BusinessWeek Fantasy Career Essay Contest
The Road Not Taken

Rules and Regulations

You must agree to the rules in order to enter the contest.

1. No Purchase Necessary: No purchase or payment of any money is necessary to enter. Purchase will not improve the chances of winning. All federal, state and/or local rules and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law.

2. Eligibility: The BusinessWeek Career Fantasy Contest is open to people 21 years of age or older at time of entry who are legal residents of the United States. Employees of BusinessWeek, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“The McGraw-Hill Companies”), the National Basketball Association, its member teams, NBA Properties, Inc., NBA Media Ventures LLC, including each of their related entities, HHC Marketing, the cast, crew and employees of Monty Python’s Spamalot, employees of Vocation Vacation, the employees of Lago di Merlo Vineyard and Stanton and Crenshaw Communications (collectively the “Contest Entities”) and members of their immediate families are not eligible.

3. To Enter: Starting at 9 am EDT on Monday, August 9, 2004 go to www.businessweek.com and click on the icon for BusinessWeek Fantasy Career Contest. Fill out the online application which includes an original essay on “Why you are the perfect candidate to win a BusinessWeek Fantasy Career”. Essays do not need to be limited to the fantasy careers outlined as prizes. Entrants may write about any fantasy career. Essays must not exceed 300 words. Essays longer than 300 words will be disqualified. All entries must be submitted in English. Applications can be supported with a VHS video submission not to exceed 75 seconds in length or one photo not larger than 8X10. Digital no larger than 1MB. Applications are not required to include video or photos. Online entrants wishing to submit a video or photo must send these supporting materials by mail to the address listed below. To properly identify your supporting materials please also include the email address you used to submit your entry in the lower left hand corner of the package/envelope. Any photo/video submission not properly identified will not be considered. All online entries and supporting materials must be received by 5:00 PM EDT Monday, September 6, 2004. All mailed entries must be postmarked by Monday, September 6, 2004, and received by Friday, September 10, 2004. Limit one (1) entry per person.

To submit an application via U.S. mail, or to send video or photo supporting materials by mail, send the completed application with the essay and/or supporting materials to:

BusinessWeek Fantasy Career Contest-Submission
c/o 303 Park Avenue South, #1275
New York, NY 10010


Neither the Contest Entities nor their respective affiliates, employees, agents or representatives assume any responsibility for lost, late, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, technically corrupted or postage-due entries.

All entries, including essays, videos and/or photos, and any and all copyrights therein, become the sole property of The McGraw-Hill Companies and will not be returned. By submitting an entry, all entrants hereby transfer and assign any and all intellectual property rights (including but not limited to all copyrights and trademarks) in and to their essays, photos and/or videos to The McGraw-Hill Companies. By entering, entrant agree to abide by these rules, and warrants and represents that his/her entry is the entrant’s original work prepared exclusively and entirely by the entrant, that his/her entry has not won previous awards, has not been previously published, does not infringe upon the rights of any third parties and is suitable for publication (i.e., is not libelous, obscene or indecent).

4. Judging: Judging will be conducted by members of the BusinessWeek Marketing and Public Relations team along with representatives from Stanton and Crenshaw. The judges will select ten (10) finalists, each of whom will be interviewed by phone. From the ten (10) finalists, the judges will pick one (1) winning entry for each of the three (3) BusinessWeek Fantasy Careers for a total of three (3) winning entries. Entries will be judged on the basis of the following criteria: creativity, uniqueness (50%) and power of expressiveness, both in the written essay and during the finalists’ interviews (50%). Decisions of the judges are final and binding on all matters relating to this contest. BusinessWeek reserves the right not to award a BusinessWeek Fantasy Career prize if there are fewer than three (3) entries qualified to be winning entries.

5. Prize: The three (3) grand prize winners will be selected on or about September 17 and will be notified by no later than September 20, 2004. The three prizes are as follows:

  • First Prize: Fantasy Career #1-Pro Sports Manager in Boston: Two Days in the Life of Running the Boston Celtics Basketball Operations (Approximate retail value $3,500)
  • Second Prize: Fantasy Career #2-Broadway Producer in New York City: Two Days in the Life of a Broadway Producer (Approximate retail value $3,500)
  • Third Prize: Fantasy Career #3-Vintner in Sonoma County, CA: Two days in the Life of a Sonoma County Vintner (Approximate retail value $3,500)

First Prize: Fantasy Career #1- Pro Sports Manager- The winner will learn what it takes to run a winning NBA franchise as the winner shadows the Boston Celtics Head of Basketball Operations. For two days the winner will be able to go courtside, behind the scenes, and in the front offices. Winners will be able to:
  • Meet the coaches and players
  • Attend practice sessions
  • Sit in on team management meetings
  • Learn about aspects of the franchise from front office executives in Operations, Sales and Marketing, Media Relations, Community Relations
  • Cheer on the team at a home game

Prize Package Includes:
  • Roundtrip coach-class air transportation to and from Boston and ground transportation to the hotel for the winner,
  • 3 days/2 nights hotel accommodations in Boston for the winner
  • Four prime seats at a Celtics game
  • Celtics basketball jersey
  • $500 spending money
  • One (1) year subscription to BusinessWeek

Prize must be used during the first two (2) weeks of November 2004.

Second Prize: Fantasy Career #2- Broadway Producer- The winner will join the production team for “Monty Python’s Spamalot” – the hilarious new musical “lovingly ripped off” from the cult classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. For two days the winner will be able to:
  • Attend a rehearsal to witness the stars and the director in action
  • Experience the excitement of the actors, dancers, set and costume designers, choreographers, music coordinators, and other theater professionals
  • Learn the inner workings of bringing a show to the stage – including casting, writing, staging, directing, marketing, PR, and sales – from a seasoned Broadway production team

Prize Package Includes:
  • Roundtrip coach-class air transportation to and from New York and ground transportation to the hotel for the winner
  • 3 days/2 nights hotel accommodations in NYC for the winner
  • Monty Python DVD box set
  • 4 house seats to “Monty Python’s Spamalot” (Tickets must be used between February 7-March 7,2005)
  • $500 spending money
  • One (1) year subscription to BusinessWeek.

Prize, exclusive of show tickets, must be used in November 1- November 23, 2004.

Third Prize: Fantasy Career #3- Sonoma California Vintner - The winner will experience old-world winemaking at the 200-acre Lago di Merlo Vineyard in Sonoma County California. For two days the winner will be able to:
  • Take a Wine Appreciation Course
  • Work side-by-side with Vineyard owners as they make Lago di Merlo’s award-winning wines
    • Depending on the time of year winners will be able to:
  • Harvest– Learn how to pick, crush, and press grapes
  • Prepare wine– learn about clarification, cold stabilizing, fermentation, racking, topping barrels, and wine blending
  • Bottle & label– Oversee the packaging of this award-winning wine
  • Work in the Vineyard –Learn general viticulture techniques like leaf and cluster thinning, soil and leaf tissue sampling, pest control

Prize package includes:
  • Roundtrip coach-class air transportation to and from San Francisco and ground transportation to the Lago di Merlo Vineyard for the winner
  • 3 days/2 nights accommodations in your own private guest house on the Lago di Merlo estate
  • $500 spending money
  • A case of Vintner’s Select wine
  • One (1) year subscription to BusinessWeek
  • One hour of life strategy coaching

Prize must be used between October 1, 2004 and May 30, 2005

Each grand prize includes round-trip coach class air transportation from the winner’s home anywhere in the United States, to the Fantasy Career Prize city; ground transportation for the winner to and from the hotel; two (2) nights hotel accommodations double occupancy at a hotel designated by BusinessWeek (except for Lago di Merlo guest house); and a total of $500 spending money.

BusinessWeek will determine hotel and airline providers in its sole discretion. All expenses not specifically mentioned will be the sole responsibility of the winner, including but not limited to travel upgrades, personal incidentals and meals (other than as stated above). Winner must travel on dates designated by BusinessWeek or prize will be forfeited in its entirety. Dates designated by BusinessWeek are subject to availability and blackout dates. If winner is unable to attend any portion of the Fantasy Career contest prize for any reason, BusinessWeek will have no obligation to award further compensation. BusinessWeek will not be liable for any compensation or replacement prize in the event any prize, or any portion of any prize, is cancelled, postponed or otherwise unavailable, for any reason whatsoever.

6. Prize Conditions: Prizes are not redeemable for cash or substitutable for any other item by winner and may not be transferred or assigned. BusinessWeek reserves the right to substitute a comparable prize of like or greater value for any prize, for any reason. Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state and local taxes and fees, plus any other incidentals. BusinessWeek will report the value of the grand prize on Form 1099. The Form 1099 will be issued to the winner and a copy will be filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Winners will be notified by email and Fedex by September 20. If any winning notification/prize is returned as undeliverable, prize will be forfeited and prize will be awarded to an alternate winner. Winners and travel guests of winners (who must travel at their own expense) will be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release form prior to receipt of a prize. In the event any guest is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, such guest’s parent/legal guardian will be required to sign and return all required documentation within the prescribed time-period. Non-compliance will result in disqualification and forfeit of prize. The winner’s liability/publicity release must be returned, properly executed within five calendar (5) days of notification of winning, after which the entrant will be deemed the winner. Failure to return the affidavit and release within the time allotted will disqualify the winner and an alternate winner will be selected. The guest’s liability and publicity release must be returned properly executed within twenty (20) days of notification. Due to the anticipated volume of entries, no correspondence will be acknowledged or returned.

7. Rights to Winning Entries: BusinessWeek has the right to edit, adapt, publish and/or modify, promote and otherwise use all winning entries, including essays, photos and/or videos, without further permission, notice or compensation in future promotional or editorial material. To protect the identity of any third parties mentioned by the entrant, BusinessWeek reserves the right to substitute an alias for real names. Any person depicted in any winning photograph or video will be required to sign a release prior to award of any prize. Acceptance of prize constitutes winner’s consent to irrevocably assign and transfer to The McGraw-Hill Companies any and all rights, title and interest in the winning entry, including, without limitation, all copyrights and trademarks.

8. General: Void where prohibited by law. By accepting the prize, winners grant to BusinessWeek the right to use their names and likenesses in advertising or promotion without further compensation or permission (except where prohibited by law). By participating, all entrants, winners and travel guests agree to release and hold Contest Entitiess and their respective parent companies and subsidiaries, and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and assigns, harmless against any and all liability, for loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense whatsoever including without limitation, property damage, personal injury and/or death which may occur in connection with, preparation for, travel to, or participation in Contest, or possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any Contest-related activity and claims based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement and merchandise delivery.

9. Winners List: For the winners names, visit www.businessweek.com, or send a self- addressed, stamped envelope, after October 1, 2004 and before December 31, 2004 to:

BusinessWeek Fantasy Career Contest-Winners List
c/o 303 Park Avenue South, #1275
New York, NY 10010

Or email us at: Fantasycareercontest@businessweek.com

10. Privacy: Winner will be required to give BusinessWeek his/her social security number, legal name, age, current address, and phone number. The social security number will be used for tax record keeping purposes only.
11. Disputes: By entering, each entrant accepts and agrees to be bound by these official rules and the decisions of the judges. Any dispute regarding these rules will be resolved by a panel of judges from BusinessWeek and their decision shall be final.

12. Official Rules: To receive a copy of these complete rules or ask any question regarding the rules please send a self addressed envelope to:

BusinessWeek Fantasy Career Contest-Rules Request
c/o 303 Park Avenue South, #1275
New York, NY 10010

Or email us at: Fantasycareercontest@businessweek.com