- Dr Pepper drew scorn for its dealing with of a school tuition giveaway in the course of halftime of the SEC championship match.
- The brand name announced 1 participant as the winner based on an obscure rule soon after they tied 2 times.
- The firm ultimately made a decision to give each contestants the $100,000 prize money.
Louisiana Point out University wasn’t the only one particular finding trampled halfway into its SEC championship in opposition to Ga on Saturday — so was Dr Pepper soon after a controversial ending to its halftime faculty tuition giveaway contest.
The beverage company drew disdain from the group and on social media alike after the yearly competition, which involves contestants vying for $100,000 by throwing footballs into huge cans of soda, devolved into a bewildering tie-breaker.
After the two gamers — Reagan Whitaker of Baylor College and and Kayla Gibson of the University of St. Augustine — each scored 11 factors in the to start with spherical, they state-of-the-art to a next spherical, but tied in that a person, as well. Because of to time constraints, fairly than continuing the confront-off, Whitaker was considered the winner, centered on an obscure rule that counts factors from a prior qualifying spherical.
The conclusion did not go over very well. The crowd erupted into boos and a #JusticeForKayla movement quickly took above social media.
On Twitter, various users voiced their irritation with the rule.
—br_betting (@br_betting) December 3, 2022
—Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) December 3, 2022
—Logan Leger (@lleger) December 3, 2022
Other people pointed out how “depressing” the contest is.
—Theo Ash 🇺🇸 (@TheoAshNFL) December 3, 2022
—Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) December 4, 2022
Dr Pepper appeared to take the outcry to coronary heart. By the fourth quarter, CBS reporter Jenny Dell declared the enterprise determined to give each contestants $100,000.
“Effectively, you all noticed the unparalleled double tie of the Dr Pepper halftime tuition giveaway,” Dell explained. “We ‘ve just been told by Dr Pepper that they’re likely to award the two finalists $100,000. So both equally Kayla Gibson and Reagan Whitaker are taking house $100K. Congratulations, girls, and terrific task by Dr Pepper there.”
Keurig Dr Pepper, the brand’s guardian enterprise, has held the contest considering the fact that 2008 and supplied away a total of $13 million in university tuition. According to the organization, this is the to start with time two finalists have tied 2 times in a row.
Andrew Springate, Chief Promoting Officer for Keurig Dr Pepper, claimed in a assertion to Insider that whilst “each individual yr there are surprises and unexpected moments,” this year’s recreation “proved to be one of the most fascinating nevertheless with the double tie-breaker.”
“We’re honored to rejoice inspiring college students each individual 12 months, and fired up that this sudden change of functions gave us the opportunity to prolong the grand prize award to one more deserving university student,” Springate said.