Photo: PolenAZ (Getty Images)
What’s better than having a Snapchat handle? How about getting a free cruise? That’s exactly what happened to 15-year-old Darian Lipscomb.
Teen gets Carnival cruise in swap for Snapchat handle.
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Knowing that Darian Lipscomb likes to cruise, Carnival dangled the possibility of a sailing on the new Carnival Horizon in exchange for the Snapchat rights to @CarnivalCruise
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.#stayorvaycay #aroundtheworld #sailaway pic.twitter.com/0SXaBYjTU7— StayorVaycay (@StayorVaycay) March 29, 2018
Lipscomb, who is a huge fan of Carnival Cruises, decided to pick the Snapchat handle @CarnivalCruise when making a Snapchat. Well since Snapchat is a platform that plenty of companies want to get on board with, Carnival Cruises decided that they wanted to make a Snapchat handle. They also wanted the handle that Lipscomb was already owner of.
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[Carnival officials] made a plan that began with spreading posters around Prospect featuring a photo of the company’s “Chief Fun Officer,” retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, with the message, “Hey Prospect, does anyone know Darian?”
The company visited Lipscomb’s home Tuesday with a difficult-to-refuse offer: A free trip for the teenager and his family on the company’s new ship, the Carnival Horizon.
“I answered the door, walked outside and saw my name on a big truck. I was really surprised,” Lipscomb said. Lipscomb agreed to trade his Snapchat handle for the trip, which is valued at about $5,000.
“We thought this would be a fun way to claim our handle and reward a ‘superfan’ at the same time,” Carnival spokeswoman Robyn Fink said.
Lipscomb now says he just has to think of another Snapchat name. Hell, I wouldn’t have a problem trading in all my social media platform names in exchange for something free. I’ll even take a free burger. Hey, times are tough.