Campaign:
McDonald's - Monopoly Millions

Running on:
On qualifying purchases in participating McDonald's restaurants - McDonald's Restaurants Ltd

What's the big idea:
McDonald's Monopoly is not just a promotion, it's an institution. Based on the iconic Hasbro board game it has been running across 14 countries since 1987! We've talked about some other annual promotions on these pages before but in longevity terms they're mere toddlers - this is the godfather! And the 2012 version shows no signs of being toppled.

How:
The basic core of the promotion is based on the board game. Namely you purchase one of the qualifying products, you receive 1 or more game pieces with stickers attached, one of these will definitely be a Play Online sticker and the other(s) will be a Property Set, Instant Win or Win Game sticker. To play online you visit the promotional website or Facebook page and enter your unique 11 digit code beginning with 'Z'. The other stickers will either provide instructions for how to claim or should be retained until you have a full set of properties for example.

During our research we've discovered an ardent group of individuals who are capitalising on the enormity of McDonald's Monopoly Millions. A self professed fan, Chris, has set up a dedicated site to the promotion and this entertaining blog by Dave Thorp.

They highlight what are this year's McDonald's Monopoly Millions rare piece list (unverified):

• Mayfair - Dark Blue to win £50,000 (8 rare stickers)
• Bond Street - Green to win a Mini Cooper (8 rare stickers)
• Euston Road - Light Blue to win a £250 Buy a Gift voucher (300 rare stickers)
• Liverpool St Station - Stations to win a Sony PS3 (450 rare stickers)
• Northumberland Avenue - Purple to win a Samsung Galaxy Y Pro (500 rare stickers)
• Marlborough Street - Orange to win a HD Camcorder (500 rare stickers)
• Coventry Street - Yellow to win a 16GB iPad 2 wi-fi-only (550 rare stickers)
• Strand - Red to win a Best Western Weekend Break (700 rare stickers)
• Old Kent Road - Brown to win an iPod Docking Station (50,000 rare stickers)

What's on offer:
Over 8 million Prizes to be won
For the first time at PromoWatch there are just so many prizes and permutations that it really isn't worth our while spelling it out here. You can find out all the information on the website. Basically, if you've got one of the Rare Game Pieces above then you're probably sitting pretty for a worthwhile prize as detailed above. If you've got an Instant Win sticker then you will be told your prize and how to claim on the sticker. For the Play Online codes again you'll be told you've won there and then.

Cash Prize Every Minute
One interesting twist this year is the chance to win a cash prize every minute from 11am on 21st March until 23:59:59 on 1st May 2012. The denominations are 1162 x £200, 4980 x £50, 11952 x £20 and 41666 x £10.

What you need to know:

1. You don't need to stick game pieces to a gameboard or send it in with your prize claim
2. Retain your winning stickers and codes - you'll need them to make a claim
3. Be careful not to damage the stickers - they will invalidate your claim
4. Send winning stickers by Special Deliver to be safe
5. You can only enter 24 times per person per calendar day
6. Don't hang about. Food vouchers expire on 15th May 2012 and some prizes have to be claimed by 1st June 2012!
7. Before you ask - NO you cannot use vouchers, stickers or anything from previous year's Monopoly games in any way shape or form. Capiche?

Website:
www.mcdonalds.co.uk/monopoly
www.facebook.com/mcdonalds-monopoly

When:
Live in McDonald's restaurants until 1st May 2012

Any good?
Bigger, better, more satisfying. No I'm not talking about a Big Mac - McDonald's Monopoly is a behemoth of a promotion. And like all successful genres it has spawned fans and followers who look forward to it every year like Wimbledon or the FA Cup. There's plenty on offer and enough going on to keep you entertained even if you don't manage to land that desirable penthouse in Mayfair.