Aotearoa will get a little sweeter this October as a giant lolly jar makes its way around the country.

The tour gives New Zealanders a chance to win a share of one million Airpoints Dollars (APD) in the Air New Zealand Sweepstakes.

The giant jar will pop up at 11 locations nationwide, from Whangārei to Invercargill.

Air New Zealand General Manager Domestic, Scott Carr, said Air New Zealand lollies are an iconic part of our culture.

“Our humble, hard-boiled lolly has sparked many important discussions in its time. What’s the best flavour? What’s the acceptable number of lollies to take? Do you suck yours or chew it?

“Well, we’ve got one more – how many lollies are in the Air New Zealand lolly jar?

“Kiwi from around the motu can come along to see the biggest lolly jar they might have ever seen, do some careful calculations, and submit their guess online.

Whoever correctly guesses the number of lollies in the jar or gets closest to it will claim the grand prize of 50,000 APD.

“The odds are stacked in your 'flavour' with the ability to submit a guess daily, so why not sweeten your chances of winning?”

Those who can’t see the lolly jar in person can join the guessing fun with a virtual AR version.

“If you’re using your mobile device, you can ‘drop’ the giant lolly jar into your backyard to get a sense of how big it actually is, or you can view it on a desktop device before submitting your guess online.”

The lolly jar is over 4.5 metres tall from top to bottom, and every single lolly inside has been counted by hand.

The lolly counting took place with an external partner and a team of lolly counters tallying up every lolly. Not a single lolly was left behind.

Along with the grand prize of 50,000 APD, the deal is sweetened with additional daily prizes of 10,000 APD up for grabs online, a 10,000 APD prize at each location the jar pops up in, and hundreds of 500 APD spot prizes to be won.

“The best thing about Airpoints Dollars is they can be spent on so many different things.

“You can spend them on domestic flights around New Zealand or a dream holiday overseas, buy a Koru membership, book a rental car, or treat yourself or your whānau with something from the Airpoints store.”

The Air New Zealand Sweetstake runs from 1 – 20 October and is open to anyone who is a New Zealand based Airpoints member. You can join Airpoints for free by signing up at airpoints.co.nz.

Air New Zealand Sweetstake activation schedule: 

Friday 4 October Garden Place, Hamilton 7am – 2pm

Sunday 6 October Marine Parade, opposite 21 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui 7am – 2pm

Tuesday 8 October Millennial Arch Sculpture, Napier 7am – 2pm

Thursday 10 October 2 Bunny Street in front of the train station, Wellington 7am – 2pm

Sunday 13 October National Aquarium 546 Marine Parade, Nelson 7am – 2pm

Tuesday 15 October 100 Cathedral Square, Christchurch 7am – 2pm

Thursday 17 October Queenstown Central 19 Grant Road, Queenstown 7am – 2pm

Friday 18 October Feldwick Gates, Queens Park, Invercargill 7am – 2pm

Sunday 20 October The Octagon, Dunedin 7am – 2pm

To participate online, visit airnzsweetstake.co.nz between 7am and 11pm to access the virtual AR version to enter a guess.