The Worst New Year's Giveaway Ever

It’s the promotion that no one wants. A funeral home in Georgia is offering an all-expenses paid burial if…
1.    You sign a contract in advance stating that you will be drinking and driving on New Year’s Eve.
2.    You actually do drink and drive that night.
3.    You die as a result of the drinking and driving.

Sound extreme? That’s the point.

“Sometimes you have to go to extremes to get peoples’ attentions,” said Barry Miller, co-owner of the McGuire, Jennings and Miller Funeral Home in Rome, Ga.

There’s no doubt that it brings attention to Miller’s funeral home and probably goes a long way towards promoting it. But Miller actually started this New Year’s promotion ten years ago, while working at a different funeral home in Tennessee, as a way to raise awareness for Drunken Driving. He has since dubbed this Operation Stop and Think.

“I had a family member killed by a drunk driver,” he said.  “So I decided to do something about it so that other people didn’t have to go through what I did.”

Call it an unusual scare tactic. Any person looking to take advantage of this promotion has to go through a lot of hoops. According to Miller, you have to sober when you come in to sign the contract. You also need to provide a valid driver’s license, which the funeral home will then turn over to the police. So that right there could complicate your drinking and driving plans.