Actually, it is illegal for a company to force this upon you to buy something, if you look at the small print there will be terms and conditions that state "No Purchase Required". You will have to send them a reasonably drawn facsimile of the cup (which could mean dipping a piece of paper in oil and sending it to them) and then you can be entered into the contest - they are required to send you a game piece after that. I've been involved first hand where this very rule was challenged, dirty, but when the promotion is a marketing tactic there has to be some sort of imposed limits on what a corporation does.
(not being involved in that industry anymore i could care less about it - but know that if you really want to crack the system check out some of the many forums that decipher winning combinations on pieces, and release the info to the wild to let you have a better chance at winning - we couldn't stop those people either - believe it or not some people make a living off of it!)
either way, at the end of it all - yer all gettin' caffinated, which is obviously the most important thing of all!
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