Apple guidelines prohibit third-party giveaways with iPhones and iPads as prizes — but that hasn’t stopped enterprising companies from using Apple’s latest hot product, the iPhone 4S, as a contest giveaway.
In the past, the Cupertino company has cracked down on a few iPad giveaways – in one case not approving a company’s app until it pulled the contest – but it has been hit and miss.
Some of the iPhone 4s contests are giving out Apple store gift certificates – an interesting workaround since the third-party promotion rules specifically prohibit giving out iPad, iPhone and iPhone gift certificates.
The two-page document, released in April 2010, is nearly 850 words of specifics about wording, art and trademark rules for third-party giveaways. (The complete guidelines from Apple are available in .PDF here.)
In some cases, Apple discourages giveaways — you must buy 250 iPods to use them in a contest, for example.
But the first paragraph states, in italics for emphasis, that Apple’s hottest products are all strictly verboten when it comes to freebies:
“iPad, iPhone and the iPhone Gift Card may not be used in third-party promotions.”
Hard to say whether Apple will step up enforcing the guidelines with its latest device, so if you’re tight on cash and considering trying to win an iPhone 4S, consider yourself forewarned.
Just a few of the companies offering the iPhone 4S as a contest prize include: