Get a call from the Queen this Blue Monday!

Blue Monday is coming, but online Bingo site Jackpotjoy have got the perfect remedy – a phone call from the Queen of Bingo herself...

That’s right, it’s official: the most depressing day of the year is coming this 23 of January. It’s going to be the worst Monday in what’s basically a month of Mondays. It’s been ages since anyone was paid, the weather’s cold, the day’s short, it’s been ages since Christmas, it’s ages until the next holiday, no-one’s stuck to their new year’s resolutions and everyone’s gonna be feeling rubbish!

The concept of Blue Monday was invented by a part-time professor of psychology from Cardiff University (though, as a result of his formula doing ridiculous things like multiplying the time since Christmas with the time since we all failed our new year’s resolutions, or adding weather to debt the idea has since been disowned by the university) but was really popularised by an article from a Guardian columnist and has since stuck as a fun marketing idea.

For some reason, in 2012 there has been some debate on which day it falls on, with a number of press sites calling it in on the 16 of Jan, while others wait for the 23. The Wikipedia article on the subject changed a number of times during the 16 at first confirming it was the 16, then confirming it was the 23 – and this despite their being an official formula present to calculate it – though this is likely to do nothing more than highlight how careful one must be when trusting the well meaning Wiki site for honest information.

However, regardless of when the official day falls, for members of the UKs most popular gaming website, Jackpotjoy, it will undoubtedly be falling on the 23 of January as that’s the day when their Queen of Bingo will be taking to the phones to call them up with cash gifts.

That’s right, this year to gaming site Jackpotjoy have given The Queen of Bingo a hefty wodge of dosh to distribute between lucky members on Blue Monday. She’ll be giving out the cash by calling up lucky players during the day – and if they answer the call with the site’s unforgettable catchphrase of Oi Oi Oi they’ll win an extra bonus to boot.

In order to get in the running for a call you should visit Jackpotjoy.com, visit their promotions page and input your number into the Royal Ring Around promotion – it’s that easy! On the day, the Queen herself will – like call centre workers around the country – grab a Starbucks, pull up a pew and start going through the list of phone numbers contacting as many people as possible before home-time.

She’ll be having a busy day though as – also, just like all the other office workers in the country – she’ll be spending a fair portion of her day on Facebook giving out even more prizes and answering questions from her adoring public.

“We really wanted something to brighten up the day,” explained a spokesperson for Jackpotjoy.com. “And we couldn’t think of anything more fun than bringing the Queen of Bingo into the office for a full day on the phones.”

Jackpotjoy’s campaign has been running for a little over a year now, and despite the site offering a full suite of Online Bingo, Slots and Casino Games, it was The Queen of Bingo character who went straight to the nation’s hearts.

Alongside being quirky and a bit surreal, the event is set to break boundaries in marketing. Using phones and Facebook in this way will plug into social media in a way that’s not really been seen before. The entire event will be live, with MP3s of the calls and video of the Queen being posted onsite and on Facebook during the day.

Jackpotjoy claim not to be expecting the event to go viral though, their commitment is clearly elsewhere: “We just want it to be fun. If people decide to share it then great, but this is really about giving something back to our amazing members.”

It’s a good thing it’s not just cynical marketing then, or else we’d expect to see something back again in mid June when, according to an academic press release (that was sponsored by Walls Ice Cream) the happiest day of the year comes to greet us with smiles...