Official Rules

Sweethearts® "My Sweethearts" Contest

Official Rules

No purchase necessary to enter or win. A purchase or payment of any kind will not increase your chances of winning. Void where prohibited or regulated.

Contest Overview and Purpose

The Sweethearts® "My Sweethearts" Contest (the "Contest") is an opportunity for Entrants to win a custom-printed run of personalized Sweethearts®, or one of 10 NECCO Candy Care Packages. Entrants are invited to submit their creations for the 80 new Sweethearts® expressions we will introduce next year by logging on to www.mysweethearts.com and submitting their suggested Sweethearts® saying. The Contest is intended for viewing in the United States only (except in Puerto Rico) and shall only be construed and evaluated according to United States law. Do not proceed in this site if you are not a resident of, and located, in the United States (except Puerto Rico) at the time of entry.

New England Confectionery Company, Revere, MA is the Sponsor of the Contest.

Eligibility
The Contest is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including District of Columbia, but excepting Puerto Rico) who are at least thirteen (13) years old at the time of entry. Void where prohibited by law. Employees of Sweethearts, its parent company New England Confectionery Company, and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, or any other company or individual involved with the design, production, execution, distribution or judging of the Contest and their immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children) and household members (people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each such employee are not eligible. The Contest is subject to all applicable Federal, state and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes Entrant's full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor's decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
New England Confectionery Company
New England Confectionery Company 135 American Legion Highway, Revere, MA 02151, USA, (781) 4854500, www.necco.com.
Timing
The Contest begins on April 30, 2009 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time (“ET”) and ends on May 31, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
How to Enter
During the Contest period, eligible participants may enter the Contest by logging onto www.myweethearts.com and submitting name, a valid email address, and suggested Sweethearts® saying. Each such registration constitutes one Contest entry, and the entry will be considered received from the named registrant; corporate entries may not be “bundled.” There is no limit to the number of entries allowed per person. All entries must meet the Contest criteria and be complete to be eligible. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received.
Entry Criteria:
A submission will be disqualified if, in the Sponsor's sole discretion, it subjects Sweethearts or any other person to legal jeopardy, or compromises Sweetheart's good will and reputation, intellectual property, or trade secret interests. This includes, without limitation, words or imagery that are sexually charged or suggestive, that depict acts of violence or cruelty, that attack or disparage or present in a false light any individual or group of people, that are otherwise vile, nasty or otherwise uncivil, that make false performance claims about New England Confectionery Company products, or that use the likeness, words or other intellectual property of a third party or celebrity (for example, a movie star, rock star or company) without appropriate permission to do so.

Entering an incorrect or incomplete email address in the registration process, or failing to meet any of the Contest eligibility requirements, will result in Contest disqualification.
Winner Selection:
Each eligible Contest entry will be evaluated on the following criteria: (a) Relevance (25%), (b) Popularity (25%), and (c) Overall Creativity (50%). The eleven (11) entries received during the Drawing period and earning the highest overall scores will win. In the event of a tie, winner(s) will be selected based on the criteria described in (a), then (b), then (c). The entries will be judged by a panel comprised of at least two NECCO employees who are experienced in Sweethearts® expressions brand marketing and at least two independent judges. Judges are required to be fair and impartial. Decisions of the judging panel will be final. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received and quality of submitted entries. Judging will be conducted on or about June 10, 2009.

One Grand Prize winner will be determined by a random drawing from the entries selected by the judges. This random drawing will take place on or about February 1, 2010 under the supervision of Sponsor, whose decisions are final and binding. Each of the other ten finalists will receive a Second Prize.

If, for any reason, including but not limited to any error, omission or circumstance relating to the entry process, judging or drawing, or because of any other aspect or circumstance relating to the Contest, there are more potential winners of prizes or the Grand Prize than are contemplated by these Official Rules, there will be a random drawing from amongst all eligible prize claimants to award the correct number of prizes. All decisions of the Sponsor regarding winners and their selection are binding and final.

ALL POTENTIAL CONTEST WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR, AS CONTEST SPONSOR, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST.
Verification of Potential Winner
The potential winner must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules (including maintaining the valid e mail address submitted with his/her entry), and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. THE WINNER WILL BE NOTIFIED BY SPONSOR BY E MAIL WITHIN TWO WEEKS AFTER SELECTION, AND MUST ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF SUCH NOTIFICATION WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS THEREAFTER, OR BE DISQUALIFIED! The potential winner will be required to sign and return to Sponsor an affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release (except where prohibited) within ten (10) days of the date sent to the potential winner, in order to claim his/her prize, if applicable.

If a potential winner does not timely claim his/her prize, is found ineligible, or fails to sign and return the affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period (if applicable), an alternate winner will be selected by Sponsor for forfeited prize.
Prizes
1. Grand Prize: ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER - Custom run of Sweethearts®.
  The Grand Prize winner will receive one custom run of Sweethearts® candies, consisting of a large selection of Sweethearts® with up to 80 distinct expressions, both existing Sweethearts® expressions and custom expressions created by the Grand Prize winner. Approximate Retail Value of Grand Prize: US$8,000.00.
2. Second Prize: TEN SECOND PRIZE WINNERS - NECCO Candy Care Packages
  Ten Second Prizes will be awarded. The Second Prize winners will each receive a NECCO Candy Care Package, consisting of an assortment of NECCO candies. Approximate Retail Value of each Second Prize: US$100.00.
Entries chosen as one of the 80 New Sweethearts® Expressions are NOT guaranteed to receive a prize.

For All Prizes: No substitution of prize will be made except as provided herein at Sponsor's sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any listed prize for one of equal or greater value if the designated prize should become unavailable for any reason. Winners are responsible for any and all related taxes and other expenses related to claiming any of the prizes. Taxes (federal, state and local, and any foreign) and other obligations are solely the responsibility of the winners. Prizes may be subject to reporting for tax and other purposes. Winner should consult his/her tax advisers with respect to any applicable taxes relating to any prize. Winners agree to supply Sponsor with any information necessary for tax reporting purposes and to cooperate in fulfilling all applicable legal requirements. Once a winner is verified and has completed and returned his/her affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period (if applicable), Sponsor will mail the prize to the winner, postage and handling prepaid.
Release
By entering, each Entrant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Drawing; (b) release and hold harmless Sponsor and its respective parents, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Drawing, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including (without limitation) negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including (without limitation) invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to Entrant's entry, creation of an entry or submission of an entry, participation in the Drawing, acceptance or use or misuse of prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, exploitation or use of entry; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless Sponsor from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or relating to Entrant's participation in the Drawing and/or entrant's acceptance, use or misuse of prize.
Publicity
Except where prohibited, participation in the Drawing constitutes the winner's consent to Sponsor's and its agents' use of winner's name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state, and any information provided on or with his/her entry, for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.
General Conditions
Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Contest before the end date at its sole discretion. In addition, Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor's reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsporting or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an electronic entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the email account is registered. Sponsor's failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
Limitations of Liability
The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including (without limitation) malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from an Entrant's participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded.
Disputes
Entrants agree that: (i) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or any prizes awarded, other than those concerning the administration of the Contest or the determination of winners, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (ii) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively by the United States District Court or the appropriate Massachusetts State Court located in Boston, Massachusetts; (iii) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest, but in no event attorneys' fees or costs; and (iv) under no circumstances will Entrants be permitted to obtain awards for, and Entrants hereby waive all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Entrant's Personal Information
Information collected from Entrants is subject to Sponsor's Privacy Policy which is available at www.necco.com/PrivacyPolicy.asp.
Contest Results
The names of the Contest winners will be published on www.sweethearts.com on or after February 14, 2010. To learn who was selected as a Contest winner, please contact Sponsor after February 14, 2010.