iTunes-Pepsi Bottles Delayed

[MacRumors]

USA Today reports (http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2004-03-04-apple_x.htm) that the Pepsi-iTunes promotion hasn't delivered on a large spike of digitial sales -- yet.

The reason is that the bottles have taken longer than expected to get into general circulation.

According to USA Today, they only arrived in New York last week and have yet to show up in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Pepsi expects a 10-20% redemption rate for the promotion, which could bring Apple's total sales to date up to 75 million from the current estimate of 52 million songs.

[Pappy Wappy]

Low response? I've got 13 so far!

[Mord]

whats the hold up?

[TEG]

At least, even though the promotion end March 31, you can redeem until April 30. I haven't used them because I don't know what songs to get.

TEG

[jeffgarden]

52 million sold aye ? isn't that like 10 million a month since january ?

[1macker1]

I'm happy they are having a low turn out. It's good to see people not risking their health for a .99 cent song. Put those caps on orange juice bottles!

[Bear]

52 million sold aye ? isn't that like 10 million a month since january ?2 Million songs a week is not unreasonable to expect.

[ggbrown]

52 million sold aye ? isn't that like 10 million a month since january ?

They're probably adjusting production of the caps so that you can't peek in and see if it's a winner or now.

[TBR]

Lucky USA people with your pepsi promotion, apple stores, ITMS, cheeper hardware etc etc grumble grumble grumble

[JohnGillilan]

There was another Pepsi promotion with the Lakers in February (one with grey tops), so I think that was also keeping the iTunes bottles out of Los Angeles. They better hurry up and get this going!!

[prutz11]

There was another Pepsi promotion with the Lakers in February (one with grey tops), so I think that was also keeping the iTunes bottles out of Los Angeles. They better hurry up and get this going!!


They are still no where to be found in Orlando... Though Sam's has them in the 12oz bottles. 7 11 does have the special big gulp gulps... I've been drinking a lot of em... full of coke though;)

[Gravity]

I haven't seen ANY of those bottles (and I've looked!) in the Chicago suburbs, yet.

Bottlers are probably using up old stock before they circulate the new ones. By then, the promotion will be over and we'll all feel cheated!

[Veldek]

52 million sold aye ? isn't that like 10 million a month since january ?

I rather think it's 52 million since iTMS start last year. Edit: Sorry, misread your post...

What will Steve Jobs say, if they won't reach the 100 million?

[engelb15]

I haven't seen ANY of those bottles (and I've looked!) in the Chicago suburbs, yet.

Bottlers are probably using up old stock before they circulate the new ones. By then, the promotion will be over and we'll all feel cheated!

We just started getting them in our vending machine here at the office. I am 5 for 5 so far.

I am however about 0 for 9 at Wall-Mart, I think the employees are cheating.

[jeffgarden]

In Miami, the Pepsi bottles are at every gas station i went to but the local supermarket has endless amounts of the regular blue caps. And I haven't seen sierra mist with the caps anywhere.

But 7-11 has always had the cups since the super bowl

[wdlove]

They're probably adjusting production of the caps so that you can't peek in and see if it's a winner or now.

The deli that I went to yesterday had another large shipment of the yellow caps. I did look, was 2 for 3 successful.

[jeffgarden]

I rather think it's 52 million since iTMS start last year

yeah, i got that 10 million a month figure from Apple saying they've sold 30 million songs at the January keynote and the USA article saying 52 million now

[Dippo]

We just started getting them in our vending machine here at the office. I am 5 for 5 so far.

I am however about 0 for 9 at Wall-Mart, I think the employees are cheating.

I think everyone is cheating, I went to look under caps at a local store and only one out of almost 20 was a winner. So I would assume some else had already looked at them and grabbed the winners.

[themacnetwork]

I'm in Long Beach, CA and I've only won once...on a Slurpee at 7 Eleven. Sad.

[Photorun]

It's odd, we have the bottles on campus where I work, but in the chain stores around there aren't any. Clearly it's distrubution channel issues with turning over the product that's out there.

[jeffgarden]

i cheated at the 7-11 with the cups, and it was like 1 winner out of every 9 cups so i didn't do it again cause that was a lot of cups i ruined...

the pepsi bottles i got at a gas station i won 4 out of 6

and for those not sure what to buy with your free codes, might i suggest anything from

SOUNDGARDEN

[ethernet76]

Lucky USA people with your pepsi promotion, apple stores, ITMS, cheeper hardware etc etc grumble grumble grumble

How does apple determine where the connection is coming from? I.E. what stops someone in France from downloading the American version of iTunes, and then using the iTMS. I'm assuming it's based on IP.

[morkens]

I've never put away so much diet pepsi in my life! I figured about 10 weeks of soda consuption wouldn't kill me- then back to water! Not that this is a nutrition forum, but I think OJ's sugar content is pretty high- bottled water anyone? Oh well, all for a good cause...
-Go apple!

[jeffgarden]

How does apple determine where the connection is coming from? I.E. what stops someone in France from downloading the American version of iTunes, and then using the iTMS. I'm assuming it's based on IP.

i don't think they do actually. i know you can give gift certificates to people outside the us and they can use it. the "problem" is getting the account. because you have to give u.s. based info

[MacSlut]

They're probably adjusting production of the caps so that you can't peek in and see if it's a winner or now.

I think that's what's happened. I live in Palo Alto, CA and it took forever for the bottles to arrive locally to the Safeway closest to Steve Job's house. When they did arrive they were *not* ones where you could sneak a peak to see if it was a winner.

[iBot]

In Los Angeles, we still have the Lakers promotion going on the Pepsi bottles. No sign of the iTunes bottles. Because basketball season runs through April, it looks like L.A. isn't going to see any iTunes bottles.

[whocares]

i don't think they do actually. i know you can give gift certificates to people outside the us and they can use it. the "problem" is getting the account. because you have to give u.s. based info

I think, you need a credit card number to open an account at the iTMS. So they just check the billing address from the credit card.

Don't even ask, I won't give anybody my cc number so they can redeem their winning caps. :eek: :p :p

No yellow caps in College Station, Texas to be found yet. :(

[choogheem]

I'm not sure about anyone else, but here in the Twin Cities I've been finding winning bottles for the last 3 weeks. I'm 26 for 34 right now. Waiting to buy Queen's Greatest Hits I & II.

some guy posted about tilting the bottle at a 25º and looking for "again" or "free song" (I'm 8 for 8 using this technique)

[stoid]

I guess I just posted in the wrong spot. My Thread (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=62986)

Great if Apple is grabbing an upper hand to combat the oncoming storm if MS starts pushing Napster. Hope Apple continues great partnerships! They need them, as they don't have enough marketing sway alone.

[jeffgarden]

I'm not sure about anyone else, but here in the Twin Cities I've been finding winning bottles for the last 3 weeks. I'm 26 for 34 right now. Waiting to buy Queen's Greatest Hits I & II.

some guy posted about tilting the bottle at a 25º and looking for "again" or "free song" (I'm 8 for 8 using this technique)

I dunno, i guess i'm retarded...and so are my friends because we bought a few bottles and even at home, where we need not worry about employees or other customers wondering what the hell we were doing, we tilted the bottles and couldn't tell what the cap said. we raised the bottles over our heads :P he did everything.

maybe we can do it with the clear sierra soda

[TBR]

In Miami, the Pepsi bottles are at every gas station i went to but the local supermarket has endless amounts of the regular blue caps. And I haven't seen sierra mist with the caps anywhere.

But 7-11 has always had the cups since the super bowl


Whats sierra mist?

[m,tz206]

[QUOTE=Macrumors][url="http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2004-03-04-apple_x.htm"]
According to USA Today, they only arrived in New York last week and have yet to show up in Los Angeles.
QUOTE]

They've been in New York for much longer than just a week. I think I bought my first one within days of the launch.

[jeffgarden]

sierra mist = pepsi's answer to Sprite

it's supposed to have the yellow caps too

[TBR]

sierra mist = pepsi's answer to Sprite

it's supposed to have the yellow caps too

Thanks.....bit of a crappy name though. :)

[theipodgod16]

I'm not sure about anyone else, but here in the Twin Cities I've been finding winning bottles for the last 3 weeks. I'm 26 for 34 right now. Waiting to buy Queen's Greatest Hits I & II.

some guy posted about tilting the bottle at a 25º and looking for "again" or "free song" (I'm 8 for 8 using this technique)


just be aware that you can't buy albums with these. (Nor audiobooks). that will bill your credit card. You'd have to buy each song from the album one at a time. BTW, check my sig. for my luck on the caps so far. :D

[rog]

Wow, Apple's inability to deliver announed products has now even infected Pepsi. Apple just loves to throw millions into ads for products people can't buy. I remember last year, the huge billboard near highway 80 in Emeryville near the Apple Store touting the 17" powerbook. It was up for 3 friggin months at least before anyone could actually walk into the store and buy one.

[stoid]

Whats sierra mist?

Hmmmm, there's a Sierra mountain range, yes? And mist, like dew is small water droplets from the atmosphere most common in the morning.


soooo.....


Sierra Mist == Mountain Dew :eek: :eek: :eek:


:rolleyes:

[El Tritoma]

Out here in the arid southwest I have yet to see any of the yellow caps. And I drink Pepsi voluntarily, too!

[fixyourthinking]

They're probably adjusting production of the caps so that you can't peek in and see if it's a winner or now.

Nope, they have already addressed that at my local Walmart with sleeves.

(By the way, Walmart sells the most Pepsi in the US)

It would cost a FORTUNE to redo the caps at this point.

That said, peaking under the cap isn't as easy as it's made out to be, eventhough I've been successful at it. I get strange looks like I'm a conspiracy theorist - people think I'm examining the contents for a biohazard or something.

[gerlitzappel]

They are still no where to be found in Orlando... Though Sam's has them in the 12oz bottles. 7 11 does have the special big gulp gulps... I've been drinking a lot of em... full of coke though;)

Now that's original! If we had 7-11's here I'd be doing the same, Diet Coke though. QuickTrip is our version of 7-11. And they only sell them in 20oz bottles for $1.19. I'd rather just purchase a song and save the 2 dimes.

My wife noiced that you could read the cap too. I felt stupid after buying 4 losers.

[AirUncleP]

10-20% redemption rate?

The average person will have no idea how to redeem a
winning cap. The tv, print ads. just don't explain it.

[jeffgarden]

yeah i kinda doubt too many people who don't already use itunes will sign up for an account to get 1 song

[pbooktebo]

I've just recently started noticing them in San Francisco, although I wasn't driving around town going nuts looking. It was also confusing because they had some similar yellow "caps for cops" kind of promotion.

Interestingly, my first bottle was a win, and without giving out the cap code entirely, it promintently said "LIARX". It really stuck out to me...

where's the burp smiley? :( :o :p

[Unclej78]

We have about 15 caps and haven't redeemed any yet. That's probably the case with a lot of people familiar with Apple iTunes/Store.

[choogheem]

Here is the link for reading on tilting.

25º tilting of pepsi bottles (http://hackinthebox.org/index.php?gettid=5)

[robotrenegade]

This is just a markering deploy to save money on pepsis side not to pay apple for the songs.

[wPod]

dallas seems dry-ish. . . i saw them one week after the announcement. i think my local store got one shipment with the cardboard display signs advertising the deal. i 'cheated' and found a winning bottle. went back a couple days later and while 'checking' the winners, found that all the winners were gone and they had started re-stocking with regular bottles w/o yellow caps. i havent seen a place with a steady shipment of them yet.

[Engagebot]

Still no bottles in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (LSU campus). Maybe some in new orleans, but i never even saw any at mardi gras.

I did find 7 bottles at one grocery store in Lake Charles, Louisiana (my parents live there), but thats across the state.

[dmjones]

There was another Pepsi promotion with the Lakers in February (one with grey tops), so I think that was also keeping the iTunes bottles out of Los Angeles. They better hurry up and get this going!!

What's the game of basketball compared with the need for us Mac addicts here in L.A. to get free iTunes? Who wants to see some ballgame with a bunch of overpaid crybabies? I want my iTunes Bottles!!!

Oh well...rant is over...

[davetrow1997]

Tilting works!! I'm 100% on this method so far.. the problem is when I go to the local QuickieMart and have like 30 nonwinning diet pepsis littered on the ground around me, carefully tilting the next candidate at 24.9 degrees, wiping condensation off the bottle, grumbling quietly under my breath, retilting, wiping, grumbling, then cursing loser bottles out soundly. Err... I've gotten some funny looks. I do put them all back, though.

Of course, with vending machines at work, I still get the chance to be delighted at winning a cap without cheating... Soon, my iPod will be just a little fatter. Nowhere near the 200, though!

[mikeabnooy]

I haven't found ANY pepsi bottles in San Francisco yet. I have gone to 7-11 though and found the cups for slurpees. That's all i have found so far and so far... two free songs.... I admit... i cheated! ahahaha... but more drinks now that today is PAY DAY! :D

[jelloshotsrule]

Hmmmm, there's a Sierra mountain range, yes? And mist, like dew is small water droplets from the atmosphere most common in the morning.


soooo.....


Sierra Mist == Mountain Dew :eek: :eek: :eek:


:rolleyes:

ahhhhh! nooo!

sierra mist is more like sprite or 7up. mountain dew is different. and much much better.....

i've only played once, with a sierra mist bottle, and i lost... my girlfriend lost with pepsi once..... oh well. there's not much on there i want anyways.

[ITR 81]

I at first couldn't find them because I was looking in the wrong place.(the shelves)..when I should've been looking for them in the coolers.

In past two weeks I've earned 7 songs.

And ever since the bottle hack I've nailed all the winners...which is why I think it's becoming harder and harder to find winners now.

Our Pepsi bottler is only 45 mins away so we get them first before the surrounding states get their cut.

[Doctor Q]

My only goal in life is to see one of these iTMS Pepsis before the promotion is over.

[Hugh]

So far all the stores I've been in do not have the caps with the exception that a local convence store had a few 20 oz bottles. I don't go to Wal-Mart or SAM's Club so it's possible that they have the cabs, but the others that I have been do not. (The others are a chain as well).

Considering where I am, this doesn't suprise me though. I'm in a town that is anti-Apple for the most part. :(

-Hugh

[morkintosh]

I'm happy they are having a low turn out. It's good to see people not risking their health for a .99 cent song. Put those caps on orange juice bottles!

oh please! I'm not a iTunes zealot or anything, but most orange juice has almost as much sugar in it as soda.

[Docrjm]

My only goal in life is to see one of these iTMS Pepsis before the promotion is over.
Nothing like aiming high! ;)

[=pa=]

So the two largest markets in the USA can't participate in the promotion? What a joke. It's a marketing disaster. Let's hope the public don't blame Apple for this *uckup. :rolleyes:

[Hansel USA]

Saw the bottles in Chicago (3rd largest U.S. city) for the first time this past weekend.

[ITR 81]

I predict Apple hits 80 million if not slightly over.

Now if Apple could open new ITMS either in Canada or Europe we could see that magical 100 million or something alot closer say 95-98 million.

This is how I've won all 7 of my recent Pepsi buys.
It's faster and easier to pull off while in the store.
4 lines = GO and 3 lines = NO GO.

http://homepage.mac.com/scottgross/Real-Genius/images/TunesPEPSI.jpg

[Mac Dummy]

That figures the promotion will probably be over by the time the bottles get here. (NW Arkansas) :mad:

[AirUncleP]

I am however about 0 for 9 at Wall-Mart, I think the employees are cheating.

It just takes one 17 year old, $5.00/hr bagboy with a big mouth and you can say bye bye to potential winners. I saw a grocery store bagger out here in Colorado buying 3 pepsis. He was either cheating or very thirsty, you choose.

[AirUncleP]

This is how I've won all 7 of my recent Pepsi buys.
It's faster and easier to pull off while in the store.
4 lines = GO and 3 lines = NO GO.


Karma Dude. Karma is going come back and sting you one day. Ten times over.

Play the game.

[morkens]

Really, tilting it is not "cheating" it is, in michael feldman's word's, "par for the course." Removing and replacing the cap would be cheating. My wife disagrees, though... and I don't feel guilty- really- I'm trying not to feel guilty- hey, somebody's gotta win!
-Go Apple!

[iBot]

Message to Apple marketing types who may be lurking on this board: Please grab your Pepsico partners by the lapels, tilt them at a 25 angle and shake vigorously until they promise to deliver iTunes bottles to Los Angeles.

Is Pepsi trying to keep its costs down by declining to make the promotion available in the nation's biggest music market?

[bar italia]

oh please! I'm not a iTunes zealot or anything, but most orange juice has almost as much sugar in it as soda.

Are you seriously comparing the nutritional content of orange juice and soda?

:rolleyes:

[Sky Martin]

They are still no where to be found in Orlando... Though Sam's has them in the 12oz bottles. 7 11 does have the special big gulp gulps... I've been drinking a lot of em... full of coke though;)

Actually I have found them all over the place in Orlando, 7/11 on Boggy Creek next to the Airport, Albertsons on Sand Lake. Come on and look!

[bar italia]

Really, tilting it is not "cheating" it is, in michael feldman's word's, "par for the course." Removing and replacing the cap would be cheating. My wife disagrees, though... and I don't feel guilty- really- I'm trying not to feel guilty- hey, somebody's gotta win!
-Go Apple!

Every song you steal makes it even more unlikely that a non-Mac person will download iTunes to use it. :mad:

[ALoLA]

We have the cups at 7-11 here in Los Angeles. Can't really cheat with those though. :) I'm 0-3 so far. :p

[Sky Martin]

I predict Apple hits 80 million if not slightly over.

Now if Apple could open new ITMS either in Canada or Europe we could see that magical 100 million or something alot closer say 95-98 million.

This is how I've won all 7 of my recent Pepsi buys.
It's faster and easier to pull off while in the store.
4 lines = GO and 3 lines = NO GO.

http://homepage.mac.com/scottgross/Real-Genius/images/TunesPEPSI.jpg

I am from Ohio but working in Orlando and the cap printing here is totally different from Ohio. The 3 vs 4 line things is not always true. Also the codes in Orlando are actually readable, appears that Ohio is using cap printers from the 1940's.

[sfhc21]

Really, tilting it is not "cheating" it is, in michael feldman's word's, "par for the course." Removing and replacing the cap would be cheating. My wife disagrees, though... and I don't feel guilty- really- I'm trying not to feel guilty- hey, somebody's gotta win!
-Go Apple!

I don't think its cheating either...does it say on the bottle to not tilt and look before buying???? Then its not cheating.

[MacJoe]

So far I've won 14 freebies with this promotion. Even before hearing about the tilting trick I was beating the odds. Heck, the very first bottle I won with was a partially empty one I found in the parking lot at work! The next day I won twice at a local convenience store. I don't always use the tilting trick and I agree that it's not always easy to read the underside of the caps. What I CAN say is that this promotion is directly responsible for my buying four albums from the iTunes Music Store!

[morkens]

Every song you steal makes it even more unlikely that a non-Mac person will download iTunes to use it. :mad:
Are you actively purchasing losers to increase the odds for non-mac folks?
Par for the course my friend-
-Go Apple!

[bar italia]

Par for the course my friend

Do you even know what this means?

[morkintosh]

Are you seriously comparing the nutritional content of orange juice and soda?

:rolleyes:

no, I am not, actual fruit juice has far more nutritional content. I am, however, being a curmudgeon and pointing out that most store bought juice contains only slightly less sugar and/or artificial content as soda.

[NusuniAdmin]

Ummm I live in syracuse NY right now, and i got a pepsi itunes bottle the day after it was announced (day after supabowl) and i visited NYC 3 weeks ago and they had the bottles all over the place, I think whereever you got the story from they are bullshi**ing you!

[benpatient]

I might have been mildly interested in this promotional deal IF they had included Mt. Dew.

As it is, I'd rather drink sewer water than Pepsi.

and the songs are only worth a dollar anyway...pretty funny that they didn't make the caps harder to sneak a peak at...

idiots.

[PDubNYC]

I still haven't seen any in NYC, hopefully these new shipments will show up actually on the shelves and in the coolers shortly, not just stuck in the back stockroom. I saw a post from someone else in nyc who saw them right after the Superbowl, but my experience has been quite different.

[Freg3000]

Ummm I live in syracuse NY right now, and i got a pepsi itunes bottle the day after it was announced (day after supabowl) and i visited NYC 3 weeks ago and they had the bottles all over the place, I think whereever you got the story from they are bullshi**ing you!

I still haven't seen any in NYC, hopefully these new shipments will show up actually on the shelves and in the coolers shortly, not just stuck in the back stockroom. I saw a post from someone else in nyc who saw them right after the Superbowl, but my experience has been quite different.

Here is the thing:

New York City is a big place!

It's like the saying with the economy and jobs. If you have a job, everything is good. The economy couldn't be better. If you don't have a job, the economy is horrible, even despite positive economic figures and such.

If you haven't found a Pepsi-iTunes bottle, it doesn't mean that your entire city doesn't have them, it just means that God hates you. (kidding...)

I have yet to see one on Long Island.

[robotrenegade]

I predict Apple hits 80 million if not slightly over.

Now if Apple could open new ITMS either in Canada or Europe we could see that magical 100 million or something alot closer say 95-98 million.

This is how I've won all 7 of my recent Pepsi buys.
It's faster and easier to pull off while in the store.
4 lines = GO and 3 lines = NO GO.

http://homepage.mac.com/scottgross/Real-Genius/images/TunesPEPSI.jpg

Old news, you could do this with all the promtions they had. But good to know for the ppl that didn't. Good Pictures by the way.


Also the 7-11 lids you can just pill back to see if you won.

[frankly]

I'm happy they are having a low turn out. It's good to see people not risking their health for a .99 cent song. Put those caps on orange juice bottles!

Who are you, our dad???

I'm sure that you don't eat or drink anything that is bad for you, ever.

Later, Frank

[tennisbum]

I haven't seen any Pepsi bottles with the promotion yet here in L.A. area. I make a point to look them up whenever I'm in a store. Though, I have been winning my free songs from 7 Eleven's Big Gulps..... :) Four out of 7 are winners so far.......

[frankly]

I rather think it's 52 million since iTMS start last year.

What will Steve Jobs say, if they won't reach the 100 million?

Yes, that is correct. However, the poster didn't say 10 million a month since the beginning, they said 10 million a month since January. Since Apple said they sold 25 million as of December 15, 2003 (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/dec/15itunes.html) then I think he was pretty accurate to say 10 million per month starting in January, don't you???

Let me help with the math. 2.5 months (or 10 weeks) since December 15, 27 million songs = about 2.7 million per week (52 million - 25 million) or 10 million per month (actually 10.8 million).

Later, Frank

[frankly]

How does apple determine where the connection is coming from? I.E. what stops someone in France from downloading the American version of iTunes, and then using the iTMS. I'm assuming it's based on IP.

It is based on credit card billing info. If you live outside the US but still have a US based credit card billing address you are good to go.

Later, Frank

[PDubNYC]

Here is the thing:

New York City is a big place!

It's like the saying with the economy and jobs. If you have a job, everything is good. The economy couldn't be better. If you don't have a job, the economy is horrible, even despite positive economic figures and such.

If you haven't found a Pepsi-iTunes bottle, it doesn't mean that your entire city doesn't have them, it just means that God hates you. (kidding...)

I have yet to see one on Long Island.

thanks for the life lesson. I do realize that NYC is a big place, which I why I never said that there are no bottles here, just that I have not seen any. Clearly there are some here if others have found them. I am just hoping they become more widely available before this promotion ends.

Not to mention I do have a job, and I would still say the economy sucks, but that's just my opinion again. and there is no God...haha

[clarkcox3]

At least, even though the promotion end March 31, you can redeem until April 30. I haven't used them because I don't know what songs to get.

TEG

You don't have to choose the song when you redeem the code. After you enter the code, you just get credit for a song. You can spend that credit whenever you want (before April 30th).

[xtekdiver]

I'm happy they are having a low turn out. It's good to see people not risking their health for a .99 cent song. Put those caps on orange juice bottles!

Put them on beer caps!

[frankly]

I dunno, i guess i'm retarded...and so are my friends because we bought a few bottles and even at home, where we need not worry about employees or other customers wondering what the hell we were doing, we tilted the bottles and couldn't tell what the cap said. we raised the bottles over our heads :P he did everything.

maybe we can do it with the clear sierra soda

Actually it is almost impossible to see what it says when the cap is a loser BUT the winners have much more text and you will be able to see the word "song" which is the last word on the cap.

Later, Frank

[frankly]

Thanks.....bit of a crappy name though. :)

True about the name Sierra Mist but GREAT commercials.

[idkew]

I haven't seen ANY of those bottles (and I've looked!) in the Chicago suburbs, yet.

Bottlers are probably using up old stock before they circulate the new ones. By then, the promotion will be over and we'll all feel cheated!

they're there.

you just have to know where to look. i found some at a target in the 'burbs, but that is the only place. i have seen NONE in Chicago. Only the second city ya know, who needs to sell pepsi in such a small market?

[frankly]

10-20% redemption rate?

The average person will have no idea how to redeem a
winning cap. The tv, print ads. just don't explain it.

Ummmmm, the bottle does...... (http://www.macrumors.com/downloads/photos/pepsi_bottles.jpg)

[Photorun]

Here is the thing:

New York City is a big place!

Yeah but Syracuse ain't so big, just a slow dying city in the rustbelt that the cities outside the northeast corridor.

[frankly]

Really, tilting it is not "cheating" it is, in michael feldman's word's, "par for the course." Removing and replacing the cap would be cheating. My wife disagrees, though... and I don't feel guilty- really- I'm trying not to feel guilty- hey, somebody's gotta win!
-Go Apple!

I agree. Someone else said I was cheating and I said the same thing about removing the cap would be cheating. I'm not going to spend the money on the bottle like an idiot without looking when it is right in front of my face. That would be stupid.

Later, Frank

[benoda]

Typical Apple, something is announced but yet it takes 6 weeks to show up :D

[frankly]

Every song you steal makes it even more unlikely that a non-Mac person will download iTunes to use it. :mad:

Whatever, get a grip. As much damn Pepsi as I buy on a weekly basis I figure I am due to win something.

I miss the promotion they had where you simply got points for every Pepsi product you bought. I came away with a bunch of loot after that promotion.

Later, Frank

[Savage Henry]

This early on into a campaign like this, a 'low response' signal does not bode well for the whole digital download medium. Even if the message was 'pleased' I'd have been reading that as 'disappointed'.

But since iTunes is only to sell iPods for Apple, perhaps we should here it from them whether it's been a success or not?

100,000 iPodmini pre-orders seems to suggest that something somewhere is working.

[RugoseCone]

I haven't seen ANY of those bottles (and I've looked!) in the Chicago suburbs, yet.

Bottlers are probably using up old stock before they circulate the new ones. By then, the promotion will be over and we'll all feel cheated!


I bought a winning bottle at a gas station in Orland Park, IL. Keep looking!

[Wonder Boy]

any chance we can pin this on motorola? :)

[NusuniAdmin]

Yeah but Syracuse ain't so big, just a slow dying city in the rustbelt that the cities outside the northeast corridor.

It sure is, very funny how onondaga county is getting a 1% sales tax added to the current 7.25%, and right now we still (and will for a while) have the highest property tax in the country....WOOOHOOO GO SYRACUSE ahhahahahahahahhahahaha (and their basketball team this year sux, how come anthony had to leave :( )

[mvc]

any chance we can pin this on motorola? :)

Ha!

[Chip NoVaMac]

They're probably adjusting production of the caps so that you can't peek in and see if it's a winner or now.

I could swear that the "twist" of clear plastic is different on the bottles in the DC area of late. It takes more to see what the words are....

[winmacguy]

How does apple determine where the connection is coming from? I.E. what stops someone in France from downloading the American version of iTunes, and then using the iTMS. I'm assuming it's based on IP.

Correct, it is the IP address from your ISP as well.
We can view and sample tracks from iTMS in NZ but we cant buy any yet.

[Count Blah]

This early on into a campaign like this, a 'low response' signal does not bode well for the whole digital download medium. Even if the message was 'pleased' I'd have been reading that as 'disappointed'.



Low turnout seems about right since I have yet to even see one of these bottles in the DC 'burbs.

[Chip NoVaMac]

i cheated at the 7-11 with the cups, and it was like 1 winner out of every 9 cups so i didn't do it again cause that was a lot of cups i ruined...



Lucky you didn't get arrested. What seem innocent is actually theft or destruction of inventory. The cups at 7-11 and many fast food joints are inventoried.

[engelb15]

Old news, you could do this with all the promtions they had. But good to know for the ppl that didn't. Good Pictures by the way.


Also the 7-11 lids you can just pill back to see if you won.


The only minor problem with the tilting is that all the pictures shown are with empty bottles. It has worked for me about 1/2 the time, meaning that the Pepsi does not give a good enough view of the cap to tell.

[Frisco]

This whole iTunes-Pepsi thing is turning out to be a huge fiasco.

They should extend the promotion and do it right this time.

All you cheapskates looking to cheat the promotion by looking through the caps for winners should leave them alone for people who have never used ITMS before. That what it was intended for--not people who already use the music store willing to waste their time cheating to get a free 99cent song.

[Snowy_River]

I've never put away so much diet pepsi in my life! I figured about 10 weeks of soda consuption wouldn't kill me- then back to water! Not that this is a nutrition forum, but I think OJ's sugar content is pretty high- bottled water anyone? Oh well, all for a good cause...
-Go apple!

oh please! I'm not a iTunes zealot or anything, but most orange juice has almost as much sugar in it as soda.

There's more to recommend OJ over soda than just a question of sugar. Most of the sugar in OJ is fructose (all, if you're drinking 100% natural OJ), which is better for you than the sucrose that is in soda. Further, OJ lacks a lot of the bad stuff that's in soda (I won't go into that on this forum), and has a lot of good stuff that soda lacks.

I'll take OJ any day over soda.

Oh, and I haven't seen any of the yellow caps in Tucson, AZ. This despite having a number of people looking out for them. (I've offered to buy winning caps from anyone who doesn't want them, as I don't drink any Pepsi products...)

[klaus]

How come a couple of you guys blame everything on apple, like in saying that everything they announce is delayed. I personally don't think the problem lies with apple here. They don't produce the bottles, they don't bring the bottles to the store. My feeling tells me the problem lies more with the bottle provider than something else.. sure, maybe the preparation could've been done a bit earlier, but still, there must have been plenty of time to get the bottles ready and ship them to stores!? Delivery problems with bottles, like shops keeping them in the back until the old ones are sold, etc, are things Pepsi should know, not Apple, Apple is into making computers & software, not distributing soda bottles..

just my 2 cent, no flame intended, just don't want to blame Apple for everything that's not going as it is suppose to go..

cya!

[fluidinclusion]

Once you get the hang of it, it takes about 1-2 seconds to determine if it's a winner. I'm 7 for 8, although all of the bottles I've looked at I've purchased. Lots of winners in SW Michigan. Nobody uses Macs here, unfortunately. Nearest store that sells Macs is 45 miles away and I'm in a community of 150,000.


Tilting works!! I'm 100% on this method so far.. the problem is when I go to the local QuickieMart and have like 30 nonwinning diet pepsis littered on the ground around me, carefully tilting the next candidate at 24.9 degrees, wiping condensation off the bottle, grumbling quietly under my breath, retilting, wiping, grumbling, then cursing loser bottles out soundly. Err... I've gotten some funny looks. I do put them all back, though.

Of course, with vending machines at work, I still get the chance to be delighted at winning a cap without cheating... Soon, my iPod will be just a little fatter. Nowhere near the 200, though!

[Snowy_River]

Typical Apple, something is announced but yet it takes 6 weeks to show up :D

Typical troll, blaming Apple for every little problem, even when Apple had nothing to do with it...

j/k ;)

[Snowy_River]

This whole iTunes-Pepsi thing is turning out to be a huge fiasco.

They should extend the promotion and do it right this time.

All you cheapskates looking to cheat the promotion by looking through the caps for winners should leave them alone for people who have never used ITMS before. That what it was intended for--not people who already use the music store willing to waste their time cheating to get a free 99cent song.

Well, I'd say it's as much for those who already use iTMS as for those that don't. Geez. :rolleyes: There are 100,000,000 winning caps out there, after all. That is to say, there are more winning caps than there have been songs downloaded so far. I don't think that those of us who use iTMS already choosing to get some of these winners is really going to have that big an impact.

However, on the other hand, I do agree with you that they should extend the promotion, given how Pepsi is bungling their distribution...

[DaBuzz]

I've won caps in San Francisco, Denver and Atlanta so far, just in the past 2 weeks (they've been at my local store in SF since it started)...I see them everywhere I go.

I've also noticed Coke is putting yellow caps on their 20-oz bottles...in an attempt to confuse? Yes there are some people out there who don't make a distinction.

[AirUncleP]

Originally Posted by AirUncleP

10-20% redemption rate?

The average person will have no idea how to redeem a
winning cap. The tv, print ads. just don't explain it.

Ummmmm, the bottle does...... (http://www.macrumors.com/downloads/photos/pepsi_bottles.jpg)

How many people do you know that cruise the soda aisles looking for promotions? TV first then newspaper is the way people will know about the contest. Ask non-mac people about the promotion and see if you get 2 in 10 that know anything about it.

[gopher]

First off, where I go to buy soda the only soda bottles that have it are the non-diet Pepsis.

Secondly I have to spend $1.05 to get a single bottle of Pepsi. That's 6 cents more than the cost of a song if I were to win the song the first try every time. So even if I tilt the bottle to see if it is a winner, I still am a loser of 6 cents since the regular cost of a song is 99 cents. If the cost of a single bottle of Pepsi was less than the cost of a song I might have tried it. But since it isn't, it isn't worth it to me.

[mproud]

But some markets had different contests too - didn't LA have a Lakers promo? Doesn't that explain some of it?

Btw, weren't those NFL caps out for a LONG time?

[mproud]

First off, where I go to buy soda the only soda bottles that have it are the non-diet Pepsis.

Secondly I have to spend $1.05 to get a single bottle of Pepsi. That's 6 cents more than the cost of a song if I were to win the song the first try every time. So even if I tilt the bottle to see if it is a winner, I still am a loser of 6 cents since the regular cost of a song is 99 cents. If the cost of a single bottle of Pepsi was less than the cost of a song I might have tried it. But since it isn't, it isn't worth it to me.

Dollar General for $.75

Or participating 20 oz. machines :P

[ITR 81]

Dollar General for $.75

Or participating 20 oz. machines :P

Fred's here has them also for $.75 as well.

The Pig here has them for $.99 and I think Wally World has them for $.98

[Darkhorse]

I'd like to see a shipment or two of the bottles smuggled north of the border for us Canadians.

Unfortunately you can't buy anything from the iTMS up here yet... HOWEVER I've been given a few codes from the caps from American online acquaintances and I purchased songs with them... of course I had to falsify my information for my iTunes account. If anyone asks I live in Pleasant Garden NC instead of Victoria BC.

[theipodgod16]

But some markets had different contests too - didn't LA have a Lakers promo? Doesn't that explain some of it?

Btw, weren't those NFL caps out for a LONG time?

haha yea. i checked the experation date for the promo, and it was DECEMBER 31st!!

[Sir_Giggles]

There's always someone giving these stories a positive rating.

/sarcasm

[bankshot]

But some markets had different contests too - didn't LA have a Lakers promo? Doesn't that explain some of it?

Yep. Others have already mentioned the Lakers promo in this thread. As a Clipper fan, it just gives me one more reason to hate the Lakers. :p I did notice on those bottles that the promo ended on Feb 29, so I figured the earliest we would see iTunes bottles would be mid March. I haven't seen any yet, but then I haven't looked much recently.

I did play the 7-Eleven cups for the first few weeks of February. I figured I was spending about the same amount of money on soda (2 cups a day at 64 oz ($2), as opposed to 2 12-oz cans ($1) + a 20-oz drink at lunch ($1)) so what could I lose? I ended up going 14 for 41 - just one cup better than the odds. I was actually 13 for 29 after an amazing stretch of 7 for 8, but then the iTunes gods frowned upon me and I went 0 for the next 11! :eek:

At that point I had realized that even though I was spending the same amount, the extra soda was getting to me. I was feeling too jittery and not in a good way. So I just wanted to get one more song to complete this album (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=696002) (a steal at just $3.96!) but it took forever! Now I'm just drinking water and saving the money to buy even more music instead. I feel much better, and not so upset about the Laker thing... :cool:

[killergator]

They are still no where to be found in Orlando... Though Sam's has them in the 12oz bottles. 7 11 does have the special big gulp gulps... I've been drinking a lot of em... full of coke though;)

Where do you live? I am at 59 and counting. Every 7-11 in Orlando is carrying the bottles. They are even in the Pepsi machine at work, so all my co-workers give me their caps :D I think you need to stop eyeballing the big gulp cups and glazed doughnutz and take a stroll to the drink case.

[Hotsoup]

Do what I do for a free song:

Step 1: Walk into your local store with the iTunes Pepsi bottles.
Step 2: Using the tilt cheat, pick a winner.
Step 3: Unscrew the cap, put it in your pocket
Step 4: Put the soda back in the freezer
Step 5: Walk out!
Step 6: There is no Step 6.

[gopher]

Do what I do for a free song:

Step 1: Walk into your local store with the iTunes Pepsi bottles.
Step 2: Using the tilt cheat, pick a winner.
Step 3: Unscrew the cap, put it in your pocket
Step 4: Put the soda back in the freezer
Step 5: Walk out!
Step 6: There is no Step 6.

----
step 6: answer to the attendent why you put back a topless Pepsi bottle in the freezer when he catches you. He'll want you to pay. I'm sorry, but you will be caught on camera, then you will have a felony on your hands if you didn't pay.

[coumerelli]

Do what I do for a free song:

Step 1: Walk into your local store with the iTunes Pepsi bottles.
Step 2: Using the tilt cheat, pick a winner.
Step 3: Unscrew the cap, put it in your pocket
Step 4: Put the soda back in the freezer
Step 5: Walk out!
Step 6: There is no Step 6.

so bad! ;) :eek: and just as your name implies, that's what you'll be in if anyone sees you (can you say security camera?) lol

[coumerelli]

----
step 6: answer to the attendent why you put back a topless Pepsi bottle in the freezer when he catches you. He'll want you to pay. I'm sorry, but you will be caught on camera, then you will have a felony on your hands if you didn't pay.

and probably not a FELONY as you'll need a truck to take enough caps to cover the minimum charge (isn't it like $600? and that's still just classified as 'petty' or something) :rolleyes:

[Xapplimatic]

The reason is that the bottles have taken longer than expected to get into general circulation.

And HOW many times has Pepsi done a promotion before? You'd think they would know how fast their distribution chain moves already.. geez..

According to USA Today, they only arrived in New York last week and have yet to show up in Los Angeles.

To tell the truth: THEY AREN'T ANYWHERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA! I have gone to literally 25 stores in 6 cities. There are no iTunes cups to be found. Stupid LA Lakers promo got in the way. I'm not in LA, and I don't like the Lakers or basketball, so why can't I download my 'free' iTunes songs yet? What's up with that? Maybe Apple should sue Pepsi for botching their marketing and shamming their plumpest market in Southern California for the benefit of a few over-jocked-arm-chair-TV-warriors getting free tickets to the next colleseum riot.. Pathetic. Timing is everything.. and You haven't got the right one here baby.. Uh huh!

[sethypoo]

Here at Humboldt State (northern California), there were no Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, or Sierra Mist bottles until about 2 weeks after the Super Bowl. At 2 weeks, all we had (on campus) was Diet Pepsi (it's gross, but I had to have my free iTunes songs!). Just last Tuesday I finally started to see regular Pepsi show up to two on campus stores. The same time that the regular Pepsi showed up, the local Safeway started to get Diet Pepsi and regular Pepsi bottes.

Weird.

[Greydog]

Wow, I must just be lucky - we've had them her ein So. Jersey at my hospital cafeteria since early Feb. - I am 9 for 15, the last being yesterday as I grabbed the last yellow cap before a whole new shipment of blue caps was put on the rack. I hope they bring back more yellows next week.

Now if I could just find 9 songs worth dl'ng in a sea of really bad music these days...

[chubad]

This promotion would have been more successful if it started on, say the 4th of July instead of February.
Our local stores have just started getting them in for the simple reason that they had tons of inventory.
When it's -20 below zero reaching for a cold soda is not high on most peoples list.

[choogheem]

This whole iTunes-Pepsi thing is turning out to be a huge fiasco.

They should extend the promotion and do it right this time.

All you cheapskates looking to cheat the promotion by looking through the caps for winners should leave them alone for people who have never used ITMS before. That what it was intended for--not people who already use the music store willing to waste their time cheating to get a free 99cent song.

Cheating? Are you kidding me? I am creating better odds. I'm doing nothing illegal, I am merely inspecting the merchandise before I purchase. Yes, and you are so right. With the millions of winners out there, my 30 are going to ruin the experience for all people who have never used ITMS because there obviously won't be anymore winners. People, just because you aren't tilting and winning as much as others, don't start crying about 30-40 winners out of the 100 million winners out there. Woohoo, I've won a whopping 0.00003 % of the total winners. Everyone else is screwed. Better call off the promotion, because I've obviously ruined the experience for everyone else. Boohoo, wah, sob, etc.

[jlneemidge]

There's more to recommend OJ over soda than just a question of sugar. Most of the sugar in OJ is fructose (all, if you're drinking 100% natural OJ), which is better for you than the sucrose that is in soda. Further, OJ lacks a lot of the bad stuff that's in soda (I won't go into that on this forum), and has a lot of good stuff that soda lacks.

I'll take OJ any day over soda.

Actually, most soda these days contains high fructose corn syrup. This isn't particularly good for you; it is, however, not sucrose. A friend of mine is a diabetic; the impact of this for him is that he can't drink a "sugary" soda to raise his blood sugar when he's low -- fructose doesn't do that.

For the rest of the comment, I agree -- OJ is clearly much healthier than soda. That said, too much of it is a bad thing for the same reason -- while there's plenty of good things in OJ, it's also mostly sugar and highly acidic (generally more acidic than soda).

[Snowy_River]

First off, where I go to buy soda the only soda bottles that have it are the non-diet Pepsis.

Secondly I have to spend $1.05 to get a single bottle of Pepsi. That's 6 cents more than the cost of a song if I were to win the song the first try every time. So even if I tilt the bottle to see if it is a winner, I still am a loser of 6 cents since the regular cost of a song is 99 cents. If the cost of a single bottle of Pepsi was less than the cost of a song I might have tried it. But since it isn't, it isn't worth it to me.

OMG! You're paying $0.06 for a bottle of Pepsi! What a rip off! :rolleyes:

[Snowy_River]

Actually, most soda these days contains high fructose corn syrup. This isn't particularly good for you; it is, however, not sucrose. A friend of mine is a diabetic; the impact of this for him is that he can't drink a "sugary" soda to raise his blood sugar when he's low -- fructose doesn't do that.

For the rest of the comment, I agree -- OJ is clearly much healthier than soda. That said, too much of it is a bad thing for the same reason -- while there's plenty of good things in OJ, it's also mostly sugar and highly acidic (generally more acidic than soda).

Well, a couple of points. First, the typical pH of a soda is in the range of 2.5 - 3.0, where diet sodas typically have a lower pH than regular sodas. On the other hand, OJ typically has a pH of about 3.5. Given that a lower pH means more acidic, that means that soda is more acidic than OJ, not the other way around.

Second, and more importantly, these are two very different kinds of acid. In soda, usually it is phosphoric acid, whereas in orange juice it's citric acid. In a competition between these two, phosphoric acid has much more negative effects on your system than citric acid. Our bodies can handle a lot more citric acid than phosphoric acid, even if the soda were diluted to reduce its acidity to a similar level as OJ.

[ITR 81]

This promotion would have been more successful if it started on, say the 4th of July instead of February.
Our local stores have just started getting them in for the simple reason that they had tons of inventory.
When it's -20 below zero reaching for a cold soda is not high on most peoples list.

Well here in the South it's already hitting 70-80 degrees.
It was 80 degrees here yesterday.

[Hotsoup]

----
step 6: answer to the attendent why you put back a topless Pepsi bottle in the freezer when he catches you. He'll want you to pay. I'm sorry, but you will be caught on camera, then you will have a felony on your hands if you didn't pay.

LOL, you thought I was serious? Now that's funny.

[Chip NoVaMac]

Do what I do for a free song:

Step 1: Walk into your local store with the iTunes Pepsi bottles.
Step 2: Using the tilt cheat, pick a winner.
Step 3: Unscrew the cap, put it in your pocket
Step 4: Put the soda back in the freezer
Step 5: Walk out!
Step 6: There is no Step 6.

Actually there is a Step 6. Facing possible Federal and State food tampering laws. Then you will get a chance to meet your new husband Bubba...

[henryhbk]

Bellevue Hospital is a "Pepsi" sponsored hospital (don't ask, but a self-funded city hospital has to make money somehow)... We just got the bottles yesterday (3/5), so far 2/2 winners!

[KREX725]

I've won about ten out of our machine at work with about four losers. Plus, I have all my coworkers who don't give a dang about ITMS giving me theirs.

We got screwed the first month too because they were still using caps with a hockey related promo on them.

[hose this!]

Looks like Apple's proclivity for delayed releases is contagious.

Check your HP laser printers next time when there's an error to see if the LCD indicates "Expected to ship 2 months from now" ;)

[Trimix]

i don't think they do actually. i know you can give gift certificates to people outside the us and they can use it. the "problem" is getting the account. because you have to give u.s. based info

so who of you out the in the states, wants to earn air miles galore, by offering his credit card details to us here in europe ?
i would be happy to wire you a few hundred bucks and then just go shopping via your credit card until i have used them all up on the music store. the 'card-donor' would get airmiles galore - imagine 2-3000 europeans, at say 150 dollars down, if you play it smart and have the money well in advance you could even pay off your mortgage :D

[avus]

To tell the truth: THEY AREN'T ANYWHERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA! I have gone to literally 25 stores in 6 cities. There are no iTunes cups to be found.

Go to Seven-Eleven and buy a 32.oz Big Gulp cup and play.

[gschumsky]

There was another Pepsi promotion with the Lakers in February (one with grey tops), so I think that was also keeping the iTunes bottles out of Los Angeles. They better hurry up and get this going!!


And in San Diego too. Guess Pepsi's research shows there's lot of Laker fans here.

[favpseudonym]

there are a PLETHORA of these cups at most 7-elevens in my area of So. Ca. The best part is, that at 7-11 you dont have to commit to a pepsi. You can get yourself one of these cups and fill it up with root beer, dr. pepper, sprite, sobe, a slurpee... whatever your heart desires :D -thanks apple and 7-11!!!!

[favpseudonym]

gosh, there are sooo many people complaining about availability, and also justifying paying over a dollar for a chance to win a 99 cent song. well guess what!!! if you all would just use your wonderful macs, and go to pepsi.com- you would see that you do not need to buy a pepsi to win!!!
You just mail in to pepsi for a free chance to win a song!

http://pepsi.com/promotions/national_rules/index.php#2b


2. WHERE TO FIND GAME PIECES: Look for game piece printed underneath bottle caps on specially marked “iTunes” 20 oz. and 1 liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist and under the rim of specially marked 32 oz. fountain cups available at participating 7-11 convenience stores during the Promotion Period. Not all brands and package sizes may participate in all areas.

No Purchase Necessary.

To receive one free game piece and a copy of Official Rules, while supplies last, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope postmarked on or before 3/31/04 to: Pepsi iTunes Game Piece, P.O. Box 9205, Young America, MN 55558-9205. Residents of the state of VT may omit return postage. Limit one free game piece per request per stamped outer envelope. Pepsi-Cola Company (“Sponsor”) assumes no liability for lost, late, stolen, illegible, misdirected, mutilated, incomplete or postage-due mail or requests.

[Chip NoVaMac]

gosh, there are sooo many people complaining about availability, and also justifying paying over a dollar for a chance to win a 99 cent song. well guess what!!! if you all would just use your wonderful macs, and go to pepsi.com- you would see that you do not need to buy a pepsi to win!!!
You just mail in to pepsi for a free chance to win a song!

http://pepsi.com/promotions/national_rules/index.php#2b


2. WHERE TO FIND GAME PIECES: Look for game piece printed underneath bottle caps on specially marked “iTunes” 20 oz. and 1 liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Sierra Mist and under the rim of specially marked 32 oz. fountain cups available at participating 7-11 convenience stores during the Promotion Period. Not all brands and package sizes may participate in all areas.

No Purchase Necessary.

To receive one free game piece and a copy of Official Rules, while supplies last, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope postmarked on or before 3/31/04 to: Pepsi iTunes Game Piece, P.O. Box 9205, Young America, MN 55558-9205. Residents of the state of VT may omit return postage. Limit one free game piece per request per stamped outer envelope. Pepsi-Cola Company (“Sponsor”) assumes no liability for lost, late, stolen, illegible, misdirected, mutilated, incomplete or postage-due mail or requests.

Well some of us really do drink Pepsi products.


ANd while you have a point about sending away for the game piece, with a total of 74 cents in postage - one wold be better just to pay the 99 cents for the songs in ITMS.

[gopher]

and probably not a FELONY as you'll need a truck to take enough caps to cover the minimum charge (isn't it like $600? and that's still just classified as 'petty' or something) :rolleyes:
Felony laws vary by state.

[davetrow1997]

Actually, you'd probably be charged with shoplifting or vandalism for taking winning caps without paying, both of which are typically Class B or C misdemeanors (less than $250-$300 worth of goods stolen/damaged) (varies by state, of course, under different titles and terminology)

(excerpt)
A. A person commits shoplifting if, while in an establishment in which
merchandise is displayed for sale, such person knowingly obtains such goods of another with the intent to deprive him of such goods by:
1. Removing any of the goods from the immediate display or from any
other place within the establishment without paying the purchase price;

[favpseudonym]

ANd while you have a point about sending away for the game piece, with a total of 74 cents in postage - one wold be better just to pay the 99 cents for the songs in ITMS.[/QUOTE]

ABSOLUTELY- one would be better just to pay the 99 cents for the songs.
I'm pointing out the fact that you dont HAVE to pay for those people in this forum who are mad about having to pay for the chance to win. Also, there seems to be lots of people in this forum who are desperately searching for the elusive Pepsi Bottles. I am poinitng out that they do not need a pepsi bottle to play the game- they can write to pepsi and recieve a game peice.

[elephanttrainer]

I am going to go visit our local 7-11 here in Pomona. I have also looked many places for these bottles with no luck!

[iBot]

For those of you in Southern California who want to complain to Pepsi about the lack of iTunes bottles, here's the local distribution contact phone number:

1-818-838-1249

[theman2004]

This promotion is great. It is really easy to see if the bottle is a winner- all you have to do is tilt the bottle. Basically, you get a free pepsi with every song

[Snowy_River]

ANd while you have a point about sending away for the game piece, with a total of 74 cents in postage - one wold be better just to pay the 99 cents for the songs in ITMS.

ABSOLUTELY- one would be better just to pay the 99 cents for the songs.
I'm pointing out the fact that you dont HAVE to pay for those people in this forum who are mad about having to pay for the chance to win. Also, there seems to be lots of people in this forum who are desperately searching for the elusive Pepsi Bottles. I am poinitng out that they do not need a pepsi bottle to play the game- they can write to pepsi and recieve a game peice.

Just as a note, given the odds of 1 in 3 for winning, then sending away for a free game piece, while only costing $.74, to get a winning game piece you'd need to spend $2.22. So, just buying the song directly is much cheaper.

[wdlove]

This promotion is great. It is really easy to see if the bottle is a winner- all you have to do is tilt the bottle. Basically, you get a free pepsi with every song

I have found that its not that easy to just tilt the bottle. My eyesight isn't that good. So I had someone with good eyesight, they said that they couldn't tell either. On my last outing someone treated me to lunch and on that trip I was 2 for 2, go figure. At this deli the Pepsi costs $1.25, so there it isn't like getting a free Pepsi. I would be getting the Pepsi any way, so I look at ti as fun adventure.

[kingtj]

Here in St. Louis, I've definitely noticed what seems to be a bit of "selective distribution" with this iTunes promo.

EG. I've never once seen a yellow-cap iTunes promo Pepsi in a Shop 'n Save store - although they *have* run a number of really good discounts on 6-packs of the Pepsi plastic bottles with the blue caps and no contests on them.

I've also never seen one in an area WalMart store.

On the flip-side, I've run into the iTunes promo on the majority of *Diet Pepsi* bottles sold in gas stations around town, but much less often on the regular Pepsi bottles.

It seems like only the places selling soda at full-retail (or near retail) prices get the iTunes labeled sodas - and then, they tend to put it on the diet sodas more than the others (possibly because they sell less Diet Pepsi)?


I haven't seen ANY of those bottles (and I've looked!) in the Chicago suburbs, yet.

Bottlers are probably using up old stock before they circulate the new ones. By then, the promotion will be over and we'll all feel cheated!

[BagelTycoon]

Bellevue Hospital is a "Pepsi" sponsored hospital (don't ask, but a self-funded city hospital has to make money somehow)... We just got the bottles yesterday (3/5), so far 2/2 winners!

Hey Dr. Henry, does that mean NYers have to check into Bellevue to actually stand a chance to win?!

:D

[the_mole1314]

We are acutally starting not to get the bottles here! I think Pepsi is adjusting the distribution to LA and NY more. We used to have around 50% of the bottles here were Pepsi/iTunes, now there are less, and our school vending machine has no more iTunes in it. Also, I looked at the date, and it is after the iTunes ones. So it looks likes Pepsi is ending the promotion early! :O

[Doctor Q]

I got my first winning cap here in Los Angeles, but only because a friend brought one to me while flying here from the east coast. I don't recommend flying cross-country just to get Pepsis, since airfare tends to be more expensive than iTunes.

[wdlove]

I got my first winning cap here in Los Angeles, but only because a friend brought one to me while flying here from the east coast. I don't recommend flying cross-country just to get Pepsis, since airfare tends to be more expensive than iTunes.

That was very nice of your friend. At least you have got the privilege of using at least one. ;)

[mikeabnooy]

i bought four bottles today. I looked pretty dumb at 7-11, squinting my eyes looking for the words under the bottle cap.


6 out of 6 baby! more soon woohoo!

[Chip NoVaMac]

My local 7-11 does not have the Diet Pepsi in either the 20oz or 1lt. with the iTunes caps. They still have the cups.

Bummer since between my partner and I we have only about 200 caps collected so far between the two of us.

[Chip NoVaMac]

Here in St. Louis, I've definitely noticed what seems to be a bit of "selective distribution" with this iTunes promo.

EG. I've never once seen a yellow-cap iTunes promo Pepsi in a Shop 'n Save store - although they *have* run a number of really good discounts on 6-packs of the Pepsi plastic bottles with the blue caps and no contests on them.

I've also never seen one in an area WalMart store.

On the flip-side, I've run into the iTunes promo on the majority of *Diet Pepsi* bottles sold in gas stations around town, but much less often on the regular Pepsi bottles.

It seems like only the places selling soda at full-retail (or near retail) prices get the iTunes labeled sodas - and then, they tend to put it on the diet sodas more than the others (possibly because they sell less Diet Pepsi)?

You have a point. In the DC area I have yet to see the Itunes caps in any of the grocery stores. I even went to the new Wegman's that opened near me in Northern Virginia. I figured that a new store would have the Itunes caps. Nope.

Makes me wonder if Pepsi is playing games so as to limit their liability on the number of caps turned in. I mean, really how do we know that they will have 100 million caps for actual distribution?

[the_mole1314]

You have a point. In the DC area I have yet to see the Itunes caps in any of the grocery stores. I even went to the new Wegman's that opened near me in Northern Virginia. I figured that a new store would have the Itunes caps. Nope.

Makes me wonder if Pepsi is playing games so as to limit their liability on the number of caps turned in. I mean, really how do we know that they will have 100 million caps for actual distribution?

I doubt they acutally produced 300 million caps. Remeber the 7-11 Promotion? If that sucks up even just 1/4 of the winners, that'll be 225 million caps, not 300. That's a big difference.

[the_mole1314]

In other news, our school is now totally out of iTunes Pepsi's and Sierra Mists. Our local stores are starting to have them disapear too. And we still have a few weeks left!

[Chip NoVaMac]

I doubt they acutally produced 300 million caps. Remeber the 7-11 Promotion? If that sucks up even just 1/4 of the winners, that'll be 225 million caps, not 300. That's a big difference.

What I should have said was, how are we sure that there will be 100 million winning codes put into distribution? I wonder what kind of auditing is done on a promo like ths?

I mean it is not a contest with prizes like a car for the Grand Prize and the such that most contests then provide a "winners" list on.

[Doctor Q]

March 19, mid-afternoon: the first iTunes Pepsis arrived at my local Ralphs supermarket here in Los Angeles. The manager confirmed that this was the first California shipment. Regular Pepsis only, 20oz size only. No diet Pepsis yet. Even though they are overpriced (the manager confirmed they are the highest profit Pepsi size for the store), I bought a 6 pack. Hey, I'm a MacRumors reporter, so I need "research samples", right?

I just opened the first one, and won a tune. 100% so far!

[ddbean]

I just bought a case of Diet Pepsi iTunes bottles at Smart & Final in Ventura County, so odds are I'll have 8 new tunes soon. I'm not going to tilt & peek, just open at random and see what my tally is. This is the only flavor they had with iTunes, rest still had Laker caps.

[wdlove]

March 19, mid-afternoon: the first iTunes Pepsis arrived at my local Ralphs supermarket here in Los Angeles. The manager confirmed that this was the first California shipment. Regular Pepsis only, 20oz size only. No diet Pepsis yet. Even though they are overpriced (the manager confirmed they are the highest profit Pepsi size for the store), I bought a 6 pack. Hey, I'm a MacRumors reporter, so I need "research samples", right?

I just opened the first one, and won a tune. 100% so far!

Congratulations Doctor Q! ;) Did you do the tilt test? How much did you pay?

[Mac Dummy]

I'm not sure about anyone else, but here in the Twin Cities I've been finding winning bottles for the last 3 weeks. I'm 26 for 34 right now. Waiting to buy Queen's Greatest Hits I & II.

some guy posted about tilting the bottle at a 25º and looking for "again" or "free song" (I'm 8 for 8 using this technique)

I already own both of those albums on CD, have for years :). Unfortunately I spent like $38 at ITMS yesterday, because no Pepsi caps to be found here (NW Arkansas) :( . Here's an idea, next time Apple could do a promotion with Starbucks :D seeing as how everyone drinks more coffee than Pepsi, etc.

[Doctor Q]

Congratulations Doctor Q! ;) Did you do the tilt test? How much did you pay?No tilting - just grabbed a 6-pack, paid the ransom (overpriced compared to cans), and took 'em home. 3 winners out of 6!

[iRun]

I've been all over and can't find the caps here in town, but I keep thinking - what happens when we finally DO get the caps -

And the promotion is over?

[seamuskrat]

Checked Target, WalMart, Albertsons, Ralph's and Vons. No dice for any size, flavar, etc.
It sucks. I normally DO drink Pepsi, and I would buy more for the songs but the contest is nearly over and all I have is a few slurpee cups and 4 songs to show for it.

I am in North LA county.

[carebear427]

I haven't seen any bottels with caps in my area. The only music caps I've seen are on Coca-Cola bottles for some OTHER company.

[wdlove]

No tilting - just grabbed a 6-pack, paid the ransom (overpriced compared to cans), and took 'em home. 3 winners out of 6!

That's awesome Doctor Q. You purchased yours legitimately and still beat the odds'. How do you figure that statistically? ;)

[jsw]

That's awesome Doctor Q. You purchased yours legitimately and still beat the odds'. How do you figure that statistically? ;)

Sadly, statistically, someone else bought a 6-pack and only won on 1 of 6 (cancelling Doctor Q's 3 of 6 to yield the 1:3 odds).

Of course, that person likely isn't a MacRumors member, so who cares? ;)

[Doctor Q]

I'm glad you asked, wdlove. I'm sure you wanted a math lesson, right? :eek:

The chances of getting 3 out of 6 with 1 in 3 odds can be computed with a formula (the clever and efficient way), or by enumeration (the brute force long-winded way).

To maximum the fun, I'll choose to solve it the long-winded way first!

Each of the 6 bottles has a 1 in 3 in chance of being a winner. So over a large number of samples, you'll have 2 losers for every winner. That means that these three situations are equally likely:

LOSE
LOSE
WIN

Let's let 0 stand for LOSE and 1 stand for WIN. So we can abbreviate the possibilities as follows: 001, meaning that, on average, you will get 0 (lose) twice and 1 (win) once in 3 tries.

With two bottles, these 3x3=9 cases are equally likely:

1stbottle 2ndbottle:

LOSE LOSE
LOSE LOSE
LOSE WIN

LOSE LOSE
LOSE LOSE
LOSE WIN

WIN LOSE
WIN LOS
WIN WIN

Abbreviate this to
00 00 01 00 00 01 10 10 11

So over the 9 tries you would average no winners 4 times, 1 winner 4 times, and two winners once.

For 3 bottles:
000 000 001 000 000 001 010 010 011
000 000 001 000 000 001 010 010 011
100 100 101 100 100 101 110 110 111

Over 27 tries, you get no winners 8 times, 1 winner 12 times, 2 winners 6 times, and 3 winners once.

For 4 bottles:
0000 0000 0001 0000 0000 0001 0010 0010 0011
0000 0000 0001 0000 0000 0001 0010 0010 0011
0100 0100 0101 0100 0100 0101 0110 0110 0111

0000 0000 0001 0000 0000 0001 0010 0010 0011
0000 0000 0001 0000 0000 0001 0010 0010 0011
0100 0100 0101 0100 0100 0101 0110 0110 0111

1000 1000 1001 1000 1000 1001 1010 1010 1011
1000 1000 1001 1000 1000 1001 1010 1010 1011
1100 1100 1101 1100 1100 1101 1110 1110 1111

For 5 bottles:
00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00100 00100 00101 00100 00100 00101 00110 00110 00111

00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00100 00100 00101 00100 00100 00101 00110 00110 00111

01000 01000 01001 01000 01000 01001 01010 01010 01011
01000 01000 01001 01000 01000 01001 01010 01010 01011
01100 01100 01101 01100 01100 01101 01110 01110 01111

00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00100 00100 00101 00100 00100 00101 00110 00110 00111

00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00000 00000 00001 00000 00000 00001 00010 00010 00011
00100 00100 00101 00100 00100 00101 00110 00110 00111

01000 01000 01001 01000 01000 01001 01010 01010 01011
01000 01000 01001 01000 01000 01001 01010 01010 01011
01100 01100 01101 01100 01100 01101 01110 01110 01111

10000 10000 10001 10000 10000 10001 10010 10010 10011
10000 10000 10001 10000 10000 10001 10010 10010 10011
10100 10100 10101 10100 10100 10101 10110 10110 10111

10000 10000 10001 10000 10000 10001 10010 10010 10011
10000 10000 10001 10000 10000 10001 10010 10010 10011
10100 10100 10101 10100 10100 10101 10110 10110 10111

11000 11000 11001 11000 11000 11001 11010 11010 11011
11000 11000 11001 11000 11000 11001 11010 11010 11011
11100 11100 11101 11100 11100 11101 11110 11110 11111

For 6 bottles:
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001100 001100 001101 001100 001100 001101 001110 001110 001111

000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001100 001100 001101 001100 001100 001101 001110 001110 001111

010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010100 010100 010101 010100 010100 010101 010110 010110 010111

010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010100 010100 010101 010100 010100 010101 010110 010110 010111

011000 011000 011001 011000 011000 011001 011010 011010 011011
011000 011000 011001 011000 011000 011001 011010 011010 011011
011100 011100 011101 011100 011100 011101 011110 011110 011111

000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001100 001100 001101 001100 001100 001101 001110 001110 001111

000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000000 000000 000001 000000 000000 000001 000010 000010 000011
000100 000100 000101 000100 000100 000101 000110 000110 000111

001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001000 001000 001001 001000 001000 001001 001010 001010 001011
001100 001100 001101 001100 001100 001101 001110 001110 001111

010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010100 010100 010101 010100 010100 010101 010110 010110 010111

010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010000 010000 010001 010000 010000 010001 010010 010010 010011
010100 010100 010101 010100 010100 010101 010110 010110 010111

011000 011000 011001 011000 011000 011001 011010 011010 011011
011000 011000 011001 011000 011000 011001 011010 011010 011011
011100 011100 011101 011100 011100 011101 011110 011110 011111

100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100100 100100 100101 100100 100100 100101 100110 100110 100111

100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100100 100100 100101 100100 100100 100101 100110 100110 100111

101000 101000 101001 101000 101000 101001 101010 101010 101011
101000 101000 101001 101000 101000 101001 101010 101010 101011
101100 101100 101101 101100 101100 101101 101110 101110 101111

100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100100 100100 100101 100100 100100 100101 100110 100110 100111

100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100000 100000 100001 100000 100000 100001 100010 100010 100011
100100 100100 100101 100100 100100 100101 100110 100110 100111

101000 101000 101001 101000 101000 101001 101010 101010 101011
101000 101000 101001 101000 101000 101001 101010 101010 101011
101100 101100 101101 101100 101100 101101 101110 101110 101111

110000 110000 110001 110000 110000 110001 110010 110010 110011
110000 110000 110001 110000 110000 110001 110010 110010 110011
110100 110100 110101 110100 110100 110101 110110 110110 110111

110000 110000 110001 110000 110000 110001 110010 110010 110011
110000 110000 110001 110000 110000 110001 110010 110010 110011
110100 110100 110101 110100 110100 110101 110110 110110 110111

111000 111000 111001 111000 111000 111001 111010 111010 111011
111000 111000 111001 111000 111000 111001 111010 111010 111011
111100 111100 111101 111100 111100 111101 111110 111110 111111

If you scan these patterns, you'll see that there are 20 patterns that give you three wins (111000, 110100, 110010, 110001, 101100, 101010, 101001, 100110, 100101, 100011, 011100, 011010, 011001, 010110, 010101, 010011, 001110, 001101, 001011, 000111) and each occurs 8 times, so we get a total of 20x8=160 ways to win out of 3x3x3x3x3x3=729 tries. So the odds of getting 3 wins with 6 bottles is 160/729 = 21.95%.

--- Pause for a Pepsi, then on to my next post ---

[Doctor Q]

OK, now we'll try it with formulas!

Suppose you open 6 bottles, one at a time, and the first 3 turn out to be winners and the next 3 turn out to be losers. The odds of the first bottle being a winner was 1/3. The second, 1/3. The third, 1/3. The odds of the fourth bottle being a loser was 2/3. The fifth, 2/3. The sixth, 2/3. The combined odds are therefore 1/3 x 1/3 x 1/3 x 2/3 x 2/3 x 2/3 = (1/3)^3 x (2/3)^3 = 8/729.

But getting 3 winners and then 3 losers is only one of the ways to get 3 winners out of 6, so we have to multiply our result by the number of orders in which you can win 3 out of 6. This is called the number of combinations of 3 out of 6, written C(6,3). The formula is 6! divided by 3! x (6-3)!, or 6! / (3! x 3!) = 20.

The final answer: Our odds are 8/729 x 20 = 160/729 = 21.95%

In general, the chances of getting R winning bottles out of N bottles you buy (without peeking under the cap) is:

N!
--------- x (1/3)^R x (2/3)^(N-R)
R! (N-R!)


0 out of 6: 64/729 = 8.78%
1 out of 6: 192/729 = 26.34%
2 out of 6: 240/729 = 32.92%
3 out of 6: 160/729 = 21.95%
4 out of 6: 80/729 = 8.23%
5 out of 6: 12/729 = 1.65%
6 out of 6: 1/729 = 0.14%
(The total isn't exactly 100% due to rounding.)

Finally, you can sum these odds to find the odds of getting at least R winning bottles out of N bottles:

at least 0 out of 6: 729/729 = 100%
at least 1 out of 6: 665/729 = 91.22%
at least 2 out of 6: 473/729 = 64.88%
at least 3 out of 6: 253/729 = 34.71%
at least 4 out of 6: 93/729 = 12.76%
at least 5 out of 6: 13/729 = 1.78%
at least 6 out of 6: 1/729 = 0.14%

Does that answer your question? :)

[wdlove]

Very interesting indeed Doctor Q! ;) Yes, it more than answers my question. I appreciate you being so thorough. My guess is that you have a love for math.

[ddbean]

... Diet Pepsi iTunes bottles at Smart & Final in Ventura County, .... I'm not going to tilt & peek, just open at random and see what my tally is. ....

Here's my tally for a 24 case.
12 winners
12 play again

Glad to see it was better than 3-1 odds for me. Guess that means somewhere someones getting rotten odds, uh?

[Doctor Q]

Yesterday, I spotted a 1-liter PepsiTunes bottle for the first time, at a Ralphs supermarket in Los Angeles.

[Applexilef]

They are still no where to be found in Orlando... Though Sam's has them in the 12oz bottles. 7 11 does have the special big gulp gulps... I've been drinking a lot of em... full of coke though;)

Where in orlando? I'm next to UCF and I see them all the time, and in all types (PEPSI, Sierra Mist, 7-11)

[wdlove]

Yesterday, I spotted a 1-liter PepsiTunes bottle for the first time, at a Ralphs supermarket in Los Angeles.

I still haven't noticed any 1-liter Pepsi. Did you purchase and was it a winner Doctor Q? ;) I didn't go to my job this week because of my news. Do wonder if they will still have any yellow caps this week.

[FriarTuck]

I'm 4 for 4 on the 1 liter Diet Pepsis.

And 1 for 4 on 20 ouncers.

I'll be getting liters from here until the end of the month.

[Doctor Q]

I still haven't noticed any 1-liter Pepsi. Did you purchase and was it a winner Doctor Q?No and I don't know. I never buy that size. A can or a 20oz bottle can be a one-person serving, but soda gets flat too fast for me to use up a 1 liter bottle. And if I'm having a party, I'd buy 2-liter bottles.

[Urdam]

This is Pepsi's fault

[JohnGillilan]

I won 27 out of a batch of 50. Not too shabby.

[wickster]

I work at a gas station and we have been getting steady shipments of 20oz Sierra Mist, Pepsi, and Diet Pepsi also 1 Liter Pepsi and Diet Pepsi. I live in rural Alaska with a population of 1500 people. Not sure why ya'll dont have access to iTunes Pepsi bottles.

[JGowan]

...you can read the two line code. So hell i don't even buy the bottles. The people in my town don't even have computers so i'm doing Apple a favor and getting them some redemption. I'm 41/41 so far. Try it just to check me I don't lie. :DA gas station attendant is aware that NO ONE in his town owns a computer. Right.

Great. People buy a winning bottle and you've stolen their song. And your assumption that "people in my town don't even have computers" is just your conscience trying to feel better about stealing all around: stealing from Pepsi and not buying their soda and then, stealing from the people who legitmately should have the song.

And the glee with which you posted just screams that you have no idea that what you've done is underhanded and wrong. If you did the "tilt" thing and then bought the drinks that had free songs, I could understand more. At least your taking the bottles out of the market.

You make Pepsi and Apple look terrible. People wil buy the bottles and go to collect and find that their code is no good. No one will suspect that a jerk at their store is stealing from them. It would be bad if you said that you were just a customer going in an writing down codes, but as a worker, it is really awful. I can just see you after work, locking the door and heading for the back, going through case after case with your little clipboard and then boxing everything back up and feeling so smug. I hope there are cameras that you're unaware of and that your boss figures out what you're doing and cans your ASS. Then you can tell your family, "Oh, I thought $40 worth of inferior encoded songs was worth more than having a steady paycheck."

----

FYI, MacRumors: Wickster came back on and edited out the part about his stealing the 41 tunes just by reading the codes on the bottles where he works and leaving the bottles without paying for them. Trust me, he said it.