/ eternity: the puzzle with the £1million prize

Eternity: the jigsaw with the £1 million prize was the Ertl Company's first foray into the games market. Ertl wanted to launch the puzzle to trade buyers at January's Toy Fair to secure listings; launch the puzzle to consumers in June; and then create pre-Christmas excitement.

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A teaser mailing, preview press release and a chance to photograph Eternity's £1 million prize brought trade buyers and the media to Ertl's stand at Toy Fair.

Eternity went on general sale in June. The world's media were present as Eternity's creator, Christopher Monckton, destroyed the only copy of the solution - the race to the prize began!

November. Sales were steady but media interest had died down. That was until it emerged the creator had made a serious error and was having to sell his ancestral home to cover the prize. money. Reality or publicity stunt? It didn't matter. The story captured the media's imagination and catapulted Eternity back in to the limelight in a key buying period.

RESULTS

/ £5m of media coverage, including every national newspaper and on BBC 1, ITV and Five.
/ Demand for the puzzle far outweighed expectations. Ertl quadrupled its manufacturing run.
/ Eternity was the top selling Christmas puzzle.