Tim Hortons, Country Style and Coffee Time are all luring in customers with similarly styled, cup-delivered promotional giveaways. But which one presents the best odds of you taking home something better than a donut?
Tim Hortons’ “Roll Up The Rim”
Contest cups made: 285,854,400
Who else are you up against?: All Canadian provinces and territories, as well as 13 states including New York, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana.
Contest cups in Ontario: 148,148,000
Top prize: 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE ($35,000 value)
Odds of winning top prize: Twenty car-winning cups have been distributed in Ontario, meaning you have 0.000014 per cent (or 1 in 7,407,407) chance of winning a car.
More likely prizes (1 in 6 odds): Coffee (value $1.99 to $3.85), donut (value 89 cents to $1.99)
Other prizes: 3D TVs, digital cameras, camping gear, $100 Tim Hortons gift cards
Verdict: Timmies gives you the best odds of winning that free coffee.
Country Style’s “Turn Up a Winner”
Contest cups made: 4,500,000
Who else are you up against?: The rest of Ontario and the Maritime provinces.
Contest cups in Ontario: 4,325,000
Top prize: $1 million
Odds of winning top prize: There’s only one million-dollar prize, and you’ll have to buy more than one coffee to get it. You are required to find four cups, each containing one of the following words under the rim: “Nothing,” “Beats,” “Country” and “Style”. Odds of finding a cup with the word “Style”: 1 in 4,500,000 or a 0.0002 per cent chance. (This is in addition to the coffees you have to buy to find the other three words.)
More likely prizes (1 in 7 chance): 20 per cent off at Suzy Shier; Brookside Chocolat (value 89 cents); medium coffee (value $1.33); buy-one-smoothie-get-one-free coupon (value $2.79)
Other prizes: Trip to Cuba, $250 gift card to Suzy Shier, one-year membership to Goodlife, 50-inch TV
Verdict: Best top prize, but they make you work for it.
Coffee Time’s “Flip to Win”
Contest cups made: 3,605,000
Who else are you up against?: The rest of Ontario
Top prize: Hot tub (value $5,999) and a trip to the Caribbean (value $2,500)
Odds of winning top prize: There are five hot tubs to be won, so the odds are 1 in 721,000 or 0.00014 per cent. As for the Caribbean vacation, there are 10 trips out there, so the chances are 1 in 360,500 or 0.00027 per cent.
More likely prizes: Medium coffee (value $1.33; 1 in 44 chance), large coffee (value $1.57; 1 in 48 chance)
Other prizes: Acer tablets, $100 gift card to Hakim Optical, passes for Rainbow Cinemas, $20 gift cards to Coffee Time
Verdict: Best odds for winning the top prize, but a free coffee is harder to come by.
