Babies “R” Us will give away $120,000 in savings bonds and cash to make peace with consumers after a disqualification in its First Baby of the Year contest set off a storm of criticism from Chinese-Americans and immigration advocates.
The First Baby of the Year contest promised a $40,000 prize package to the first baby born on New Year’s Day in a hospital that was registered for the contest. Three babies were born at midnight and Babies “R” Us randomly drew for a winner, the company said. The retailer disqualified the first name drawn because the parents, both Chinese nationals, were not American citizens.
Babies “R” Us said it awarded the $40,000 prize package to the second baby whose name was drawn, then decided to give the same package to the two other families after the disqualification sparked a political debate on immigration.
Babies “R” Us duplicated the grand-prize package as a gift in a goodwill gesture after “it became an immigration issue,” according to a Babies “R” Us spokesperson.
The contest disqualification stands, and the rules were not breached, the company said.
Babies “R” Us funds the two additional packages, which include a $25,000 savings bond for the child, a $10,000 education grant for the hospital, and $5,000 in Babies “R” Us gift cards for the delivering obstetrician.
In a statement, Babies “R” Us said, “We love all babies. Our sweepstakes was intended to welcome the first baby of 2007 and prepare for its future. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond.”
The contest, like most contests and sweepstakes run in this country, was open only to U.S. citizens. For contests that involve children, it is standard practice for contest administrators to verify the parents, not just the child, before declaring a winner. In this case, critics argued that the Chinese-American baby is a U.S. citizen since it was born in the U.S., according to news reports. But sweepstakes professionals recognize that the parents, who make legal decisions on their baby’s behalf, must also meet eligibility requirements.
The contest also awarded a $100 gift basket to the first baby born in each of the 800-plus registered hospitals, the spokesperson said.
Hospitals, obstetricians and expectant moms could all register for the contest at FirstBabyoftheYear.com. Hospital and doctor registrations automatically covered their patients.
Babies “R” Us garnered more than 1,000 entries directly from expectant moms, the retailer’s spokesperson said. This is the second year that Babies “R” Us has run the contest. It’s the first year that LeadDog Marketing Group, New York, has handled it.
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