For the “” video contest, Kia fans were tasked with creating a fun, upbeat music video for the company’s unofficial techno theme song. First prize was a brand new Kia Soul. Because the contest was so easy to enter, the sponsor received a ton of entries. There was a little bit of public voting but Kia judges got to choose the grand prize winner. And the video they wound up picking is straaaaaaange. It’s good but um…..I really can’t believe this one wound up winning. Check it out:
Grand Prize Winner. Prize: A 2013 Kia Soul
That video was about a fuxxing baby driving a bunch of 8 year old kids around in a Kia Soul! The entry was funny and well produced but good God….that whole premise just seems too insane for mass consumption. I mean, that video wasn’t shot by a team of professionals. Some guy somewhere just stuck his kids in a Kia and drove them around while filming them. The kids are clearly not wearing seatbelts and some of them were even hanging out of the back windows. So I’m surprised Kia didn’t wuss out and disqualify this entry. Usually car companies are super careful when they pick their video contests winners. I remember Mofilm once ran a contest (I think it was for Chevy) and the video that won first prize was never made public because it included a shot of a driver not wearing a sear belt. Sure, it looks like Kia made the winner add a weird warning at the beginning of the video (“Fantasy sequence, Do Not Attempt. Always obey all traffic laws when operating a motor vehicle”) but that doesn’t change the fact that the producer of this submission did break the law while making the submission. Personally, I always play it safe and I never shoot anything that a video contest judge might consider dangerous of illegal. The guy who won the Kia contest got lucky but I suggest that you don’t take a similar gamble next time you shoot an entry for a car company’s video contest.
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Hi Beardy Dan!
I entered this comp and had a fun time with it. Please check my spot out and, if you would, critique? I have tweaked it since the comp but would love to get your opinion.
Bluebird,
The animation in your video is really impressive. But I don’t think it’s the type of thing that video contest judges would pick. The animation is cool but it feels generic. It looks like maybe you created this video for a different project and then added a few KIA animations to make it relevant. So it wasn’t really about the featured product. I also think that Kia was probably looking for video that had footage of people in it. I think this video would have been really cool if it was mixed with footage of people dancing or driving around. Again, you did a great job but some footage of actors would have made it seem more exciting and fun.
Thanks for the feedback, Beardy! You’re pretty perceptive. I did have some of this footage around and modified it. Believe it or not, one would think because animation is so labor intensive that you’d never have footage you’d scrap (but I do, lol)so ya try to make it fit somewhere else. I had hoped it would integrate with the newer stuff. I really appreciate your opinion and I will certainly be aware of this for future projects. Total customization seems to be a huge key.
Thanks again !
I was a top 6 contestant in this contest with my entry “Tranquility Sessions”. When they posted the winners, I saw that entry as first an couldn’t help but wonder what the hell they were smoking to chose that a a winner. There are a number of other edits I would have been glad to lose to. This one felt more like spitting my face to spite my efforts. The thing that really bugs me is that there is no way in hell that their entry had even close to enough votes to be in the runnings. ‘The Ride’ didn’t even have 450 views by the time voting was up. Several other well produced videos had in upwards of 20k views. Unless literally every single view equaled a vote, there is not a damn chance that they had enough votes to be in the finals. I wonder who they knew that got them there.
There are several other entries that I would have gladly lost to and which had the viewership mixed with production quality to back it. This was NOT one of them.
Sorry for the rant. Normally I don’t care that much, but this one had me on edge. I just don’t understand how they could snub nose several other WAY better entries for that piece of crap. Last time I ever compete in a KIA contest.
-Darren
I didn’t pick up “Strange” at all, but if you want increasing examples of that adjective, check out CRASH THE SUPERBOWL because it’s just getting stranger and *stranger*…..
Darren,
VOTES are one thing, but in the end, it’s the judges who count, because VOTES can be ramped up to impossible, BUT, it’s the judges who decide.
I entered a contest based on VOTES a year ago and it was TOTAL BULLSHIT!!!
Some *bitch* managed to wangle better than 50k “VOTES” for this contest, yet she had WAY less than that in COMMENTS. THAT and she was also breaking the rules by using a song that was ALREADY OUT THERE, FOR SALE!
Second Place wasn’t much better-The “Judges Prize” where , again, they picked something SAFE, instead of something GOOD, which is the fraility of MOST Corporations-they don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground.
This particular company obviously never used EITHER of these entries in a national campaign, which is odd when you’re offering prizes.
KIA saw something in THIS particular spot, as did I.
Arne,
What bugs me most is that they pushed this whole contest as being a music video contest, not a commercial contest. They were even explicit about the idea that branding had nothing to do with it, but it obviously had everything to do with it. They picked this entry for the sole purpose of hitting a specific demographic. They even jumped loopholes in their own point system to do it.
I was stoked to get notification of being in the top 6 and spent a lot of money getting them their documents NEXT DAT per their request. Then got beat by that piece of crap entry. I have no problem losing what-so-ever, but I absolutely hate losing to politics. There were several contenders who I would have been happy to lose to. They had both more votes and competitive productions than the entry that won. It’s just sad and I doubt any of us will see that commercial airing anywhere. If KIA does market with it, they are only hurting their own reputation.
Whatever though, onward and forward, I’ve spent too much time already worrying about those punk’s decision. I’ve got plenty more projects to get on to.
Darren,
I remember your entry and thought it was perfectly cut. Congrats. I also have seen your “Enabling the Creative Mind”, which is fantastic.