Batman Turkey
Batman wins condom competition (wiki commons)

Batman has won a condom competition run by Durex where couples can get emergency contraception in a rush delivery.

The conservative Muslim city, 130km from the Syrian border, was voted for by social media users in a Durex Facebook campaign, SOS Condoms.

Users were asked to vote to tell them which city they would like the service made available in - the winning city would have delivery staff on hand to provide condoms as and where they are needed.

The smartphone app allows users to enter their location, chose the product they want and have it delivered. "Of course, you can always rely on our discreet and professional delivery team," the website says.

Batman won by over 300 votes and notched up 1,577 in total. Runners-up were Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Paris.

A Bloomberg report said the competition highlighted the risk of online jokers taking advantage of well-intentioned internet competitions.

In 2010, another competition was hijacked by tricksters when Justin Bieber supposedly ran a competition asking what country he should tour next.

Durex
Batman will not get the SOS Condom service from Durex (wiki commons)

After getting 500,000 votes - and North Korea gaining the top spot - Bieber's representative said the vote had been "a spoof site".

Similarly, McDonald's ran a promotion with the Twitter hastag #McDStories, where people were asked about their enjoyable experiences at their restaurants. Instead, they faced a barrage of horror stories and the company quickly ended the campaign.

Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at EMarketer, told Bloomberg: "Any brand that wants to remain engaged with its audience has to have a social media presence. But any time a brand engages consumers in social media, there is the opportunity for abuse."

Andraea Dawson-Shepherd, a spokeswoman for Reckitt Benckiser, the owners of Durex, said that the SOS Condoms service would not be offered in Batman.

Facebook users appeared pleased with their effort. Austin Halter said: "Is this actually real? Hahaha," while Yilmaz Akinci added: "Bravo Batman."

Alison Lehr said: "This is the proof even superheroes need condoms! Yes, even Batman."

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