The days are long gone when radio stations give away anything beyond money and concert tickets. But back in the classic days of Top 40, everyone had something to reward listeners for lending their ears. It could be T-shirts or key chains, something unique that directly tied into the station - a reminder that cash literally could not buy. 

I had one of the cards below, although they never called my name on air and to add insult to injury, they misspelled my surname! But I still have that card to this day, mistake and all.



I do have one weird memory about this. My older brother was also a Chum-Bug, although I didn't know it back then. One day, a young neighbour kid named Debbie came pounding on the front door of the house, all excited. "Ricky!", she screamed at my brother, "I just heard your name called on CHUM. You've gotta call them right away!" 

We had no idea about any of it, but he phoned the station, telling them what happened. They said they had no idea what he was talking about and apologized but he hadn't won anything. And that was the closest any of my family came to getting anything out of a Chum-Bug card. But it sure was exciting in that moment!

Another promotional item came from CKFH:



I always loved the T-shirts best and won a few of them over the years, although never from Toronto. Here are the two I called long distance to snag. Only one still fits!




Did you ever win something from a radio station you loved? Do you still have it?