Yo, Beardy’s heading on vacation this week so VCN’s going to be quiet for a little while. We should be getting back to complaining about stuff sometime around July 1. Peace out, nerds.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Easiest. Contest. Ever.
Posted by Beardy on December 12th, 2009
If you have a camera, a piece of paper and 5 spare minutes you should probably go ahead and shoot an entry for the Infolinks “Double with a Bubble” video contest. This video will tell you everything you need to know about entering:
So that’s it. Take some footage of yourself showing off a bubble or a sign that says the word “double” and you could win one of 61 prizes. 61 PRIZES! Sure, 40 of those are t-shirts and tote bags but Infolinks is also giving away 10 video cameras and 10 ipods. Plus the best video of them all gets $1,000.
The deadline to enter is January 1st and so far, only 10 entries have been submitted. So if you’re a cheap bastard and you’re heading to a Christmas party next weekend, bring a camera and some bubble gum with you. You can tell your friends that your present to them is that you will shoot, edit and upload a “Double with a Bubble” entry for them!
Crash the Superbowl: When will we know the finalsts?
Posted by Beardy on December 10th, 2009
Do yourself a favor. Try these.
The total number of entries in the Crash the Superbowl competition has inched up from 4047 to 4062. Over on the contest forum there seemed to be a lot of frantic people who’s entries never appeared in the gallery. So hopefully this means that all those folks have had their issues resolved and all entries that were submitted by the deadline are now up.
Officially, Doritos will be announcing their 6 finalists for the Crash the Superbowl Competition on January 5th. But from what I’ve read around the interwebs, they will start notifying those finalists in the middle of this month. So if you haven’t heard anything by Christmas you probably should make other plans for the Superbowl.
Recently we asked you guys to send us tips for what you thought were the best Crash entries submitted this year. We’ll be announcing our picks for our favorites next Wednesday. So check back to see if you’re a winner! (in our hearts) And if you have any other entries you want to bring to our attention, leave the links as a comment to this post.
Help Beardy find the best of the CTSB entries!
Posted by Beardy on November 23rd, 2009
Beardy is a dreamer of big dreams. And Beardy’s latest big dream was to watch all 4047 entries in this year’s crash the superbowl contest and list his predictions for which commercials would make it to the finals. But alas, this was a pipe dream. For if one were to actually sit down and watch every, single entry that was submitted to the Doritos contest this year they’d be stuck in front of a computer for almost three full days. Beardy still wants to compile a list of predictions, but he could use some help.
So, have you seen a spot that you thought was especially awesome? Did you see one that you know is destined to make it to the finals? Or did you create an amazing commercial that you think should be recognized? Or did you make a spot was just OK but you feel like doing some shameless self promotion? If you answered in the affirmative to any of these questions, let us know. Send us a link to your favorite CTSB entries at videocontestnews@gmail.com or just leave it in a comment. In the next few days, I’ll edit this post and insert links to some of the more interesting suggestions I’ve received.
Flavor Flaaaav!?
Posted by Beardy on November 15th, 2009
I thought I’d give the posts about the Crash the Superbowl contest a break for a while but Doritos just added a new batch of last minute uploads. That brings the total number of entries to 4023. Yeesssh. That’s a lot. I pretty much have given up on watching them all but I have been browsing. And in my browsing I saw this spot that features the real Flavor Flav!
Is that insane or what? It was just a matter of time before someone tried to make the finals using a “celebrity,” I guess. But the above commercial is a huge waste of Flavor Flav! He’s just sitting there. It’s not funny or interesting and the Doritos don’t even get more than a few seconds of screen time. I imagine it’ll be a real turn off to the judges since it’s pretty obvious that the folks behind this entry assumed that having Flav would be enough to propel them to the finals. But I think if Doritos wanted Flavor Flav as a sponsor, they would have gone out and hired him on their own.
Oh, the entry is listed as being submitted by “FlavorFlav.” However, someone in the comment section states that Flav did not write or direct the spot. He says that “two 25 year olds from Los Angeles, Matthew and Marthinus,” created the commercial. If Flavor Flav HAD actually made this entry himself it’d be many times more interesting to me.
UPDATE: The New York Post covered Flav’s entry into the CTSB contest and they imply that Flav himself created the commercial. They even got a response about the entry from someone at Doritos. Here’s the entire blurb from the Post:
Flavor Flav must be hard-up for cash. We hear the VH1 reality show star and erstwhile rapper is trying his hand as a TV commercial director as part of Doritos’ annual “Crash the Super Bowl” ad contest, in which users are asked to submit their own ads to compete for a $1 million prize. “He did this totally randomly and unprovoked,” says a source at the company. “And it’s actually pretty damn good.”
This is an interesting story and it’s just the type of thing that shows like TMZ would love to cover because it includes good video they can use. I wouldn’t be surprised if Flav’s entry was on TV a few times this week. That’d be great for Doritos but not so great for the team that made the spot. Dortitos will get lots of free advertising but the entry will get over-exposed. Who would consider a commercial to be the best of the Superbowl if they already saw it on the news in November? Maybe Doritos should just buy it right now and start airing it. It wouldn’t just be a commercial then, it’d be a story worthy of some news coverage. I also read today that Flavor Flav is more than $180,000 behind in his taxes. Man, imagine the story if Doritos paid Flav’s tax bill in exchange for that commercial!
Ripe for the plucking: Lending Tree Contest
Posted by Beardy on October 30th, 2009
Lending Tree is running a video contest to promote its new “You to the rescue” campaign on the contest site, Tongal. The top prize in this one is 5 grand and you don’t even need to come up with your own idea! Five approved concepts have already been posted and are just waiting for people to film them. The deadline was originally supposed to be a few days ago but even though 20 entries had already been recived, the contest deadline was extended until Monday, November 2nd.
That might mean that none of the 20 submitted entries are good enough to take the top prize. So you have three days to swoop in and win this one! Cancel your Halloween party and get filming.
Ripe for the plucking: AntiHIVirus
Posted by Beardy on October 3rd, 2009
Whenever I see a contest that’s got really confusing instructions or is about a really unappealing subject I always seriously consider entering. Why? Because if I think the instructions are confusing and if I think that the topic is unappealing then probably 90% of filmmakers will feel the same way. If a contest is hard to enter, enter it. It might take a lot of time and research to get a strong concept together but if you do a half-way decent job the sponsor will be thrilled that they got at least one non-crappy entry.
I mention all this because for the last few days I have been trying to wrap my brain around a contest called AntiHIVirus. Yes…it’s a video contest about HIV. Specifically, the goal is for filmmakers to create PSAs about HIV prevention.
But here’s the catch; the ads are to be aimed at an international audience. Therefore, contestants are encouraged to use little or NO DIALOGUE.
This is a very, very attractive contest to enter. Here’s why:
- The winners are picked by judges
- There is no public voting
- There are three top prizes: $5K, $3K and $2K
- The subject matter and the no dialogue thing will discourage a lot of people from entering.
There is one big “con” to this contest though. All entries are hidden until after the submission period ends. So you don’t know if 2 people have entered or 200 people have entered. But really, who the heck wants to make a dialogue-free spec PSA about HIV?? I shoot video contest entries for topics that I think will be fun to cover. And this contest does not seem fun at all.
After days of trying to think of a good concept for this one I’m throwing in the towel. The deadline to enter is October 13th. Can you come up with something by then?
The video contest that can’t get no respect
Posted by Beardy on September 25th, 2009
The ghost of happyjoel
This next contest we heard about thanks to super-video contest winner HappyJoel. In fact, it’s HIS contest. After having some fun doing an imitation of Rodney Dangerfield for Conan’s “Please blow up my car” contest, Joel decided he needed to encourage others to also channel Rodney.
The rules of the contest are amusing so I’ll just post them straight from Joel’s site. After years of being frustrated by the limiting rules of other contests, Joel decided to keep the restrictions on his own pretty loose:
“You must submit a video of your best Rodney Dangerfield impersonation.
ALL THE JOKES MUST BE ORIGINAL! YOU CANNOT USE ANY OF RODNEYS OLD ROUTINE! Just jokes IN THE STYLE of Rodney Dangerfield.
Post YOUR video as a response to MY video by midnight October 4th, 2009. Winner announced Monday, October 5th. Here’s the link for my video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Hm-UFvWtQ
1st PRIZE: $50 iTunes Gift Card
2nd PRIZE: $25 iTunes Gift Card
3RD Prize: My intern and I will call you and say hi.
Since it’s my own video contest, I’m finally going to run one the way I wish they all were run. The winner is to be determined by me and me alone. There is no time limit minimum or maximum. I am picking based solely on which one I think is the funniest. I don’t care about production value, I don’t care if it was filmed with a webcam, cell phone or HD CRX-500 or whatever the hell it is. NO age limit. Any Nationality. Just make it funny, make it watchable, and make it feel like Rodney.”
So far, only 2 people have entered and one of them is Joel’s personal assistant for hire from India! The assistant’s entry cracks me up but I think it’s ineligible to win. Still, it’s funny so I’ll post it as inspiration.
So there are two itunes cards up for grabs and only one entry so far! This one definitely qualifies as “ripe for the plucking.” You know what I like best about this contest? That the winners will be announced the day after the contest closes. Joel understands that in any video contest, the waiting is the hardest part.
The asinine video contest that’s getting people busted by the cops
Posted by Beardy on September 17th, 2009
Yeah, whatever.
I don’t know if this story is more depressing or more infuriating. This week, some moron in Houston was charged with criminal mischief after he was seen running around his neighborhood posting copies of the “Obama as the Joker” poster. Why did he do that? To win what is undoubtedly the most douchebaggiest, video contest ever.
A right-wing radio talk show host named Alex Jones is holding a video contest via his website infowars.com. Now before I go any farther, let me say right here that if I’m anything, I’m a political moderate. I don’t like jerks, liars or vandals of any political persuasion. In my book, people should be judged by their actions more than their ideas. So if you want to believe that 9/11 was an “inside job” or that the president is somehow going to take away your food(!?) then you go ahead and believe that. But when you start propagating lies to push your agenda forward or if you encourage people to damage private and public property, well….then we’ve got a problem. And that’s the kind of garbage that’s going on over at Infowars.com. Actually, Alex Jones and his fans seem to have a bigger beef with the government in general than they do with Obama. They are equal opportunity protesters and they have plenty of anti-republican and anti-George Bush. Anti-John Mccain stuff on their site too. So I guess this isn’t really a left/right issue. It’s more of an assholes/non-assholes issue.
Anyway, back to the video contest in question. This Alex Jones guy is giving away 3 prizes; $1,000, $500 and $200 to the three best videos he receives of people hanging up the Obama as the Joker posters. This is from the instructions he posted on his site:
Alex Jones says "Hey kids, juvenile delinquency is fun and now it can win you big bucks!"
“The posters can be related to any subject you like, whether it be the swine flu vaccine, fluoride in the water, police brutality, genetically modified food, or the man-made global warming hoax. Pick any issue you like, make a poster and then film yourself posting it in public and upload the video to You Tube or similar websites.”
To be honest, this is a pretty good idea for a video contest. Participants have to include the name of the website on some or all of their posters so it’s a nice way to get a lot of cheap advertising. Plus it gets people’s attention. Hey…just look how many times I’ve had to mention Infowars.com in this post! So it is effective. But it also very irresponsible. Alex Jones is basically saying that if you commit vandalism you might win some cash. Ok, actually he says the opposite of that. Again, here’s a warning from his website:
“Note: Obama Joker posters should be posted in public commons where other fliers, public announcements, handbills, etc., are posted. Please do not post on federal or private property as this will be considered vandalism and will be counterproductive and diminish the message of the Obama Joker poster.”
Great. Alex Jones does not condone vandalism. Oh…except that he totally does. The contest has actually gotten a lot of entries and many of them show people breaking the law like crazy! Here are a few entries from the Infowars site. Keep in mind, these aren’t some videos that I pulled off of youtube. These videos were embedded on Infowars.com by someone who works on the website.
Both of these videos show people doing exactly what the Infowars website says they shouldn’t. Yet the website promotes and displays them anyway. The people in these videos are seen postering public and private property. The 16 and 17 year old kids in the second video are actually hanging up posters with propaganda-filled bumper stickers. They’re sticking them on glass doors and vending machines for God’s sake. Vandalism that leaves a sticky residue is the most annoying kind of vandalism if you ask me.
These are just two of the many, many entries that show people breaking the law in the name of winning a stupid video contest. I don’t want to post anymore but you can see the other entries right here: http://www.infowars.com/the-obama-joker-1000-video-contest/
Wait, I will post one more. This video not only shows a bunch of idiots in clown make-up defacing things like newspaper boxes and parking signs, it features an especially bat shit crazy dude harassing some goofball reporter as he’s trying to do a story about the traffic or whatever. The clown make-up guy unleashes a tirade about the media and though he seemed a little freaked at first, the reporter goes on to handle himself pretty well. Notice that video cuts out when it’s the report’s turn to start talking. I’m guessing his best, most intelligent retorts didn’t make the final cut:
This dumbass video contest has been going on since August and 2 participants have been “detained” by police in at least two separate incidents. The first (a teenager in Florida) was questioned but never charged. He will probably have to make restitution of some kind though. He admitted to hanging 500 of the posters and sometimes used GLUE to stick them up.
The guy that was stopped by cops the other day also used F%^&ing glue to stick his posters on public and private property. People defending these guys say that their first amendment rights are being abused. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Do I even have to point out that the First Amendment does not give you the right to smear glue all over lampposts and newspaper boxes and street signs?
Vandalism caused in the name a video contest
Here’s an article about the guy in Houston and it includes a news clip. In the video, you can see the aftermath of his handiwork; posters that can’t be fully removed because some jerk stuck them up with glue.
News Story: Man Charged Over Obama ‘Joker’ Posters
One final point, I’m not hating on this contest because I’m offended by the Obama as the Joker/Socialism poster. But I am hating on it in part because the posters are stupid. Can someone please tell me WTF The Joker has to do with SOCIALISM!?!? In the movie, The Joker robs from the rich and gives to NOBODY! If he took all that money and sent to it to AIG that would be one thing but he doesn’t. The Joker burned his money because he’s a psychopathic anarchist not a “Socialist.”
Alex Jones claims to be the “creator” of the Obama/Socialism poster. Actually he just stole the image from some artist’s flickr account and stuck the word socialism on there. So not only is Alex Jones an instigator of vandalism he’s a content and credit thief.
The video contest is still open for another 2 days. So if you’re a jerk and you want to enter I guess there’s still time.
Ripe for the plucking: Psoriasis Cure Now
Posted by Beardy on September 10th, 2009
Once in a while here at the Video Contest News we’ll be profiling contests that are just begging to be entered and won by anyone with an ounce of talent. I’ve been trying to come up with a good name for this category of video contests and the most fitting phrase I can think of is “ripe for the plucking.” Yeah, it’s kind of corny but hey, there are a lot of open contests that are seriously ripe and ready for you to come along and win them.
Our first “Ripe for the plucking” contest is a perfect example; The Psoriasis Cure Now 2009 Video Contest. Here’s what they’re looking for:
“The winning videos will be used to educate people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis about valuable resources they can access to connect with other psoriasis patients. Your mission is to show psoriasis patients the value of these resources.”
There are lots more details on the website. Long story short, Psoriasis sucks and the goal of the contest is to educate people about how they can fight it. Psoriasis Cure Now is awarding TWO $5,000 prizes and EIGHT $500 prizes! Holy crap, that’s a lot of money. The deadline to enter is October 20th BUT…if you get your entry in by next Monday, September 14th you will qualify for “EarlyBird” Prizes. There are two categories to enter “Walk” and “Web” (again, check the website for the full story) and one Earlybird entry from each will get $1,000.
You hear that you lazy bastards!? If you enter by Monday you will have a shot at winning one of two $1,000 earlybird prizes. And guess how many entries there are right now….EIGHT!! Eight entries and $2,000 is up for grabs! You can see the “Walk” entries here and the “Web” entries here. Can you top those? Do you have some free time this weekend? If so, bust out that camera and bitch slap psoriasis with your talent and win that EarlyBird prize!
Check out all the rules here and then get filmin’! http://www.psoriasis-cure-now.org/contest/index.php
