The contest is over, so put it on sale

One Direction POP at Safeway store, Vancouver, BC

One Direction is a popular boy band. As happens with most pop acts, the band's managers try to find ways to extract the maximum amount of revenue from the market during the act's brief popularity. Some of the licensing agreements are a bit questionable, while other are a good fit the with audience demographic.

Selling special edition packages of Mini Oreos and Ritz, perfect for school lunches, is a great fit with the tween demographic. And running a contest for "A One Direction VIP Experience" is a great way to get kids to pester their parents to buy the cookies.

But what happens when the contest is over?

1dsummer.ca Contest Website (September 16, 2014)

The boxes are just a hollow reminder that you didn't win, or even remember to enter. So, from the regular price of $3,28 the boxes were marked down to $1.99 and then down to $1.49.

Do I care that the contest is over? No. Is a cheap lunchbox treat worth having around the house? Yes indeed. Does this do anything positive for the One Direction brand? Not at all.

But what is the alternative? Throw the remaining boxes in the bin, which would be even worse for the brand's reputation. I'm happy to pick up a deal based on an expired promotion.