Friendly’s Kicks Off Consumer-Generated Contest

Friendly’s has rolled out a summertime promotion asking teens and young adults to show their passion for the brand through a video and photo contest.

Customers send videos and photos online to IScreamFriendlys.com or by cell phone that express (through screams) why they love Friendly’s. Submissions can include a favorite ice cream flavor or meal.

Site visitors can vote for their favorite entry each week. A tell-a-friend component lets people send their submissions to friends and family members and encourages them to vote.

A team of judges will select the 10 most popular videos and the 10 most popular images based on votes received each week for seven weeks. The winner in each category will be selected starting July 6, and weekly winners in both the video and photo categories will receive prizes.

Weekly prizes include an Apple TV and Canon digital camera, Video iPod with a Bose SoundDock system and a MacBook. Finalists and 60 wild card entries will be judged in one last contest where grand-prize winners will receive a $10,000 Apple shopping spree. Lesser prizes include $5,000 and $2,500 Apple shopping sprees.

The contest runs through Aug. 12.

“Friendly’s has been creating warm memories for customers for more than 70 years, and we love hearing about their great experiences in our restaurants,” said George Condos, president and chief operating officer of Friendly Ice Cream Corp. in a statement. “iScream Friendly’s gives the younger generation of our fans a fun way to express their love for Friendly’s – and win some really great prizes.”

The promotion supports two new summer beverages, Iced Lattes and Friendly’s Chillers. The Iced Lattes, which come in five flavors, are made with coffee swirled with cream and the Chillers include Sprite and orange juice over ice, topped with tropical fruit flavors. The drinks sell for $2.99.

Friendly’s street teams wearing mohawks are hitting more than 15 cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic during July and August to promote the contest and sample the company’s new drinks. The group will hand out free Friendly’s Chillers and Iced Lattes, and will show people how to enter the iScream contest. And people who text the word iScream to 30364 will receive a T-shirt.

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