girls didn’t win anything more than free food, they still felt like the whole experience was less about winning or losing the competition, and more about turning snacking into a game experience. So while they didn’t win the game this time around, I have no doubt that next year, despite  their losing record, they’ll be going out of their way to grab a Dr. Pepper and fries at McDonald's.

Will McQuain is a senior BEM major who ate dinner at McDonalds and regrets it.