[SDCC] LEGO Responds to the Minifigure Giveaway

I was contacted earlier today by LEGO PR and received the following statement regarding the minifigure giveaway at San Diego Comic Con:

Regarding the SDCC minifigure raffle, we can assure you that, contrary to the speculation, the giveaway was in no way rigged or predetermined. After several years at SDCC where minifigure giveaways have left room for improvement, we did implement a new system this year, which was then adapted at the request of the SDCC organizers. Many of the things that are being discussed online about the manner in which we conducted the raffle are not based in fact.

We acknowledge and regret that there were crowd control issues on Thursday, but those were rectified, and the new process for the raffle ran smoothly for the remainder of the show. We did not distribute specific tickets to specific consumers, nor did we favor children over adults. The raffle was managed randomly in an attempt to be as equitable as possible so that the largest possible audience at the show had a fair chance to win. We are unable to control who wins, and we have no interest in a pre-determined outcome. Our goal is to offer a limited edition collectible to as many fans as possible in a fair and equitable manner. Given the nature of a limited edition giveaway, we understand that fans may be disappointed with the results. We are equally disappointed that there is an audience who receive limited edition figures and then sell them at a premium online; this is not in our interest, nor is it the intention of our activity at SDCC.

It is unfortunate that fan disappointment is manifesting in a proliferation of misinformation about our intentions and/or the manner in which we conducted the raffle. We have worked hard over the years to improve our SDCC raffles and we always seek to learn by doing. As we consider future plans, we will carefully review this year’s experience and the valuable feedback that our fan community shares, in order to continuously deliver a positive brand experience.

What do you think? Thoughts? Reactions?