A dream prize for the child in your life

Twenty two Irish boys and girls to mascot a player at a UEFA Champions League game in a unique promotion from Bank of Ireland and MasterCard

Twenty-two Bank of Ireland MasterCard customers will be in the enviable position of giving twenty-two very lucky children a dream prize and an abiding memory. In a unique promotion launched today (date) by Bank of Ireland and MasterCard the children nominated by the cardholders will be mascots at a high profile UEFA Champions League fixture during the second phase of this season's competition. They will appear on the pitch at Old Trafford, Highbury or Stamford Bridge with the participating teams in front of a full stadium and watched by tens of millions of television viewers across Europe.

Once they register for the competition, every time a Bank of Ireland MasterCard customer spends €500 on their credit card between October 1st2004 and January 31st2005, they automatically receive an entry for the draw.   The only stipulation is that the child must be between 1.1m and 1.3m tall, which is a UEFA pre-requisite. This presumably is to ensure that the children don't overshadow the likes of Roberto Carlos, Paul Scholes, Deco, Michael Owen, Ludivic Giuly or Edgar Davids!

"When I was a kid, the nearest I got to my soccer heroes was watching Match of the Day or reading about them in Shoot magazine" said David Courtney, Head of Customer and Market Management at Bank of Ireland's Cards and Loans Business.    "Nowadays many kids are lucky enough to get a trip to a Premiership game at least once.   However, this prize blows the socks off all that.   The UEFA Champions League has really caught the imagination and to get the chance to be a player mascot is truly the stuff of dreams!" he added.

The fixture at which the children will mascot a player will be announced on December 17th, when the UEFA Champions League second phase draw takes place. The twenty-two lucky boys and girls will travel with a parent or nominated guardian to the game next February or March.    They will also receive a souvenir kit of the team they mascot and a photograph recording their moment of stardom.  Of course, excellent seats at the big game are guaranteed.  All Bank of Ireland MasterCard customers will receive details of the promotion with their next statement.   This unique promotion is strongly supported by a TV and radio marketing campaign commencing Friday 22ndOctober.

The promotion is designed to reward people for using their Bank of Ireland MasterCard for more of their day-to-day purchases, rather than having to spend more money in general. It is in line with the consumer move towards greater usage of cards and a move away from cash and cheques for regular payments. The average monthly spend on a Bank of Ireland credit card is approximately €500, so the normal spending patterns will ensure the vast majority of customers, once registered for the promotion, will have at least one entry per month.  

Ends.

Contact:

Paul Gurhy
Head of Portfolio Management
Bank of Ireland Cards & Loans        

Tel: (01) 6176100

Mob: 086 8266365

Mary Brennan
Group Corporate Communications
Bank of Ireland
Tel: (01) 6043838
Mob: 087 2833646