A woman in New Zealand has reportedly won a brand new BMW after being the first to respond to an April Fools’ Day ad placed in a local newspaper.
The woman, identified as Tianna Marsh, arrived at the Team McMillian BMW car dealership in Newmarket at 5:30 a.m. after seeing an ad for the dealership’s “April Fools’ Day Special” on the front page of the New Zealand Herald newspaper.
The newspaper reports Marsh drove her own 15-year-old car to the dealership, where she was met by the sales manager, Gavin Penfold.
“When I met her outside, I just acted dumb,” Penfold told the Herald. “She said, ‘I’m here for the Herald competition,’ [and] I said, ‘I know nothing about it.’”
Marsh then followed the ad’s instructions to “ask for Tom” and was rewarded with a brand new BMW 1 Series.
“It couldn’t have gone to a more deserving winner,” said Penfold, who could not be reached by ABC News.
A spokesman for BMW says the ad was designed to attract someone who was willing to take a chance.
Dealership officials told the Herald they hired security guards in case a large crowd showed up, but it turned out Marsh was the first and one of the only few.
“The ad was intentionally vague and definitely appeared too good to be true, but in this case we wanted to turn the tables and reward the first person who was willing to take the chance,” BMW spokesman Ed Finn told the Herald.
Marsh’s new car appropriately came with a license plate that reads, “NOF00L.”
Her old car will be sold by the dealership with proceeds going a charity that provides, “modified, ride-on cars to young disabled children,” the Herald reports.