douglasworld.co.uk

Update 27.04.03

All freebies (tea towels, mouse mats, socks) have gone and there seems little point in visiting this website anymore. I feel they were a little too generous for their own good. I have one pair of socks, one mouse mat and eight tea towels thanks to this site :-) But alas, no more :-(

Update 14.04.03

Message from site:

Douglas Loyalty’ is nearing it’s end. I’ve really enjoyed ...
...the site and earned their free gifts. Penelope’s sent out so many now that she’s exhausted so I’m giving her a well deserved rest.

But I’ve got one last treat in store for those of you with over 500 points – a free mouse mat. There’s 1000 up for grabs, one per person on a first-come, first-served basis. So get claiming!

Thanks for being a part of ‘Douglas Loyalty’, I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

HMPFF! NO ... more

Update 27.04.03

All freebies (tea towels, mouse mats, socks) have gone and there seems little point in visiting this website anymore. I feel they were a little too generous for their own good. I have one pair of socks, one mouse mat and eight tea towels thanks to this site :-) But alas, no more :-(

Update 14.04.03

Message from site:

Douglas Loyalty’ is nearing it’s end. I’ve really enjoyed rewarding the thousands of loyal fans who have regularly visited the site and earned their free gifts. Penelope’s sent out so many now that she’s exhausted so I’m giving her a well deserved rest.

But I’ve got one last treat in store for those of you with over 500 points – a free mouse mat. There’s 1000 up for grabs, one per person on a first-come, first-served basis. So get claiming!

Thanks for being a part of ‘Douglas Loyalty’, I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

HMPFF! NO MORE FREEBIES THEN! I WON'T BE VISITING THIS SITE ANYMORE AS THERES NOTHING ELSE WORTH MUCH COP ON IT!

Original opinion:

Like the majority of the Ciao population, I love freebies. It doesn’t really matter what it is, as long as it’s free I will have it! Of course, teaching Economics I know that there is no such thing as an entirely free good ~ but in this instance I am ignoring this fact and stocking up on tea towels while the offer still lasts!

WHO THE HECK IS DOUGLAS? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unless you haven’t got a TV, you will not have missed Lurpak Butter’s rather lovable animated butter character. This is Douglas! Usually he is jumping around their adverts playing the trombone. In the case of his website he is giving away freebies!

FREEBIES? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now I have your undivided attention! Yes the site is giving away freebies! You don’t even have to like/buy Lurpak Butter in order to benefit. So far I have had 2 free tea towels courtesy of this site and am well on the way to a third! Except….I might go for socks next time! Yes, you can keep yourself in supply of socks too, although I think you will have to like the Douglas logo on them. You can also have an apron if you desire ~ I am sure that I can see all you Ciao fellas out there in aprons!!!! There are only 3 freebies on offer to date but they are free so you can’t complain!

HOW DO I GET FREEBIES? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Just by signing up you are given 200 points. To get additional points you can refer people (the site has a form to fill in which they will send to your intended), for which you are given 100 points per referral. You also get 100 points just for logging into the website once a week. It is so easy to get enough points for your first freebie. Points needed:

Tea Towel ~ 500 points
Socks ~ 900 points
Apron ~ 1300 points

So you can see just how easy it is to get a tea towel. In fact I think I got to ‘tea towel’ status in half an hour after persuading 3 of my mates to sign up! I have also been impressed with the quality and delivery of my tea towels!!! Both orders have taken under a week to arrive and are small enough to fit through the letterbox so you don’t have to pick up a parcel from a courier if you work during the day (how disappointing it would be to find only a tea towel delivery!!!).

ANYTHING ELSE ON THE WEBSITE? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nothing really of much interest to me as I’m not really that keen on Lurpak Butter nor their adverts! I have played the scratch card game several times (although it isn’t working at the time of writing this opinion) ~ you can win further freebies if your symbols match. I haven’t won anything yet though and you are only allowed one game a day (it’s definitely fixed too, I'm sure!).

There is also a shopping section where you can actually purchase Lurpak merchandise ~ the items here are currently at sale price:

Douglas Doll ~ £4 (usually £7.50)
Lunchbox ~ £3 (usually £5)
T-Shirt ~ £4.50 (usually £9)
Oven Glove ~ £3 (usually £6)
Toast Rack ~ £5 (usually £10)
Butter Dish ~ £3.50 (usually £6)
Video of Douglas ~ £4.50 (usually £9)

I am not sure why anyone would want to buy a video of Lurpak adverts but the other gifts seem quite good value for money ~ the butter dish is quite appealing! Probably not recommended for giving for gifts as people will probably assume that you got Lurpak logo goods for free on some sort of promotion!

‘Old but Gold’ allows you to watch past Lurpak adverts online, although if you are anything like me you will hate ads and will be puzzled at someone who wants to actually watch repeats of them online!!!! ‘Fun with Douglas’ is aimed at children and you might find a few activities in this section to keep them quiet for a little while! There’s currently a colouring competition and a dot to dot of Douglas!

‘Butter Banter’ is an online forum whereby you can ‘pop a question’ (!) to Douglas or leave a message on the forum message board. Err….this seems rather sad to me but I suppose it takes all sorts!!!! ‘Douglas Downloads’ as it says is a place whereby you can download a Douglas screen-mate or wallpaper. It also states that you can get a Douglas screensaver but this doesn’t seem to be one of the options available to click on.

‘My Favourites’ is just a plug for Hartley’s Jam – I expect Hartley’s have paid to advertise on the site ~ I am very doubtful that Lurpak have just allowed them to advertise on their site! ‘Good Better Butter’ is just a load of completely useless facts that are so dull; I won’t waste any more time over them!

SITE & NAVIGATION ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The site is extremely slow to open; Douglas seems to stare at you forever whilst the site is loading!! You actually get a separate box opening from which to navigate around the site. Navigation takes a bit of getting used to as you have to close each window before you are allowed to open another but to be honest I don’t navigate around the site very often. The only place I really tend to visit is the loyalty section to get my free tea towels and recommend friends.

CONCLUSION ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not really much more to say about this site. Most of it is completely full of useless info but the loyalty section is definitely worth a look. This site seems quite unique for a food manufacturer ~ I haven’t come across any other site that makes it so easy to gain freebies! There are only 3 freebies on offer but THEY ARE FREE, COMPLETELY FREE! You have absolutely nothing to lose by signing up to this site, and only tea towels, socks and aprons to gain! If you don’t actually want any of the freebies, they make great presents for female relatives! Anyone want to see who can get the most tea towels???!!!

Happy Tea Towel Hunting!

© moose

UPDATED 09 JUNE 02 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The free tea towels and socks started to disappear from the site a while ago and the only thing available was aprons! Now I am not really keen on wearing aprons, in fact I hate them but I thought I would save towards it anyway, after all I love freebies!!! Then a couple of members (Junkboxjules and Mascarasnake) mentioned to me that they started offering tea towels and socks again so I took the opportunity and ordered a couple more tea towels.

One arrived a couple of days later (I am still missing the other) and I have to say that it is of much poorer quality than the others I have received. The Douglas logo is a sticker (as opposed to previously been incorporated into the thread) and generally of poorer colour and design quality. They have since added an apology to people who are requesting them, saying that they are dishing them out on a first come first served basis. Quote:

"Out of stock 30/05/02
Due to unexpected demand we are currently out of stock of Douglas tea towels and socks. We hope to get these items back on the website as soon as possible. Outstanding orders are being delivered as a priority in the meantime. Thanks for your patience, we'll try not to keep you waiting for too long".

The only thing currently available is those damn aprons again! But I would advise you to keep logging in and collecting your weekly 100 points as you never know, you may be able to start collecting tea towels and socks again!
 

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