Marketers give away freebies all the time to generate buzz and promote their products.
The companys attorneys still hated the idea.
Worse still, the deeds would have to be registered which would cost the company a fortune.
Undaunted, Baker and two other men chartered a plane and flew to Yukon.
They met a local attorney named Van Roggen and explained the situation.
The bemused attorney replied that they could.
That was all Baker needed to hear.
The company paid $1,000 for the land.
Photo:Ashrkfn/Wikimedia Commons
The deed was carefully worded.
Everything had to he absolutely legal, explained Van Roggen.
The deeds excluded mineral rights.
In other words, other landowners might have to trespass on your square inch to reach theirs.
The ad campaign was launched on the Sergeant Preston radio show in January 27, 1955.
It also appeared in nearly a hundred newspapers across the country.
The campaign was a sensational success.
Quaker Oats cereal boxes flew off of grocers' shelves.
Meanwhile, letters poured in to Quaker Oats offices.
One kid sent in four toothpicks and some string, requesting his inch be fenced.
Later, Scrooge discovers the oil had come from leaking car engine.
Unfortunately, these deeds were worthless because none of them were formally registered.
In 1965, the Great Klondike Big Inch Land Company was dissolved and the land went back to Canada.
The 5 by 7 inch deeds, however, still hold some value.
The documents can fetch anywhere from $10 to $40 on internet auctions.
Price, Local history: Quaker Oats prize creates Yukon land rush in 1955,Akron Beacon Journal
