BI-LO CUSTOMER PASSES FOOTBALL FOR $1 MILLION

CAROL ANGRISANI

MAUDLIN, S.C. -- Bi-Lo scored a promotional touchdown by sponsoring a consumer sweepstakes in which $1 million was awarded to a shopper who threw a football 25 yards through a 20-inch target.

Chris Bostic of Myrtle Beach, S.C., won the money during the Bi-Lo/Healthy Choice Pigskin Challenge, held Nov. 12 during a Clemson-Florida State college football game. The Pigskin Challenge is a five-year-old sweepstakes linked to supermarkets in select college football markets. ConAgra Foods, Omaha, Neb., marketer of the Healthy Choice brand, developed the promotion.

"ConAgra brought this to us, and it seemed like a fun idea, so we decided to participate," Joyce Smart, Bi-Lo's director of corporate communications, told SN.

Bi-Lo officials have been "all smiles" since Bostic's big win, Smart added.

This is the first time since the inception of the sweepstakes that $1 million has been awarded, according to Mark Colone, vice president, Signature Sports Group, Charlotte, N.C., a sports-marketing firm that manages the promotion. The money will be paid for by an insurance policy.

"[The pass] took forever in the air. But as it started to come down, I started thinking it might go in," said Bostic, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and was a linebacker in high school. "Christmas is going to come early for my family."

In September, a Pennsylvania man won $500,000 for a successful toss in the Giant Eagle/Healthy Choice Pigskin Challenge during a Pittsburgh-Notre Dame game. Safeway, Giant Eagle, Harris Teeter, Meijer and Ralphs participated in other Pigskin Challenges this year.

The Bi-Lo promotion was open to customers who purchased Healthy Choice products with their Bi-Lo loyalty card between Sept. 28 and Oct. 25. Bostic was selected at random.

"We always like to tie in promotional events to our Bonuscard because it makes it more interesting," Smart said.

Bostic could choose to receive $50,000 a year for 20 years, or a one-time payout of between $500,000 and $600,000, according to Colone. He apparently is playing it safe, as he returned to his $10-an-hour landscaping job soon after his win.