A Real-Life Willy Wonka?
Have you ever watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and thought to yourself “wow, I could’ve done that so much better than Charlie” or “those Oompa Loompas did not need to be there”? If so, you may be in luck, because a most lucrative opportunity has made itself available to the general public. About a week ago, Jelly Belly Co-Founder David Klein announced his retirement. However, not one to go out without a bang, Klein revealed that Jelly Belly would be creating it’s very own Willy-Wonka-esque treasure hunt, in which players must pay $49.98 to be admitted to the hunt (a private Facebook group). A maximum of 1000 players will be admitted from each state, each one vying for one of 50 golden necklaces signifying a $5000 cash prize. Everyone who pays the initial admittance fee will also be entered to win the keys to one of Jelly Belly’s candy factory, with other prizes including a candy vacation to a candy making university.
This corporate-ran nation-wide treasure hunt is an example of an all-pay auction, in which everyone who wants to enter must pay a fee, even if they don’t win the big prize. Additionally, when participants enter, they are added to a private Facebook group, where they receive clues to help find the prize. This group, while serving this primary purpose, also helps to facilitate new bonds between new people, even if it only results in weak ties. Since the groups are categorized by state, people would likely have mutual friends involved, and, likely, more than one person per social group would join. This could also be an example of the Strong Triadic Closure Property, in which strongly related friends connect mutual friends in the Facebook group, and everyone forms new ties.