The long road to nowhere....

So another week has passed on my McDonalds Monopoly journey and not much has changed.

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posting during the week, it's a busy time personally and there is a lot on my plate...not just McDonalds!

Anyway, I decided to take a break from the task for a couple of days last week as physically I wasn't feeling the best.

I'd ticked off the 19 McDonalds in 19km earlier than planned and thought I should let the body recover somewhat.

What followed was the biggest migraine I've probably ever experienced!

I've read about how people become addicted to junk food and fast food in particular and if you have it enough your body starts to crave it and act out if it doesn't receive it.

I now understand why Grimace has been fat all these years, his body just wont allow him to stop.

When I did resume my McDonalds eating after my short break, the headache stopped..weird.

Not a lot has changed for me prize wise, I'm still one token off every big prize, and I still keep getting duplicates and Instant Wins.

I've received 82 stickers so far and it breaks down as the following -

Instant Win - McChicken (2), Small McCafe item, Small McFrappe, Chicken and Aioli McWrap (2), Big Mac, Small Fries (4)

Prize Wins - Attraction Pass (3), Video Ezy Rental, Movie Ticket, 3 Month Magazine Subscription, $10 OzSale voucher

Properties - Whitechapel Rd (3), Mayfair (6), Oxford St (5), Bond St (6). The Angel Islington (4), Pentonville Rd (4), Vine St (4), Bow St (4), Pall Mall (4), Northumberland Ave (4), Strand (2), Kings Cross St (4), Marylebone Station (4), Liverpool St Station (4), Leicester Square (2), Coventry St (3)

As you can see, it's now a case of simply having a shitload of duplicates.

I'll keep plodding on, literally, but I reckon they wont even release the last set of stickers until closer to the end of the promotional period, which is November.

So, there's still a lot of Maccas to be eaten.

Haters gonna hate......

Look at that product placement. Picture: Darren Pateman, copyright: Newcastle Herald

So, obviously when you do something like this you open yourself up to criticism.

Most people have seen this challenge for the bit of fun that it is and of course they see that I'm exploring the issues that this form of advertising/game brings with it.

My Man vs McMonopoly adventure has hit the media and it was published in the Newcastle Herald on Saturday.

Read it here - http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2572465/topics-man-vs-maccas-monopoly/?cs=308

The photo, above. which was snapped by Darren Pateman, is a beauty, but I don't think it's really going to help out with the whole single thing, but hey, at least they know where I'm taking them on a first date.

The story was also shared on Facebook and over 30,000 enagaged with the post, either stopping by to abuse me or wish me luck!

Now, I'm pretty used to criticism, learning how to accept it is probably the most important skill in journalism.

Being called an idiot doesn't bother me, nor does someone saying I have no life.

I'm currently eating cheeseburgers in my spare time, I'm well aware of how exciting my life is.

One reader also asked the paper to 'wake me up when he's dead'....I should really stop my family from commenting on stories.

There's also people debating the distance I've traveled, after a bit of confusion in the article. It stated I'm visiting 19 McDonalds in the 19km from Newcastle. Which is true. 

I visited Wyong on the drive to Sydney last week, which is not one of the 19 in the 19km that I'm checking off, but is down on the list as one I've visited...

People are debating this shit...

For people that aren't aware I lived in a giant Adidas football during the 2010 World Cup and I'm pretty famous now, so I'm used to the life of a celeb and having plenty of haters... ;) (clearly a joke)

In fact, when I was living in the football, which was meant to be soundproof, but wasn't, I'd sit there and listen to the people outside, who clearly thought I couldn't hear them.

The best was when I was sitting inside and a guy was walking around the ball and stated - "Oh look there's a guy in there....is he living in there? What a loser!"

You can only laugh...and the guy was probably correct.

Yes, so I just find the comments funny. At the end of the day, it's all a bit of fun, mixed with some serious issues being looked at through my experience.

It is enjoyable though to read people telling you what you're doing is - 'grose' and 'discusting'...yes, that happened.

Also, just quickly

YES I HAVE SEEN SUPERSIZE ME AND THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING!!!!!

Just give me a prize already...............

#FatMonopoly

It's been a big few days....

The McDonalds Bag pyramid.

Apologies for a lack of a post over the weekend, it's been a busy time.

I've currently been to 15 McDonalds in the region and currently I have 72 stickers.

That's 18 Large Cheeseburger Meals since I started doing this, or 1.6 meals a day!

Strangely I haven't felt too bad. I had zero energy most days and was going to sleep really early, but I've started eating something 'normal' each day and that's helped.

I only have four more to go in the local area and then I'm going to have a bit of a break.

The reason is, I just keep getting the same tickets.

I'm of the belief that McDonalds haven't actually put all the tickets out there yet.

I'm pretty much one off most prizes. I've done some research and noticed that everyone on Ebay, where there is a thriving industry of people selling stickers, no one has any that I need and they all seem to be in a similar position to me.

It would make sense for McDonalds to hold the big stickers until the end of the competition, so that people continue to purchase.

I also found out that the winner of the Jeep was actually an Instant Win and not someone who collected all three corresponding tickets.

A young girl simply pulled the winning sticker off a large fries! Good on her.

This shows me two things. A) This game is just pure luck and B) The final ticket needed to make three of a kind are not in circulation yet.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I've found Cheeseburger Meals have been priced differently at each McDonalds.

I found two yesterday where it's $6 and I've paid anywhere from $5.60 to $6. Sometimes there's a price difference of 40c between McDonalds outlets that are less than a mile away.

Yesterday I visited two McDonalds and I walked between the two. Using an application on my Iphone I measured it was 857m between them. Crazy! Talk about saturation.

Here's a recap of how I'm doing so far....

What I've won -

• $10 OzSale voucher
• 3 Month Zinio Digital Magazine Subscription 
• $5 Cinema Voucher
• Attraction Pass
• Attraction Pass
• Attraction Pass
• McChicken
• McChicken
• Small Hot McCafe
• Small Frappe or Smoothie
• Chicken and Aioli McWrap
• Big Mac
• Small Fries/Fruit Bag
• Small Fries/Fruit Bag
• Small Fries/Fruit Bag
• Small Fries/Fruit Bag

I've recieved Mayfair six times and Oxford St and Bond St five times. Not suprisingly they are two most valuable items on the board. 

#FatMonopoly 

Don't try buying a cheeseburger at 10:27am....it just cant happen

I pledge allegiance to the 10:30am Breakfast Rule

BREAKING: Prizes are falling off the board.

Logging into the McDonalds Monopoly website today, I learned that someone has already walked away with a Jeep and a Jet Ski.

Therefore only 19 Jeeps and 4 Jet Skis remain.

I would like to meet the people who apparently won, as they are either the arsiest people around or they are operating on a whole other level to me.

Time to get busy then, so today I put away three large cheeseburgers meals, from three separate McDonalds.

I know.

Anyway, that secured me 12 tickets, which are –

Lunch: Bond St, Small Fries/Fruit Bag, Bond St,

Dinner: Small Coffee, Kings Cross Station, Small Fries/Fruit Bag, Northumberland Avenue

Dinner II: Bow St, Strand, Bow St, Vine St

So in three meals, I got only two stickers I could use. All the rest were instant wins and duplicates.

But, despite today being a complete waste of time on that front, there were some funny stories to come out of the day.

I had to go to a press conference today and on the drive back I was passing a McDonalds on my list to visit. I hadn’t checked this one off yet, so I thought why not get it out of the way.

It was early in the morning but I thought, why not!

So I walked into the McDonalds and asked for a cheeseburger meal, only to be told I couldn’t order one because they were still serving breakfast.

So, I looked at my phone, only to see it reading 10:27am.

Now, for the uninitiated, McDonalds serve breakfast until 10:30am, before lunch items become available.

I informed the young girl at the register that it was 10:27am, thinking she hadn’t realised how close we were to the changeover, but no, she did know what time it was and reminded me that I was a few minutes early.

So, I walked out to my car.

By the time I started it up, clicked in my seatbelt and put the car in gear, it was 10:30am.

So I drove through the drive-thru and ordered my meal.

I was driving out with meal in hand, less than two minutes later.

Therefore when I was in at the counter, two minutes earlier, the food that I ended up receiving was being made or had already been made.

It didn’t make a great deal of sense, but it made for a funny story nonetheless.

Secondly, as I mentioned today I had three meals, yet I noticed I was charged differently for each one.

My morning meal cost me $5.65, but I paid $5.85 and then $5.75 at two different McDonalds in the evening.

How can the price differ between McDonalds, particularly when they were all in about 10 minute drives of each other?

I know it’s only 10c, but still.

It’s only these bits of information you find out when eating 15 large cheeseburger meals a week.

Stay tuned for more earth shattering facts.

#FatMonopoly  

They've screwed me on National Cheeseburger Day....

It’s hard being a journalist at times. 

The job can often throw you into precarious situations.

Some journalists are currently in war zones all over the globe, others are covering the outbreak of the Ebola virus, Scotland’s search for independence and Tony Abbott’s latest attempt to destroy us.

But this is my gift to the world.

I could win an award for this.....and not just ‘Most Likely to Die Quickest’ at my upcoming high school reunion.

Moving on,,,,

Enhanced Media Metrics Australia conducted a survey recently and found that the average Australian dines out on Take Away food ‘four times a month’.

I currently have dined out on McDonalds four times in the last 48 hours.

This same survey found that McDonalds, not surprisingly, is the most popular choice of restaurant.

Now, my recent efforts certainly haven’t helped change either stat, but promotions like the McDonalds Monopoly aren’t going to change things quickly either.

Most visits for me are done via the drive-thru and everytime it is covered in advertising material for the Monopoly campaign.

It’s all over the menu board, speaker box, payment and collection windows, as well as the bag containing your food and of course the product itself.

There is simply no escaping it.

As mentioned above, Australians eat it ‘four times a month’, or once a week.

McDonalds are clearly not happy with this statistic and are trying to increase that amount, which the Monopoly campaign plays a big part in.

Obviously we’re big enough and wise enough to make our own choices on what we eat and where we get it, but the Monopoly game plays on our desires to ensure there’s a high chance we’ll pull up to the aluminous ‘M’.

But the serious stuff aside, today is National Cheeseburger Day and in tradition, I tucked into my two cheeseburger meals with pride, only for Ronald and friends to screw me over.  

Lunchtime got me Bond St and Bow St, both duplicates, but also The Angel Islington and Leicester Square, two that I don’t have.

I was happy enough until I grabbed my meal for dinner.

Tonight’s meal uncovered Mayfair and Whitechapel Road, meaning that I now have three of each.

The other two were ‘Instant Wins’, this time I picked up another Small Fries/Fruit Bag and Attraction Voucher.

So in two meals and eight stickers, only two were any use to me.

Today has been a real opener for what I’m up against. 

I went to Kotara McDonalds for lunch and the big lady in front of me ordered four meals! (She was eating alone), meanwhile getting 16 stickers in the process.

It’s early days and whilst the war may be long, battles will be won and lost, and tomorrow is another day...filled with Cheeseburgers.   

I have a very bad feeling about this.....

How many more?

If this was the actual Monopoly board game, I'd choose the iron as my game piece, given it can help flatten out the gut that I am developing. 

I've only been doing this full time since Sunday, but already I’m eyeing the calendar.

I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm trying to minimise the impact this is having on my health by walking, doing sit-ups of a morning and sticking to the smallest menu item that will ensure I get the most stickers each time, the large cheeseburger meal.

Nothing more, nothing less.

I’ve been winning numerous ‘instant win’ items over the last few days, but I promised that I would stick strictly to the cheeseburger meals and not ‘cash in’ any of the instant win items.

But tonight, I cracked!

My lunchtime cheeseburger meal wasn’t tying me over, so I decided to claim my free McChicken whilst picking up tonight’s meal.

Anyway, back to the game.

So to increase my chances at this I’ve decided that I cannot go to the same McDonalds twice, well at least not until I have visited all the McDonalds in my area.

Therefore today I hit the McDonalds store locator (https://mcdonalds.com.au/find-us/restaurants), to find out exactly how many are in my region, and was astounded to discover there were 19!

19 McDonalds in a 19.21km radius. Talk about overkill.

Lunchtime took me to another McDonalds close to my workplace and my cheeseburger meal gave me another four stickers.

I uncovered Pall Mall, Bond Street and two more “Instant Wins”, Attraction Pass and Small Fries/Fruit Bag.

Yes, that’s 6 Instant wins in just 20 stickers, much more than the promoted “1 in 5 win instantly”. But this is obviously their tactic, for a number of reasons.

Firstly it ensures you go back into a McDonalds to claim. Secondly it ensures you keep playing the game, because ‘how lucky are you!’ and thirdly, it means that out of the 20 stickers you’ve been given, only 14 of them were actual game properties.

Dinner was picked up from the next McDonalds on my list and it was there that I cracked and claimed my McChicken.

That meal gained me Northumberland Avenue, Oxford Street, Mayfair and Liverpool St Station.

It's the first meal that I haven't won an Instant Win item. 

So after six meals, this is my report card.

I currently have:

 3 Kings Cross Station

3 Oxford Street

3 Pall Mall

2 Mayfair

2 Northumberland Avenue

1 Bond St

1 Bow St

1 Liverpool St Station

1 Whitechapel Road

1 Pentonville Road

6 Instant Wins

In conclusion, after 24 stickers, 6 Instant Wins + 8 duplicates means I have only 10 properties in play on the game board.

Says it all really.

It seems that just like in the real Monopoly game, the banker always wins.

But.....I’m not giving up just yet.

#FatMonopoly

This is what I have become.....

So another day of McDonalds Monopoly ticks by and another two large cheeseburger meals down the hatchet.

Scarily, events today have shown I am horribly addicted to this game already.

What started out as a bit of fun is now serious business.

I grabbed my first large cheeseburger meal of the day at lunchtime.

I’ve given myself a strategy that I can only go to a particular McDonalds once in this game.

Today, I decided to visit the McDonalds closest to my workplace. 

To offset the damage I was about to consume, I chose to walk.

I don’t know if it actually did much, but at least it will help.

My large cheeseburger meal comes in pretty quick time and I find myself ripping off the stickers before I even take a bite of my food.

I quickly uncover Northumberland Avenue, Whitechapel Road, Mayfair and another Instant Win, my third in three meals, this time a $10 voucher for OzSale.

I polish off my meal and make the walk back to work.

I inform a couple of colleagues at my lunchtime success and I can see them instantly judge me, yes this is what my life has now become.

Anyway, they will be getting zero lifts when I win the jeep.

I mentioned earlier my strategy regarding only going to each McDonalds once, but I’m also trying to look after my health at the same time.

Clearly what I’m doing isn’t great for my body, so I’m trying to offset that as much as possible. 

That includes walking to each restaurant, when possible, and choosing the large cheeseburger meal, as it’s the smallest item I can purchase, whilst still giving me the maximum amount of stickers and the greater chance of winning one of the grand prizes.

Now, I’ve had a number of people having a crack at me, which is fine. This whole thing is a bit of fun at the end of the day, but at the same time, I’m investigating just how possible it is to actually win something decent.

Clearly, McDonalds use this to boost sales and leverage advertising, whilst minimising the chances of winning. It’s smart, but is it ethical?

Using promotions to encourage unhealthy eating and giving customers greater benefits for consuming bigger portions, is something that is certainly a grey area.

The problem is I can already see how people can get hooked. I mentioned above, how keen I was to rip the stickers off. I didn’t care about the food; it was simply what was required to fuel my chances of winning.

But more on that in a second.

Dinner was up and that meant another trip to McDonalds and a 10 minute journey to the next restaurant on my list.

I had to wait 10 minutes in the drive-thru for my order, but when it came, the satisfaction of four more stickers meant that frustration dissipated.

Anyway, this time I uncovered Pentonville Road, Pall Mall, Kings Cross Station and another ‘Instant Win’, a Chicken and Aioli McWrap.

That means I’ve now won something every time I’ve bought a meal.

So far my winnings include, a McChicken Burger, Three month Zinio Digital Magazine Subscription, $10 OzSale voucher and Chicken & Aioli McWrap.

‘1 in 5’ wins instantly; I’m currently shooting 4 from 12.

On the flip side, I’m also getting more duplicates.

I now have three Kings Cross Station stickers, two Pall Mall and two Oxford Street.

Looking at prizes, I need just Whitehall to win a $5000 OzSale voucher and Parklane to win a UK Holiday, plus Old Kent Road to win a ski holiday at Falls Creek.

I can already see myself getting addicted. I’d been storing my tickets in a compartment in my glove box and after taking them out, I noticed one was missing!

Queue panic and numerous swear words. I was soon back with a torch ripping the car apart.

Some minutes later, I realised that it had fallen down the back of the compartment and I was soon reunited with it, thank god.

My neighbour saw me in my distress and asked if they could help.

Thank god I didn’t have explain what I was looking for, as I waived his assistance away.

This is what I have become.....

#FatMonopoly

Let the games begin...

Copyright: McDonald's 

It’s this time of year that I usually hit the pavement, hoping to shape my body into peak condition with the summer period almost upon us.

But why bother with all that hard work, when you can spend the time chowing down on your favourite fast food in the hope of winning a sparkly new Jeep, UK Holiday, Jet Ski, Honda Motorbike or one of the many other grand prizes in McDonald’s Monopoly sweepstakes.

The McDonald’s Monopoly campaign is simple, purchase participating products at any McDonald’s restaurant and you receive stickers for various properties on the Monopoly game board. Match particular stickers and you win big!

For matching Bond St, Oxford St and Regent St for example you win a Jeep, Piccadilly, Coventry and Leicester Square win you a Jet Ski.

Also, 1 in every 5 stickers are an ‘instant win’ and can be anything from a burger to three month magazine subscription.

Obviously this whole campaign is tied to increase sales, given the more McDonald’s you buy; the more likely you are to be a winner.

One such trick that McDonald’s employs is that there is a genuine incentive to buy more.

Large Meals offer four stickers, whilst Medium meals only give you two, and small sized meals give you none whatsoever.

So far I have had McDonald’s twice in the promotional period.

I have purchased two large cheeseburgers meals, at different outlets and received eight stickers.

The first time I ordered, I uncovered Kings Cross Station, Oxford Street, Bow Street and an ‘Instant Win’, which won me a three month Zinio digital magazine subscription and I ironically chose to receive ‘Men’s Health and Fitness’.

The second time I ordered, I uncovered Kings Cross Station, Oxford Street, Pall Mall and another ‘Instant Win’, this time taking home a free McChicken Burger.

Now, already after only two visits I can uncover a number of things.

Firstly, I've already got duplicates, as I now have two stickers of Kings Cross Station and Oxford Street.

It's no surprise that Oxford St is one of three green items needed to win the Jeep and Kings Cross Station is one of two needed to win a laptop, two of the more significant prizes in the game.

It’s obvious that the bigger items on the board are going to be in short supply and having already got duplicates, you’d start to question just how realistic your chances are of landing one of big prizes.

However McDonald’s temper this with their ‘instant wins’. Tagged as ‘1 in 5’ winning instantly, I’ve received eight stickers and already won twice, therefore either being an ‘incredibly lucky bastard’, or its all part of the plan!

Having had some wins, you’re tempted to keep playing the game.

Winning the McChicken ($4) and Zinio Digital Magazine Membership ($30), put me ahead of my current outlay of $14. It also ensures I walk back into a McDonalds’ outlet to claim my free burger and perhaps buy a large drink to go along with it, given it will ensure me another two stickers.

Thus, the wheel keeps turning.

Game on McDonald’s, game on.

Follow Adam on Twitter here

#FatMonopoly