The phrase "Most Notable" wouldn't fit on the banner so I went with "Best"

Back in December I was planning on doing an article about the “Best Video Contest Entries of 2011.”  I did one in both 2010 and 2009 but I never got around to doing the 2011 list.  The thing is, 2011 wasn’t really a kick ass year for “consumer generated content.” There just weren’t many big stand outs.  So I figured that before we get any deeper into 2012 I’d just do a quick run down of the best video contest entries of the past year.  But here’s the thing; these entries aren’t really “the best.”  Anyone who has entered even a single video contest knows that the “best” entries don’t always win.  So let’s say that these are the most notable contest entries of 2011.  Basically this will be a list of the biggest winners of the past year.

In February, the Crash the Super Bowl finalist Pug Attack aired during the Super Bowl and scored the Million Dollar ad meter bonus.  But you know, I never really liked Pug Attack since it was just kind of a re-do of the CTSB winning ad, Underdog. One CTSB spot I did like though was the Pepsi Max commercial, Love Hurts.  That ad also aired during the game and won a $400,000 ad meter bonus.

The spring of 2011 was a very good time for a Lexington, KY man named Walt Arnett.  In March his “Cash America rap” won first place and $10,000 on Cash America’s Cash Rap video contest.  In May this video won him 1 of the 6 Mini Coopers that Dairy Queen gave away in their Mini Blizzard Treatment video contest.  And then just a week or so later his entry won the $150,000 grand prize in Excedrin’s What’s Your Headache video contest.  Interesting note: All three of these contests used facebook votes to determine the winners.

During the summer, Gain detergent awarded a million dollars to this video in their Smell Like a Million Bucks video contest.  The winner of that contest was determined by a public vote so of course the winning entry wasn’t that great.

And….that’s it.  Those were all the big contests on 2011.  It used to be that there were several big video contests a year where the grand prize would be at least $25,000.  And as far as I can remember, there weren’t any “make our TV commercial” contests last year either.  I guess that sites like Poptent, Tongal and Mofilm have made those kind of big contests unnecessary. But a few contest entries did make it onto TV in 2011.  In November, Triaminc started airing a Poptent-made ad entitled 102.  And this cool Mofilm-made ad, “Chevy Runs Deep” actually aired during the MLB AllStar game.

Now that I mention it, Mofilm ran a ton of huge video contests in 2011.  Each contest was based around a different film festival or arts event and each competition had an over all winner.  You can see all of the top Mofilm winners of 2011 in this convenient youtube playlist:  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL42175AE837CCDF68

Finally, I think I’ll close out this list by naming VCN’s pick for The Best Video Contest Entry of 2011.  This was an easy call.  Top honors go to “Duct Tron” which won first place and $4,750 (?) in Tongal’s Stuck on Duct Tape competition.  Not only is it an amazing on a technical level, it actually has a hilarious surprise ending.  This ad wound up going viral and recived a crazy amount of love from the Internet.  Watch it and you will understand why.
 

 
If I missed any big 2011 contest entries leave a comment and let me know!

First Place Winner.  Prize:  $10,000:

Pretty good huh?  Looks really professional too.  I was keeping an eye on this contest because I actually entered this one myself.  I collaborated with my long-distance contest buddy HappyJoel Levinson; he created a song and I shot and edited a video for it.  We did manage to win a prize; $500.  But this was one of those times when I kind of knew I had missed the mark.  I think the video was cute but it was lacking pizazz.  You can’t tell from the video but the outside stuff was shot in the freezing rain.  But at least the shoot was a good excuse to try out my new camera gear.  I just bought an HVX200 last month and I’m really happy with it.  Now that I’m using a real video camera again I realize just how inhibiting DSLRs can be.  With the HVX I don’t need to worry about ISO numbers or syncing up audio in post or stuff going out of focus if I move the camera a foot closer to the subject.  I’m excited to shoot a lot more entries this year now that I don’t have to worry so much about the tech side of things.  Basically I’ll be able to just point and shoot.  Anywho, if you’d like to see the entry Joel and I did (or the rest of the winning spots) head here:  http://tongal.com/project/aceservice

Duct Tape brand Duct Tape?

Sweet jumping Jesus!!  I just randomly checked a random video contest website (Tongal) and randomly picked a random, expired contest (Stuck on Duct Tape) and figured I’d check out the video that came in first. Turns out the ad that won is like one of the greatest freaking video contest entries of all freaking time!  It’s easily the best contest video I’ve seen all year.  It was shot by a filmmaker named David Brashear and I actually recognize his name.  Last year he won a quiznos assignment sponsored by poptent and his commercial was so good the sponsor decided to air it on TV. (Click here to view David’s Quizno’s spot.) Tongal is a little different from most video contest-hosting sites because they run their contests in phases.  In the first phase, people submit ideas and the sponsor picks their favorites.  Then in the second phase, filmmakers go out and shoot the winning ideas.  Technically you can come up with a whole new concept but most people choose to play it safe and shoot the pre-approved ideas.  But in this case, the filmmaker submitted something totally out of left field. Not only is it visually amazing, it has a shocking twist ending.  Watch and be amazed:

First Place Winner.  Prize:  $4,750:
 

 
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT S&*% OR WHAT?  All I can say is that $4,750 is NOT enough for a video like that!  Couldn’t they at least round the prize up to an even $5K?  The ad is simply amazing but I do have one criticism.  The actress cast to play the wife of the “guy” is way too hot!  The producer should have tried to cast someone that was at least slightly plausible.  Or hey, maybe she’s not supposed to be the “guy’s” wife.  Maybe she’s like his therapist or live in caretaker or something.  He does kind of treat her like he’s a stubborn mental patient and she’s his frustrated nurse.

To see all the winning Duct Tape videos, head here.  But be warned, after seeing that Tron video everything else is going to be a let down:  http://tongal.com/project/ducktape

Man, did Binaca get lucky on this one.  They just ran a really bizarre video contest called “Yes We Can Stop Bad Breath” on Tongal.  They offered a tiny cash prize but asked for something that only a few people in the world could give them.  They wanted “screen tests” from guys who look and sound like President Obama.  Against all odds, they wound up with a freaking fantastic winner even though it looks like they only got FIVE entries!

The premise of the contest is hard to describe so I’ll just cut and paste from the brief:

It’s no secret that our Commander-In-Chief is a smoker, but recently it appears that he’s been keeping it under wraps. His secret weapon? Binaca breath drops. Create a series of 30-second viral videos that feature President Obama smoking cigarettes and covering it up with Binaca Breath Drops.

Submit a video of your best Obama impersonation. The best impersonator will receive $1,000 cash plus travel to Los Angeles / accommodations and star in five viral videos produced by previous Binaca winners, Team Tiger Awesome.

Don’t be confused; this contest wasn’t about creating 30 second videos.  It was about finding an Obama impersonator for the videos.  Since the prize was only $1,000 and a trip to LA, this contest seemed like it was doomed to fail.  But like I said, Binaca got incredibly lucky.  Check out the winning “screen test:”

Winner.  Prize: $1,000 and a trip to LA:

That dude is for sure the best Obama impersonator a thousand bucks can buy!!  And to get his $1,000 he’s got to star in FIVE 30 second videos?? If Binaca had just hired an actor for this they would have had to pay him a whole lot more than a thousand bucks.

But you want to know the weirdest thing about this contest?  President Obama doesn’t smoke any more!  The first Lady announced months ago that her husband hasn’t had a cigarette in a year.  And that news was public before this contest was announced.  So it’s kind of offensive to create a series of videos that depict the president as a smoker when he isn’t one any more.  (Imagine the backlash if Bud Light had depicted recovering alcoholic George W. Bush drinking beer in the white house ) Tongal also ran a concept phase of this contest where users could suggest ideas for some of the videos.  This suggestion won $200:

Before delivering a speech at a school, Obama craves a cigarette. After smoking in the school bathroom, he uses the drops to hide his guilty pleasure. The teachers outside the bathroom are thrown off by his fresh breath and blame a nearby student.

And this idea won $100:

President Obama off stage a cigarette in one hand and 3×5 cards in the other. Rehearsing his lines; In between drags saying “Yes We Can” in every way imaginable. Happy, Somber, like a ballerina, Serious…Pops in a Binaca breath drop & goes on.

Now that every one knows Obama doesn’t smoke any more, aren’t these videos going to come off as dishonest and disrespectful?  I don’t know…I just think that the whole idea should have been scrapped before the contest even launched.

First Place Winner.  Prize:  $7,125.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKIbtfDmfMs

The second Benjamin Moore competition was called “Outside the Box.”  For this one, filmmakers needed to drive home the point that benjamin Moore paints aren’t available at “big box” stores so if you want to buy B.M. paints you need to “think outside the box.”  Here’s the video that came in first.  It’s pretty cool.

First Place Winner.  Prize: $5,000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1X_qQjHS60

You can see all five of the “Outside the Box” winners here and the five “Authentic Color” winners here.

Incidentally, there is one more phase to these competitions that is still going on; the “Exhibition” phase.  Any Tongal member can upload any of the winning videos to their youtube channels and then try to spread them around.  The first three people who can get a total of 50,000 youtube views in thirty days wins an ipad.  50K sounds kind of high but I figured hey, I’ll give it a shot.  So if you watched the videos above…thanks!  You just helped me get 2 views closer to an ipad!  Seriously though, if I can crack 2,000 views just by posting those videos here I’d be pretty impressed with myself.  50,000 views in 30 days seems pretty unobtainable.

Over at Tongal, Tyson is running a video contest designed to promote hunger-relief efforts.  Filmmakers were to go out and shoot short documentaries about individuals who were trying to make a difference by collecting food, organizing food drives or working in pantries or shelters.  The thing I like best about Tongal is that they have a strict “No Voting” policy on all of their contests.  Instead, they often hold “prediction contests” to go along with the main competition.  For the hunger relief contest though they are giving several bonus prizes (biggest is $750) to those entries that receive the most views between now and January 6th.  The submission period for the competition just closed and the entries can be seen here.  Judges will award several prizes but the best of the bunch will get $2,500.  But that’s not all!  In addition to the prize money, the food bank featured in the winning video will receive a donation of 35,000 POUNDS of food from Tyson!

This was a tough contest to create an entry for so only 12 submissions were recived.  And one of them just happened to come from Beardy’s “good friend” Dan.  So if you want to show VCN a little support, why not throw him a view by clicking the play button below?  Important note: To prevent fraud, Tongal only counts one “view” per IP address.  That’s the only way to keep things legit so good for them.

If the video is choppy, try turning off the “HD” button. If the player won’t come up, click here to watch the video on Tongal’s site.