Posted on 09/08/2014 2:17:19 PM PDT by cornfedcowboy
Nothing lasts forever, not even a $100 Never Ending Pasta Pass from Olive Garden. But that price will buy you all the pasta, salad, bread and soda you can stuff in your gullet for seven weeks from the chain eatery with its new gimmick.
Despite the name, the never endingness of the deal is limited to seven weeks for whoever holds it.
And there’s another really super big catch, besides the one that promises pasta forever — only 1,000 of the pasta passes will be sold, reports USA Today, starting today at 3 p.m. ET on the Olive Garden web site. The passes are a piggyback PR stunt that goes along with Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Bowl event this month.
“What we’re trying to do is get some attention,” says Jay Spenchian, executive vice president of marketing. “It’s sure to provoke a reaction.”
If you’re dreaming of bringing all your friends out to eat on the pass, you might get a stern glance or two but no one’s going to smack that fork out of your buddy’s hand.
“Of course, if someone shares we do understand — we’re not policing the tables,” Spenchian explains, and doggie bags are fine as well.
Shades of the movie “The Guilt Trip”!
Are they also offering a free clogged artery check-up?.................
How many pounds will those carb loads add to a body in 7 weeks?
I sent texts to my family and friends about this offer. All of them expressed a great deal of, um, disgust.
Pasta can be pretty good but it is also cheap.
They’re sold out, at least in Canada.
When did they start selling food?
I’d be happy if somebody paid me $50 not to eat at Olive Garden. Shouldn’t be too hard, I’m doing it for nothing now.
I know a whole family that could put tears in their eyes and send them into bankruptcy in no more than 4 weeks.
I tried to get this offer. Before 3pm ET, it wouldn’t allow me to go the page to purchase this offer.
Beginning at 3pm, I was presented with a partial page for the offer. It never completed displaying the offer for me to make the purchase.
Before too long (15 minutes?) a nicely plotting page told me the offer had been sold out.
Unhappiness.
HF
I have no idea how many pounds it would add-but considering the lack of real food value of pasta made from bleached white flour, added to the calorie and carb numbers, I’m pretty sure there is more nutrition even in oh-maybe a bowl of Lucky Charms? I hope Olive Garden ordered extra-strength chairs to accommodate the size of the diners this will attract-here, piggies, piggies, piggies...
7 weeks of food for $100?
Gotta be a catch
My elder son is on the cross country team and they have big pasta parties the night before their meets. Maybe a good time to go.
Olive Garden says “PLEEEEEEEEEASE come into our buildings”. Not sure where this one rates on Bourdain’s “signs your restaurant is circling the drain” list, probably pretty close to the end.
Olive Garden got political and supported Obama I think, Obamacare too? I guess their customer base aren’t Obama’s voter base.
Let them suffer.
2 catches:
1 - only 1000 sold nationwide
2 - it’s not actually food
You still have to tip 20% off the original price...
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