Jim Beam UGC Contest Searches for Spoof Ads
Jim Beam wants everyday Americans to try their hand at remaking a recent TV spot that brings some outrageous male fantasies about the perfect girlfriend to the small screen.
In its user generated content “The Remake” contest, the distiller wants to get participants to make their own version of that spot, titled “The Girlfriend,” or to add their own twist to an earlier set of TV spots that also played stereotyped male notions about women for laughs.
U.S. contestants of legal drinking age can upload their videos before March 21. Participants will also be able to find a toolbox of video clips, product shots, pre-permissioned audio and approved fonts and end cards that they can use in their submissions, along with embeddable versions of the commercials.
The contest, which is also open to professional video directors and comedians, is looking for two categories of UGC content: spoofs of the existing ads and another track named “The Story,” which will simply look for the UGC ad making the best use of humor, creativity and originality to create a successful video.
Public votes will help judges determine five finalists. Participants and viewers will be able to download personal Web promotion badges and embeddable content to their Web pages and social net profiles that can help drive viral campaigns for their favorite submissions. The creators of the five top-scoring videos by April 8 will be named finalists and will go through another month-long round of voting. The grand-prize winner will be chosen some time after May 8, using the public vote as one criterion.
The Jim Beam “Remake” grand-prize winner will receive $25,000 and a trip for four to Las Vegas. Runners-up will receive a Sony HD digital video camera. The winner of the “Story” category, chosen solely by professional judges, will receive a Flip Mino video camera.
The Jim Beam brand has been active in integrating social media into previous campaigns, for example showcasing video profiles of creative individuals in its “The Stuff Inside” Web campaign launched last year. The company also used Twitter to draw an estimated 20,000 viewers for updates on the progress of Jim beam-sponsored driver Robby Gordon during the Baja 1000 off-road race last November.
“Jim Beam consumers are living online,” Kelly Doss, senior director of bourbon and whiskeys for Beam Global Spirits & Wine, said in a statement. “We recognize the need to relate to legal-purchase-age consumers in their environment and are eager to recognize the creativity of those who show ‘The Stuff Inside.’”
“The Girlfriend,” the most recent Jim Beam TV spot, depicts a male-fantasy combination: an impossibly beautiful girl who is drawn to overweight men with hairy backs and doesn’t need to be sent flowers. The spot is currently airing during National Basketball Association games on six of the top sports networks and will run through Feb. 15.
