Seahawks’ Super Bowl touchdown costs Ford dealership $300,000

Seattle fans had reason to cheer during last Sunday's Super Bowl game, as wide reciever Percy Harvin returned the kick to start the second half, delivering an 87-yard touchdown that put the Seahawks up against the Broncos by 28-0. Jim Carey and his wife Mary Jane were screaming louder than most, as they were about to win a full refund on their newly-purchased, $53,190 Ford F-150 pickup — a Super Bowl promotion that cost the Hutcheson Ford dealership in St. James, Mo., a total of $300,000.

The "Super Weekend Sale" stated that if a customer purchased a car between January 29 and February 1, and the opening kick of either the first or second half of Super Bowl XLVIII resulted in a touchdown, Hutcheson Ford would provide a full refund of the entire vehicle's purchase price. The chance of this actually happening? Two and a half percent.

In all, 12 people will receive refunds ranging from $55,000 down to $10,000. Kathleen Frazier, marketing manager for the dealership, stated that what seemed like a gimmicky promotion to get customers through the door " blew up in our faces." Carey, a Vietnam veteran suffering from leukemia, told KMIZ-TV that he and his wife kept shouting, "Is this real? Is this real?" as Harvin sprinted down the field. And even after the touchdown manifested, many of the 12 winners presumed the dealership would fail to follow through with its promise.

Instead, Hutcheson Ford invited the winners to visit the dealership for a photo shoot, and promised they could spend the cash anyway they like, not just to repay the new vehicle's loan. The dealership plans to make the "Super Weekend Sale" an annual event, praying the slim odds don't bite them once again.