The Fantomen Swiss Wrist Watch was offered as a prize in the Fantomen Serie Barometer 2 Contest (which translates to Phantom Series Barometer 2) held by Semic Press in Sweden in 1982. The contest required the reader to rate comic strip stories published across 3 editions. The front cover of edition number 6 containing the contest can be seen below.
Found on the last page, we see a full page advertisement promoting the contest. The contest was held across 3 Fantomen comic books, all published in 1982, in edition numbers 4, 5 and 6. It required the reader of these comics to rate the stories from 1 to 5 and write down these numbers on the contest form.
Additionally, the publisher is asking for 2 questions to be answered and submitted as part of the contest, ‘Which of the numbers did you like best and which series would you like to read in Fantomen but which is not included now?’. The Fantomen Serie Barometer 2 contest page can be seen below.
Translated to English, the contest page reads:
Hello! Indeed, it is already time: for another barometer round. At the time of writing this we have no idea about the outcome of the first round- which was in #3 of the Phantom (they haven’t even come out yet). Therefore, we also have no idea how much better our new, simplified barometer system works. Well, we have to believe that it will, even if votes pour in (we really hope so) and we have to called in reinforcements for the cave’s mail & competition department. In short, the following applies:
In every third issue, the Serial barometer appears and then it contains three different partial barometers, i.e. three different ones numbers of the Fantomen must be assessed at the same time. Therefore, save on the Phantom during 1982.
Each feature in each issue is rated on a 5-point scale, where 5 points is the maximum rating and 1 the lowest rating (out-of-the-box features can even get 0 points, but you don’t find such bad stuff in Fantomen /Host! Hrml / so it is not relevant).
You can hand out as many 5s, 4s, etc. as you want. A top number should therefore only get 5s.
When you are finished and have filled in the three part barometers on this page, we want you to also answer two questions: Which of the numbers did you like best and which series would you like to read in Fantomen but which is not included now.
When this is also completed, fill in name and address and send in the ENTIRE PAGE (or a copy of it).
Two prizes were offered by Semic Press for the winners of the Fantomen Serie Barometer 2 contest. 10 wrist watches were offered for the first prize, with the face of the watch containing a profile image of the Phantom on a yellow background, made of metal in Switzerland.
The consolation prize was a Fantomen key ring, with an undisclosed amount on offer, with the contest advertisement notify us that the key ring was available ‘for everyone while stocks last’, made of rubber by Semic Press, first seen for sale in 1979 in Fantomen Shop.
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