Tweet your way to a new Halo: Spartan Assault Skinned Surface Pro
We will be posting a question on the @Surface Twitter page at 10:00 am PT on August 21, 2013 and will be taking your responses to our question until 11:59 pm PT on August 22, 2013.
Your reply to our question should be no longer than 130 characters and must include @Surface and the hashtags #WinSurface and #Ad. To help maximize your character space, you can get super creative and post a video, picture, or blog link in your Tweet to help you with your answer.
A panel of four judges from the Surface Social Media Team will evaluate all answers received during the entry period and judge the responses based on the criteria in the Official Rules. This is your chance to get those creative juices flowing!
We will be announcing the winner of the Halo: Spartan Assault Twitter Contest on or before August 30, 2013 on Twitter via @Surface.
Don’t forget to follow the @Surface Twitter account to reply to our question on August 21 & 22 to be eligible to win.
Good luck!
Emilie Bridon, Surface Social Team
MICROSOFT HALO: SPARTAN ASSAULT SURFACE TWITTER CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES
COMMON TERMS USED IN THESE RULES:
These are the official rules that govern how the Microsoft HALO: Spartan Assault Surface Twitter Contest promotion will operate (Contest).
In these rules, “we,†“our,†and “us†refer to Microsoft Corporation, the sponsor of this Contest. “You†refers to an eligible Contest entrant.
CONTEST DESCRIPTION:
This is a skill-based Contest. The object of this Contest is to encourage customers to give us creative reasons as to why they think Surface is the best tablet. For purposes of this Contest, you may enter the Contest once by making a tweet via Twitter in accordance with these Official Rules. The tweet will be called an “entry.†All eligible entries received will be judged using the criteria described below to determine the winners of the prizes described below.
WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?
This Contest starts at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) on August 21, 2013, and ends at 11:59 p.m. PT on August 22, 2013 (“Entry Periodâ€).
CAN I ENTER?
You are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the following requirements at time entry:
· You are a legal resident of the 50 United States and District of Columbia 18 years of age or older; and
If you are 18 of age or older, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, you should ask your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry into this Contest; and
· You are NOT an employee of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary; and
· You are NOT involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest; and
· You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest.
This Contest is void outside the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ELIGIBLE ENTRY?
To be eligible for judging an entry must meet the following content / technical requirements:
· The entry tweet must include @Surface and the hashtags #WinSurface and #Ad.
· The entry tweet must comply with the Twitter.com Terms of Use.
In addition:
· your entry, and any content you include in your entry via a link, must be your own original work; and
· your entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other contest; and
· you must have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your entry; and
· your entry may not include any third party trademarks (logos, names) or copyrighted materials (music, images, video, recognizable people) unless you have obtained permission to use the materials. You may include Microsoft trademarks, logos, and designs, for which Microsoft grants you a limited license to use for the sole purposes of submitting an entry into this Contest.
Entries may NOT contain, as determined by us, in our sole and absolute discretion, any content that:
· is sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
· promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing) or a particular political agenda;
· is obscene or offensive;
· defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
· communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate; and/or violates any law;
We reserve the right to reject any entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria.
HOW WILL MY ENTRY BE POTENTIALLY USED?
Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your entry. However, by submitting your entry, you:
- are granting us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) use, review, assess, test and otherwise analyze your entry and all its content in connection with this Contest; and (ii) feature your entry and all content in connection with the marketing, sale, or promotion of this Contest (including but not limited to internal and external sales meetings, conference presentations, tradeshows, and screen shots of the Contest entry in press releases) in all media (now known or later developed).
- agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above;
- understand and acknowledge that the Sponsor(s) may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your submission and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your entry;
- understand that we cannot control the incoming information you will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your entry. By entering this Contest, you agree that use of information in our representatives’ unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services does not create liability for us under this agreement or copyright or trade secret law;
- understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your entry, other than what is described in these Official Rules
Please note that following the end of this Contest your entry may be posted on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by visitors to this website. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry.
If you do not want to grant us these rights to your entry, please do not enter this Contest.
At 10:00 a.m. PT on August 21, 2013, we will ask a question related to why you think Surface is the best tablet for your needs. At the end of the Entry Period, we will judge the answers based on the judging criteria set forth below.
To enter, you must do all of the following:
- Sign in to your Twitter account. If you do not have an account, visit www.twitter.com to create one. Twitter accounts are free.
- Once logged into your Twitter account, follow the links and instructions to become a follower of Surface at @Surface.
- From your own account, reply to @Surface and include in the tweet your answer to the posted question. You may also include a link to a photograph, video, or blog post that you feel supports your answer.
- Your tweet must contain @Surface and the #WinSurface and #Ad hashtags to be eligible for entry and be no longer than 130 characters, including @Surface and the #WinSurface and #Ad hashtags.
Note: You may only submit one answer to the question. If you provide more than one answer, we will automatically disqualify all answers other than the first answer you submit. So take your time and provide only one answer.
We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason, or for entries that do not include @Surface or both the #WinSurface and #Ad hashtags or do not answer the question.
We will automatically disqualify:
· Any incomplete or illegible entry; and
· Any entries that we receive from you that are in excess of the entry limit described above; and
· Any entries that do not comply with the Twitter Terms of Use.
WINNER DETERMINATION AND PRIZES
On or around the close of the Entry Period, a panel of judges will review all eligible entries received and select winners of the Contest Prizes described below based upon judging criteria described below.
Judging Criteria
· 25% – Originality: Is this idea for using Surface meeting an existing need in a new way? Does it creatively use Surface to solve a problem or meet a need?
· 25% – Applicability: Would this idea for using Surface be useful and appealing to a broad audience?
· 50% – Creativity: Does your submission display creativity in its wording or through the use of a video, picture, or blog link that helps explain your plans for your Surface Pro?
The decisions of the judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than described above.
In the event of a tie between any eligible entries, an additional judge will break the tie based on the judging criteria described above. The decisions of the judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than the number of Contest Prizes described below.
Contest Prizes
Ten (10) Grand Prizes. A Surface Pro 128 GB with a Halo Spartan Assault-themed skin. Approximate Retail Value (ARV) $1,000.00.
The ARV of electronic prizes is subject to price fluctuations in the consumer marketplace based on, among other things, any gap in time between the date the ARV is estimated for purposes of these Official Rules and the date the prize is awarded or redeemed. We will determine the value of the prize to be the fair market value at the time of prize award.
The total Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of all prizes: $10,000.
If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a Direct Message on Twitter to the account email provided at time of entry within seven (7) days following the random drawing. If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award the prize to an to a runner-up.
If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the Contest. If you are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and a W-9 tax form or W-8 BEN tax form within 10 days of notification. If you are a potential winner and you are 18 or older, but are considered a minor in your place of legal residence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select a runner-up.
If you are confirmed as a winner of this Contest:
- You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services. However, if for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value; and
- You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we may award it to a runner up; and
- If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize; and
- If you are otherwise eligible for this Contest, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legal guardian on your behalf; and
- Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and / or terms and conditions.
We will only award one (1) prize per person.
WHAT OTHER CONDITIONS AM I AGREEING TO BY ENTERING?
By entering this Contest you agree:
· To abide by these Official Rules; and
· To release and hold harmless Microsoft and its respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, or any prize won; and
· That Microsoft’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Contest; and
· That, by accepting a prize, Microsoft may use of your proper name and state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Contest, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law.
WHAT LAWS GOVERN THE WAY THIS CONTEST IS EXECUTED AND ADMINISTRATED?
This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Contest.
WHAT IF SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENS AND THE CONTEST CAN’T RUN AS PLANNED?
If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Contest, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Contest.
If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Contest by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Contest, so please play fairly.
HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHO WON?
To receive a list of winners who received a prize worth $25.00 or more, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Twitter Halo: Spartan Assault Contest†before September 14, 2013.
WHO IS SPONSORING THIS CONTEST?
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052