Yesterday I posted the news that Godaddy had postponed the announcement of the winners of their humongous until October 27th. According to the contest site, the winners were originally supposed to be announced “on or around October 18th.”
After the post went up I got a tip from a reader that said that some or all of the winners of the contest had been notified. Now if you just won a giant cash prize in a video contest, what’s the first thing you’d do? Call your mom? Sure, ok. Then what? You’d probably start spreading the good news across the tweet-o-sphere, right? Well I checked twitter and the word about who won is out, big time. So here, one week early is the grand prize winner of the Summer Edition of the Godaddy commercial contest!
Godaddy First Place Winner. Prize: $250,000:
Ok, I can't actually embed the video here on the site. So click this image to watch it.
You’ll have to wait until next week to see the “web only version” I suppose. Now I watched all 215 entries in this contest and “Russel’s Notebook” is probably the video I would have picked as the first place winner too. It looks amazing, it has a ton of production value and the song is even kind of catchy. And tapping into Glee phenomenon was just a stroke of genius. So it’s no surprise at all that this won. But what is surprising is who made this video. It was created by a group called Wayside Creations. Wayside Creations is the team behind the very excellent IndyMogul.com and the web series Back Yard FX! I actually have Indy Mogul listed in our side bar under “Video Contest Resources” because it’s such a great site. Last year, I even won $2,000 in a video contest using muppet-like puppets I learned how to build thanks to an episode of Back Yard FX. So if you’ve never checked out the site, it has a lot of very handy tricks for low-budget filmmakers on there.
Speaking of low-budget, I just checked the Indy Mogul forum and apparently, this entry only cost about $500 to produce. Amazing. But obviously, the filmmakers probably have a ton of resources at their disposal. So today’s lesson is this; if you have good gear and skilled people who know how to use it, you don’t need to spend a ton of money to make a great video.
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Isnt the 27th “on or about” the 18th?
Only 218 entries!? with an awesome prize like $250,000!?
thought for sure there would be like 800 or more.! whats everybody doing?
Their spot is great. Congrats to their team. Although, are you sure this is indy mogul? I don’t think it is…I did a little research, and found that Wayside auditioned for the host competition “Indy Mogul” was having a while back, but haven’t seen anything that suggest they won that host competition and are infact “Indy Mogul.” It looks like they posted their commercial on “Indy Mogul’s,” forum to help gain traffic.
Scratch that…it is them. Indy Mogul FTW!
Nice scoop! I liked Russell’s Notebook a lot and thought it would be a Top 3, but my favorite was isawbigfoot.co as that was the most original and made me laugh the most. I hope it made the Top 3 as well!
The bigfoot one seems to have a lot of supporters but I really didn’t like it. That idea would have worked better as a careerbuilder.com commercial. But anything with a bigfoot in will seem kind of unoriginal because of the “messin’ with Sasquatch” ads.
The spot is very well done but I would have to say $500 is misleading. I have no knowledge of the production but I’m guessing that $500 only includes petty cash expenses. It most likely doesn’t take into account paying actors, extras, locations, and crew – which a commercial should do because there is a sponsor with money. There is also the cost of music, editing and equipment rental. I’d bet that if the producers had been hired to make the exact same commercial, their budget quote would be much higher and realistic.
Dear Beardy,
Why does one video concept get your praise for being a knock off “…and tapping into Glee phenomenon was just a stroke of genius” but another video concept gets your condemnation “…anything with a bigfoot in will seem kind of unoriginal because of the “messin’ with Sasquatch” ads”
Mightymattp,
“Russell’s Notebook” isn’t a knock-off, it’s a parody (big difference) because the source material is a popular TV show. As far as I know, no advertiser has yet tried to do a Glee-inspired commercial so the ad feels original.
The bigfoot commercial on the other hand feels like a total knock off. It has zero originality. Bigfoot is already featured in a series of popular commercials. If I put a talking Gecko in my godaddy commercial, would it seem original? Of course not. No matter how funny or well made the bigfoot ad was it never had a shot because Godaddy doesn’t want to look like they are ripping off the Jacklinks Beef Jerky ads.
Mightymattp.
RE: The cost of “Russell’s Notebook.” Obviously, if the crew had been hired by godaddy to make that commercial it would have cost them much more than $500. That’s the point of contests like this. Filmmakers are supposed to create professional-looking work for as little money as possible. Everyone works “on spec.” That means that no one gets paid unless the ad sells. So the prize money gets shared among everyone who helped out for free.
Beardy,
I think Russell’s Notebook was a great ad and deserves a top 3 prize. But by definition, “parody” would imply mocking, or spoofing the original source in an attempt to ridicule it, which I don’t think Russell’s Notebook attempted to do. They took a pre-existing model and rolled with it – nothing wrong with that but I wouldn’t call it a new idea or more original than an entry that used a folklore character like a Bigfoot or a Yeti (ahem, Coors Light entry) I think it’s all fair game as long as the script isn’t copied. I don’t think the Fedex caveman ads took the originality out of the Geico caveman ads or vice versa (I don’t know which came first.)
The current Burger King TV ad campaign seems to have been doing the Glee/musical thing for a while – – advertising is notorious for associating products with a popular trend, not original but very effective!!
We’re really just splitting hairs or opinions, both the GD entries were really well done and deserve prize money in my opinion. Maybe you could argue R’sN had more universal appeal, or better writing, or a more relevant concept? After all, “there are no new ideas, only ways of making them felt.” Audre Lorde
In addition, I’ve seen a number of musical contest entries that won UGC, it’s probably one of the most rewarded UGC “trope” i’ve come across. For example:
and
So I’m tinkering with the idea of “Zombie Bigfoot vs. Zombie Gecko: The Musical” for the Doritos contest. Whady’a think?
Cheers!
Matt, ask any cryptozoologyst and they will tell you there is a huge difference between a bigfoot/sasquatch and a yeti. Yeti’s are white, from the far east and they have never appeared in a beef jerky commercial. Comparing Yetis and bigfoots is like comparing a pegasus and a unicorn.
For anyone who hasn’t seen it, here is the bigfoot godaddy entry we’ve been talking about.
http://www.video.me/EventShow.aspx?showid=338&vid=71546
It was actually shot by the same team of filmmakers that won 2nd place and $50,000 in the last godaddy contest. They did the ad where the redneck gets rich with a finger-boxing website.
“there are no new ideas, only ways of making them felt” is a very apt quote. But I’m sorry, the bigfoot entry just isn’t funny and it doesn’t give a new take on the bigfoot trope. To be brutally honest, if that 30 second ad aired on tv, would anyone really want to visit godaddy.com to see what happened next?
Bigfoot vs. Yeti: The Musical – watch for it, it can’t lose!
I loved Find Your Voice with the Mime, Bigfoot and Cooking is Hard. Those were my 3 favorites.
I totally disagree with Beardy…if I was sitting at home watching TV and Bigfoot jumped across the screen, I would immediately stop what I was doing and watch the ad just out of sheer curiosity. Russell’s Notebook was also well done and I enjoyed it, but it wouldn’t grab my attention as much as Bigfoot or a few of the others from this contest.
You talk about copying a style or doing something too similar, Russell’s Notebook felt to me like the Free Credit Report ads so to me it’s not original either. Yes, Bigfoot the character has been done, but you can’t tell me that using this folklore character is not a good idea? Everyone loves Bigfoot and its legend continues to pique people’s interests.
Also, the Bigfoot team nailed the current economy issues with theirs which I think would appeal to the GoDaddy folks. Who knows? I liked them both and a few of the others, many were well done!
I find this ongoing debate about Russell’s Notebook and Bigfoot very interesting as its funny to see young minds perception on advertising/marketing. Here is the final truth though, I have been making commercials for a major Ad Agency for over 20 years so my opinion is what counts because people have paid my agency millions over the years to produce them ads that get results so I know what works and what pure crap.
Russell’s Notebook – Did they try riding on the coat tails of Glee? Absolutely! It is a popular show so it would be fitting to make a ad following it. However, the idea does not spark the interest of most Godaddy consumers which is what this marketing campaign is all about gaining more customers. The same people who tune in to the Real GoDaddy’esque commercials 100% do not want to see a rather creepy looking young homosexual boy singing. Its not being rude people it is the truth of Marketing. The spot was produced well and was a good commercial but in no way should this spot take a top 3.
Big Foot – Did their idea copy past concepts like Jack’s links? Well they used the same character so in a way somewhat but the concept was very different. The production value for this spot was unbelievable as I have a very hard time believing this was produced an a amateur’s budget. The tune was very catchy almost like a MAC commercial tune so that sticks in a brain and seeing Big Foot in general on TV causes a person to stop and at least look. All very intuitive thinking things that make a great commercial. This spot is hands down a top 3.
I’m sure most of the previous commentary is coming from the teams of these two spots just trying to get PR of their side so i thought readers would appreciate the insight from a non-biased senior professional.
To be noted: Bigfoot was the second place winner from the last competition.
Hi Folks.
I entered the godaddy contest with this one. http://x.co/ElaU
Found out about the contest at the last minute and had to work with what i had on hand. I was wondering if y’all would mind taking a look and toss me some pointers for the next go round. that is if they do it again next year.
thanks
Thanks Adman 101. I agree with you! But I am in no way associated with either spots, in fact, I’m a envious competitor – http://x.co/DUM8 – I feel my spot was good for being made with “no budget” but concede that there were many funnier, more promotional, and more relevant Go Daddy-esque entries than mine.
Also Bigfoot is in the current competition and but most likely funded in part from the previous competition’s 2nd place winnings. The director probably spent a little more on it than others would because he was encouraged by his previous win and had the inside scoop on what Bob Parsons likes. The tune is great!
Ok…I think it’s great that this has become such an active topic and I’m glad to see so many new commenters but folks, if you are going to post comments you have to be HONEST about who you are. If you want to try and drum up support for a video that’s fine, but don’t pretend to be non-biased. The team that made the Bigofoot ad is from the Phoenix area and according to their IP addresses, so are the people who posted comments as “Adman,” “Trent” and “Sarah.” In fact, “Sarah” and “Trent” posted from the same IP address. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that the filmmakers and all these people are from the same place but that doesn’t seem very likely.
I don’t know if one of you guys are the director of “Isawbigfoot.co” or if you are just his friends. Either way, pretending to be a “non-biased professional,” praising your own (or your friend’s) work and mocking the “creepy looking young homosexual boy” in the winning spot is just bad sportsmanship. So knock it off. Self-promotion is fine. Lying is not.
This is Jae, I am one part of the team BallBoy Productions who created “ISAWBIGFOOT.CO” and also last year’s 2nd Place Winner, “Fingerfighting.com.” One of my team members sent me the link to this site and after reading some of the comments and posts, I thought I would reply to set the record straight.
Beardy has a point, let’s all be honest here.
1) … no one from our team as far as I know has posted on this site as our team is very small, two people in fact that make up our crew; myself (I shoot, edit and co-direct) along with our director who wrote the script for Bigfoot and also wears many different hats on set. Don’t know who Sara, Trent or Adman is?
2) We are from Phoenix and yes, we spent some of our prior winnings on the Bigfoot spot as it had a pretty good-sized budget. Once we had our idea in place, we needed to make sure the Bigfoot outfit was realistic and also that we have several locations and a lot of extras to make our spot look real and meet our creative vision.
3) I personally liked Russell’s Notebook a lot! When I saw it for the first time, I said it was a Top 3 and could easily be rated better than our entry. It’s very clever, well shot and best of all … it’s catchy. I also like several other spots and really felt overall that there was better talent or at least ideas this time around.
4) If this site’s scoop is correct, I have no problem with Russell’s Notebook winning and would be first to offer their team a HUGE congrats! We did the same last time with Go Mama when they won, they deserved it!
5) Bigfoot the Musical would be hilarious “mightymattp” but not sure anyone would understand it. Ha!
So hopefully that clears a few things up, great job to everyone who entered this contest and I am looking forward to Wednesday to see who wins and also to just watch all the videos again!!!
RE: Shawn
Here is my amateurish 2 cents concerning improving your ad. It’s based on a theorem I’ve developed which determines effective advertising.
If a commercial’s “Content” is equal to its (Premise + Concept + Point + Film Technique + Script + Casting + Directing + Editing + Picture + Sound + Graphics)
and “Consumer Involvement” is equal to the effectiveness of the commercial’s ability to (Attention Grab + Promote the Product + Be Retention by the Audience + Turn the Audience into a Consumer + Change the Consumer’s Behavior)
Then:
Overall Campaign x Content x Consumer Involvement x Production Quality x Expectations x Novelty x Viewership x Longevity of Ad x Luck x Sales Increase x X Factor (all divided by cost) = Effectiveness of the Advertising
In short, make your ad funnier, sexier, catchier and more clever. If successful, please reply with details on how to do so
Good Luck!
Shawn,
Your entry has got some funny moments in it. But a slicker production would have really helped it stick out. The goal of this contest was to make something tv-quality and your entry didn’t reach that level. If you had entered that video in a smaller contest though it might have a shot. If the future, i’d recommend using higher-quality audio and video gear.
Jae,
Thanks very much leaving a comment and trying to clear things up. I understand that friends and allies can kind of go rouge (as they say) and let their enthusiasm for your work get a little out of hand. I’ve been in contests before where I’ve discovered that friends were doing similar guerrilla promotion and it’s frustrating because I didn’t want the sponsors or other contestants to think I was behind certain comments.
So no harm, no foul. Cograts on your 2nd place win last time. I see that fingerfighting ad on tv all the time…even more than the first place winner!
Beardy,
No problem and you hit the nail on the head … I did want to clear things up as I didn’t like the negativity in a few of those comments regarding Russell’s Notebook. As you said, people can get a little too carried away in promoting something and that’s not what we are about. Our team as I said before is just two people and although we always aim to win a contest that we enter, we also root for the other teams to do their best or there wouldn’t be a contest to begin with. And all-in-all, I agree that Russell’s Notebook is a great spot, I really like it and it will play great on TV.
Thanks for the nod to Fingerfighting.com, we are so elated over its success and like you said, GoDaddy aired it and continues to air the spot which makes us really proud. Our main actor was at the Gym the other day when it came on and I guess the other people next to him on the treadmill just gave him one of those “looks!” That is priceless…
Thanks for running a great website and I am counting down to Wednesday for the final results!
Thanks so much for the feedback. It’s given me some good food for thought. I’m hooked now and will be trying my hand at several more contests in the future. And thanks Mr. Beardy for the fine website.
Hey Beardy,
I’ve found this thread thoroughly entertaining. Great talking points. It might be a great addition to start a new post discussing the other winners, now that we know who they are.
It would be interesting to hear every-bodies opinions on the runner ups and honorable mentions.
Keep up the great work.
I love when Beardy calls people out on their IP addresses and they come clean. You go Beardy! Haha