There’s nothing funny about the campaign by President Bush and congressional Republicans to put caps and other limits on jury awards in liability cases.
But the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, a group that supports the anti-lawsuit campaign, made this Hound howl with laughter when I read a newspaper article recently about a contest it sponsored that ties into the campaign.
The group asked consumers to nominate ridiculous warning labels that are a sign of our litigious society.
The $500 first prize went to Ed Gyetvai of Oldcastle, Ontario, who submitted a toilet brush label that reads: “Do not use for personal hygiene.”
A $250 second prize went to Matt Johnson, of Naperville, Illinois, for a label on a children’s scooter that reads: “This product moves when used.”
A $100 third prize went to Ann Marie Taylor of Camden, South Carolina, who submitted a warning label from a digital thermometer that said…Well, it’s too gross to print here.
The story about the Wacky Warning Label Contest, now in its eighth year, was picked up by the Associated Press and printed in newspapers throughout the U.S.
Now start thinking about ways you can take a ho-hum topic and give it a twist with a fun contest, poll or survey. I give you lots more ideas in two special reports I wrote: “Special Report #18: Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call” and “Special Report #19: How to Use Polls and Surveys That Brand You as an Expert.”