I bagged £230 of freebies from my favourite brands with my inspired trick – it’s so easy a schoolkid could do it
A SAVVY man blagged £230 of freebies from his favourite brands - after he wrote them POEMS.
Andrew Cunningham, from Glasgow, spotted a tip online which claimed supermarkets send free gifts if customers send them a personalised rhyme.
The 29-year-old decided to test it out and wrote targeted short poems for 50 of his favourite household brands, restaurants and shops including Boots, Waitrose and Yorkshire Tea.
Incredibly, Andrew was sent around £230 worth of freebies from 16 of the companies he contacted.
His top gifts included £40 of Scrub Daddy supplies, £30 of Odeon Luxe cinema tickets and £40 worth of Molton Brown goods.
He also got free food and drinks from KFC, Pringles, Richmond and Tunnock's.
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Andrew's experiment was such a triumph that he's compiling more poems for a further 50 companies to see how much more he can get.
Andrew, who runs money blog Capital Matters, said: "I had seen people posting online that they got free stuff from supermarkets after sending a poem.
"I thought 'why don't I try it with other places as well as supermarkets?' "I wandered around my house and took notes of the most common brands I use, so if I did get any freebies I knew I'd use them.
"Then I started writing the poems - I tried to personalise them focusing on all the things I liked about that brand.
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"I sent out 50 and got 16 freebies back which is a 32 per cent success rate.
"If I've learnt anything from this, it's if you're looking to buy something expensive soon, email them a poem and they might give you a discount or a freebie."
While lots of brands didn't get back to him - from Persil to Disney Store and Tresemme to Moet - several did.
After sending personalised poems, he got a 16-pack of AA batteries from Duracell and free cinema tickets from both Odeon Luxe and Scotsman Picturehouse, Edinburgh.
He also got a 50 per cent off voucher for his local Thai restaurant, Thaikun, in Glasgow, and teacakes with a matching branded hat from Tunnock's.
Andrew said: "The branded woolly hat was probably the funniest thing I got. They sent me a box of teacakes too."
Poem template
If you're looking for inspiration to copy Andrew's poem hack, he's laid out some of his successful ones below.
Andrew's first approach was to Yorkshire Tea, with the following poem: "O Yorkshire Tea, your decaf blend, Is a perfect calm, a true godsend.
"For in each cup, you bring a grace, A gentle comfort, a warm embrace.
"With Yorkshire Tea, my heart finds ease, In every sip, a moment of peace."
He was sent £10 of free decaf teabags as a thank you for the poem.
Some of his most successful outcomes included getting a gift box from Scrub Daddy worth £40, after he sent them the following poem: "Scrub Daddy, a sponge that's a gem, Lasting through scrubs, again and again.
"Its smiley face grinning through mess, With durability that's simply the best.
"From tough to gentle, it never will fail, A kitchen hero that's built to prevail."
He also got a selection of handwash and a branded soap holder from Molton Brown, which he estimated came to around £40 too.
His poem to Molton Brown had read: "Molton Brown, we first met in '16, Since then, you've become my self-care routine.
WHAT ANDREW GOT
Here's everything Andrew managed to blag from his favourite brands...
- Yorkshire Tea - Free Regular Decaf and Bedtime Decaf teabags worth £10
- Duracell - 16 AA Batteries worth £10
- Treasure Trails - 3-For-2 Coupon
- ODEON - 2 ODEON Luxe Cinema Tickets worth £30
- Richmond Sausages - vouchers worth £6
- KFC - vouchers worth £10
- Pringles - vouchers worth £3
- Scrub Daddy - Gift Box worth £40
- Ocean Saver Spray - 15% Off Coupon
- Tunnocks - Box of 6 Teacakes and Branded Hat
- Caesars Dog Food - £5 in Vouchers
- LSA - 20% Off Coupon
- Woodwick - 20% Off Coupon
- Thaikun Thai - 50% Off Voucher
- Molton Brown - Metal Infinite Bottle with Body Wash and samples - worth £40
- Scotsman Picturehouse, Edinburgh - 2 Free Cinema Tickets worth £30
ESTIMATED TOTAL WORTH: £237
"Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel's a seaside dream, And your Indian Cress makes my hair gleam."
He also got a £3 Pringles voucher, a free KFC chicken burger and popcorn chicken, a £5 voucher for Caesars dog food and a £6 voucher for Richmond sausages.
Andrew said: "The poems were never aimed to be anything serious, they're just for fun.
"I think the Scrub Daddy one was my favourite - we got a selection of sponges, a Dish Daddy and lots of refills.
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"They sent it in a really fun box with nice packaging - they're a really fun company.
"I think that would be my tip - if you know a company that does fun and light-hearted marketing, they'll probably be a good shout."