Mrtpc Confirms Stay Against Whirlpool Ad

Whirlpool India had announced a "scratch a gift" scheme which offered expensive prizes like an apartment in Delhi, Opel Astra car, Maruti 800 cars and gold bracelets. Contestants had to scratch the card offered to them with the purchase of Whirlpool refrigerators and the lucky ones would win the prize. In its letter to the commission, Godrej-GE had pointed out that "in addition to promoting the gambling instinct in consumers, the scheme also tantamounts to a lottery or a chance game since every consumer picks a card and after scratching gets to know the nature of the prize." According to a Whirlpool release, "The scheme was launched purely for the benefit of the trade and the customer and (the company) regrets that the scheme has to be discontinued since the commission has held to the contrary."