Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Patricia Odell

TLC Marketing is trying to make good on a promotion that almost sounded too good to be true, and in many ways, it was.

Dockers offered shoppers who purchased $125 or more of its men's apparel or accessories at JCPenney stores a free roundtrip flight. There was a short window of time to shop during what was billed as the “2007 Father's Day Free Flight” promotion: between June 3, 2007, and June 9, 2007.

Thousands of people took advantage of the offer, which gave them until July 9, 2007, to fill out the redemption forms. TLC Marketing, hired to award the prizes, had greatly underestimated the response and became so swamped that it was unable to keep up with demand.

As time went by, some consumers began saying they were waiting inordinate amounts of time to be notified if their forms had been completed properly so they could select one of the 10 travel destinations offered. Many had difficultly reaching someone to help, or didn't receive calls back. The anger began to build. They wanted their tickets.

Walter Osterman, the president of TLC Marketing, says he takes full responsibility for the screw-up.

“It isn't any sort of false promotion; we were simply overwhelmed by the response,” he says.

Fuming participants lit up the blogosphere. Attorneys General were notified. Letters were written to newspapers and VIPs at Dockers and JCPenney. The Better Business Bureau received 689 complaints and slammed TLC Marketing with an “unsatisfactory” rating.

One customer, Steven Willy, who got the green light on his application and his wife's, had gotten as far in the process as selecting three travel dates and locations, including one to San Francisco to see his mom for Mother's Day.

“That's where the phone lines went dead,” he says.

Osterman says some people did not fill out the forms correctly and therefore did not qualify, but were still upset. He blamed the bloggers for igniting the firestorm by setting off a viral wildfire urging people not happy with the promotion to contact the Better Business Bureau.

TLC Marketing tried to placate those who qualified for the flight, but were stymied by the backlog. The agency sent them a recorded message explaining the high demand for the prize and offering a $125 cash option or restaurant coupons. Customers who declined could still ask for the free flight.

After getting frustrated with a lack of response from TLC, Willy made his case in a letter to JCPenney. In response, a VIP from Dockers left him a voicemail likely trying to make good, but, as of press time, Willy had not yet returned the call.

“I didn't send this letter just because of me,” Willy says. “There are a lot of other people who are upset about this. I have a feeling my letter basically earned me expedited VIP treatment, but that doesn't help other people.”

TLC Marketing did not insure the promotion and is footing the bill to make things right, Osterman says. He believes that all the people who qualified will have their flights booked by the end of September.

The backlash and negative publicity about TLC shows just how quickly an enticing promotion can turn ugly if not handled properly.

“From the consumer side, I'm the guy that's always right,” Willy says.

For more articles on promotional marketing go to www.promomagazine.com

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