RIM is really going all out with what I think is their first Twitter contest. They have posted on their Twitter account about a PlayBook Haiku contest that starts tomorrow with two periods with two chances to win one of 20 BlackBerry PlayBooks (10 for each set of dates). The contest is open to the US and Canada. The contest looks like it will be fun especially since the BerryReview team has come up with 20+ entries in the last hour!
The only trick is that RIM seems to be packing on the rules with this contest as you can see from the terms and conditions page. I am not sure why there is a form on that page since it clearly says you enter via Twitter but I guess you also need to agree to their terms and conditions? Here are some of the rules boiled down:
- There will be one contest invite from April 11th-15th and another from April 25t-29th
- RIM will be giving away 10 BlackBerry PlayBooks during each period (20 total)
- You need to write a fun BlackBerry related Haiku and send a tweet to the @Blackberry account with “#PlayBookHaiku” in your message
- The haiku should have three lines of original poem text with the standard 5-7-5 syllable breakdown with each line separated with a space, period, comma, or slash
- Contest entries are limited to 10 per person per contest period. If you try to break that by using multiple twitter accounts and such you will be disqualified.
And you thought the rules ended there? Check this out. Your Haiku:
- must not contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement;
- must not contain brand names or trademarks other than those owned by Sponsor;
- must not contain material that is hateful, tortuous, defamatory, slanderous or libelous;
- must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;
- must not contain sexually explicit material or material that is obscene, indecent or inappropriate, as determined by Sponsor, or that is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any state, province or territory where the haiku is created; and
- must not contain any unauthorized third party owned material, including, but not limited to, trademarks, logos, and the like.
My favorite part would be if RIM legal realizes that this contest is asking customers to violate their own trademark usage rules. That is because according to RIM’s draconian Trademark Usage Rules you have to do ridiculous things like always having to say BlackBerry® smartphones instead of BlackBerrys.
So what are you waiting for? Get cracking on your 10 haiku’s if you want to win one of these free PlayBooks BlackBerry® PlayBook®® Tablets®®®! 
Jay Harker ( View Profile) - Posts: 1363
Posted: April 11, 2011 at 9:57 PM EST
Haha! Classic RIM legal. I better get writing!
kiddo2050 ( View Profile) - Posts: 813
Posted: April 11, 2011 at 10:15 PM EST
Smart! and Cool!
jischoler ( View Profile) - Posts: 59
Posted: April 11, 2011 at 10:23 PM EST
I’ve held out this long not getting a twitter account, but this is the third playbook giveaway via twitter that I’ve seen. I may need to get a twitter account so I can start entering these contests!
sam81 ( View Profile) - Posts: 686
Posted: April 11, 2011 at 10:23 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9700
Oh, no! I suck at these. Maybe my wife can win tho. She’s good at this kinda stuff
Peter Hansen Not Registered
Posted: April 11, 2011 at 10:43 PM EST
Write a nice haiku.
Get a shiny new PlayBook.
Less work than an app.
Jay Harker ( View Profile) - Posts: 1363
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 12:52 AM EST
Nicely done Peter! So true too.
BarracudaBob ( View Profile) - Posts: 1020
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 8:17 AM EST
And much easier to find the time for as well. I’ve already put in one submission.
domi994 ( View Profile) - Posts: 231
Posted: April 11, 2011 at 10:54 PM EST
very nice publicity , giving away a few dollars
inc188 ( View Profile) - Posts: 125
Posted: April 11, 2011 at 11:57 PM EST
what the heck is a haiku?
Jay Harker ( View Profile) - Posts: 1363
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 12:53 AM EST
See above inc188:
“The haiku should have three lines of original poem text with the standard 5-7-5 syllable breakdown .”
Peter Hansen wrote a good example.
Terrence T ( View Profile) - Posts: 1821
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 1:15 AM EST from my BlackBerry 9800 | OS 6.0.0.486
Hjopefully the support given is better than e telco so as not to flop… Or else there is no one to blame
emoralesramos ( View Profile) - Posts: 13
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 10:44 AM EST
Nice!! another opportunity to win a Playbook!! I want one so bad!!
Fubaz ( View Profile) - Posts: 843
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 10:57 AM EST
my 10 submitted… i can now only pray
brimanp ( View Profile) - Posts: 107
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 1:36 PM EST
I would love to help
all of you guys to win this
but this on is mine
MrFun Not Registered
Posted: April 12, 2011 at 6:52 PM EST
Hope to win
maxknux ( View Profile) - Posts: 93
Posted: April 14, 2011 at 10:49 AM EST
I am going to jump into this, another contest for a Playbook. Not a expert but going to ask my brother for some help on working a good one.
Marc Paradise ( View Profile) - Posts: 539
Posted: April 16, 2011 at 5:37 PM EST
I know it’s late for this one, but for the next one: the contest tweet actually said you should be tweeting about why you want a playbook, not simply anything BB-related.