Just sayin'

I think this is bad. Al Fresco holidays ran a competition where they asked you to write a blog post about your best holiday ever. Forty-nine bloggers did. Al Fresco picked a winner. I thought the winning post was good. I didn't think any more about it, until I scrolled down and read a comment that said:

"The winner’s post was very good, but it was more than twice as long as the stated word limit. A 1000 word post is going to be very different to a 500 word one. Was wondering why there wasn’t a level playing field for such a great prize?"

Good point. I went back to the competition launch, and checked what it said:

"Your post should be no longer than 500 words and try to include a picture or two to bring it to life."

Well, Al Fresco thought about it, and said:

"The competition copy suggested the word count, and wasn’t a stated rule, but a suggested length.

All the competition entries were judged on a number of criteria, including length, but also quality of writing, humour, and style – and overall, Inside The Wendy House was the best performing post."

Hm. Tread carefully, Al Fresco holidays. We bloggers are writers. We choose our words attentively. We don't play fast and loose with them. To me "your post should be no longer than 500 words" means that your post shouldn't be longer than 500 words. If the winning post had been 510 words, that's one thing. But 1,000 words? Twice as long?

So why am I posting about this? Of course it sounds a bit sour-grapesy, because I didn't win. (But I knew I wasn't going to, didn't I? I posted a photo of a baby with a beer can for heaven's sake.) I just think that Al Fresco should fess up to having made a mistake - it happens, we're all human - and try a bit harder to make things right, rather than squirm out on a technicality. The company received a lot of publicity from the competition, publicity which depended on the effort of bloggers who were playing by the rules. Where's your good will and sense of fair play, Al Fresco?

I would say this. If you are booking with Al Fresco this summer, do read the terms and conditions very carefully.

If you want to read the story so far, it's in the comments here. And if you want to see the competition rules - sorry, "suggestions" - in the context in which they appeared, you can see them here. But life is short, so I wouldn't bother if I were you. Seriously. Go and spend some time with your kids instead. I just feel the need to back up what I've said.