YouTube Filmmakers' Contest Draws HP As Sponsor

YOUTUBE HAS HATCHED A CONTEST for aspiring filmmakers around the
world. Named Project Direct, the initiative is sponsored by
Hewlett-Packard, and invites short submissions from users in Brazil,
Canada, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United
States.

The contest ties in neatly with an ongoing HP campaign encouraging
people to submit videos about their experiences with its printing
products--part of a larger $300 million marketing push launched this
summer around all things printing.

"It's a natural extension of our 'What do you have to say?' campaign,"
said Daina Middleton, director of global advertising and interactive
marketing for HP's imaging and printing group.

HP is far from the only brand relying on YouTube to engage audiences
online. H.J. Heinz found success with its "Top This!" TV Challenge,
which invited consumers to produce homemade Heinz commercials and then
upload them for voting on YouTube for a chance to win $57,000 and
national exposure.

Thousands of consumers submitted home-produced Heinz
commercials--8,000 or so, according to agency partner Smith Brothers
Advertising, while only 4,000 made the cut for the competition.

With obvious incentive, sites like YouTube--with an international
audience--are intent on overcoming barriers to executing ad campaigns
on a global scale.

"We created this competition for an international audience as video is
a universal way for people to communicate," said Jamie Byrne, head of
product marketing, YouTube.

Still, the medium clearly has its limitations. As such, submissions
must be in English, or have English subtitles.

Some 20 finalists will be chosen by a panel led by "Thank You For
Smoking" director Jason Reitman, who has set up some unique guidelines
for submissions. A character in the film must face a situation above
his or her maturity level. Also, a character has to say the lines: "I
demand an explanation for these shenanigans. What do you have to say?"

HP's larger multimillion-dollar marketing campaign includes the
creation of two online communities around printing and developed by
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

The Project Direct contest is expected to run from Oct. 7 through Nov.
9. One winner, in addition to a $5,000 prize and a featured spot on
YouTube's home page, will earn a trip to an as-yet-unnamed
international film festival as a guest of HP and will attend "surprise
industry events" and a meeting with production executives from Fox
Searchlight Productions, which released Reitman's "Thank You For
Smoking" and his upcoming film "Juno".