Hey Zooppa Gang!

We’ve got a very exciting opportunity for you, but you have a very short time to get it accomplished! So hold on to your creative hats, buckle up, and create the world’s greatest commercial for Zappos by November 18th!

Zappos has not only put up a HUGE prize offering of $48,000 ($25,000 for first prize!!!) but your commercial could also be used in a national television campaign! That would look pretty impressive on your resume.

ABOUT THIS CONTEST

Nobody can deny that gifts are a big part of what makes the holidays special – gifts for fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, cousins…

But don’t forget about yourself!

As every seasoned shopper knows, the recipe for a successful holiday season is a handful of generosity mixed with a pinch of self-indulgence.

YOUR MISSION:

Create a 30-second video that celebrates the art of gifting during the holiday season.

That’s all you have to do, easy as pie. That $25,000 is practically yours already.

For the rest of the contest rules and information – and there are a lot, so read carefully – go here!

Can’t wait to see the entries, everybody! Good Luck!

-Ian

I am sad to learn this contest is for US residents only. Wish it was international.

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I am sad to learn this contest is for US residents only. Wish it was international.

I hear you! There are so many talented folks unable to participate, and that’s a bummer.

Hopefully we’ll get another big contest for the whole community sometime soon.

Hey Ian,

The brief mentions that you cannot have any branding elements of Zappos within the video, does that mean visual only? Or are we not allowed to say “Zappos” in the video?
If so, are we also not allowed to have key benefits of Zappos highlighted?

Lot’s of questions so little time…

Jordan

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Hey Ian,

The brief mentions that you cannot have any branding elements of Zappos within the video, does that mean visual only? Or are we not allowed to say “Zappos” in the video?
If so, are we also not allowed to have key benefits of Zappos highlighted?

Lot’s of questions so little time…

Jordan

Yep, Visual only. You can say Zappos for thirty seconds straight in the audio, if you like. (Please don’t. That’s a horrible idea on my part.)

Hit me with any other questions!

When will the end tag be available?

Ian,

Thanks for answering my question… here’s where it gets confusing. It’s important that I get this straight and avoid avoidable issues.
The brief states:

“Do not show any logos of any brands besides Zappos” (as if we ARE allowed to use a Zappos logo within the video)

Then it continues:

“Do not present Zappos logos or other Zappos branding elements within your video, except through the ending animation” (which seems to indicate that we absolutely cannot use any Zappos logos)

Thanks for helping with my symantics… I would hate to have to reshoot based on misunderstanding.
Jordan

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Ian,

Thanks for answering my question… here’s where it gets confusing. It’s important that I get this straight and avoid avoidable issues.
The brief states:

“Do not show any logos of any brands besides Zappos” (as if we ARE allowed to use a Zappos logo within the video)

Then it continues:

“Do not present Zappos logos or other Zappos branding elements within your video, except through the ending animation” (which seems to indicate that we absolutely cannot use any Zappos logos)

Thanks for helping with my symantics… I would hate to have to reshoot based on misunderstanding.
Jordan

For safety’s sake, don’t put any visual logos at all in the portion of the video you create, Zappos or otherwise. All the logo/branding will be taken care of by the end slate.

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When will the end tag be available?

It won’t be ready until either Friday, or early next week. We do know that it will be 6 seconds long, so the visual you’re responsible for will be 24 seconds.

Where is the ending animation?

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Where is the ending animation?

Check out my above answer to scrimshaw.

If I ask nicely, will you open this contest internationally? Or at least to your friendly neighbors north of you? :)

25k!!! Well yabba Dabba Doo!

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Ian,

Thanks for answering my question… here’s where it gets confusing. It’s important that I get this straight and avoid avoidable issues.
The brief states:

“Do not show any logos of any brands besides Zappos” (as if we ARE allowed to use a Zappos logo within the video)

Then it continues:

“Do not present Zappos logos or other Zappos branding elements within your video, except through the ending animation” (which seems to indicate that we absolutely cannot use any Zappos logos)

Thanks for helping with my symantics… I would hate to have to reshoot based on misunderstanding.
Jordan

For safety’s sake, don’t put any visual logos at all in the portion of the video you create, Zappos or otherwise. All the logo/branding will be taken care of by the end slate.

Just to clarify, if you have an actual box of something with the Zappos logo on it, that’s fine. Just don’t superimpose a logo. Here’s the text from the brief:

“*If your video depicts Zappos logos or branding in context (such as on a real Zappos box, or on a current Zappos screenshot on a computer), that’s ok. But do not superimpose any Zappos logo or branding into your video.”

I’m having difficulty opening the affidavit toward the contest, is there anyway I can be e-mailed a new one please? As you’ll see here: http://imgur.com/Ihwdb this is the message I get when I try to open it.

Two questions:
1) Does the “ending animation” have to be at the end? Will Zappos be strict about it “closing” the ad? For instance, say I want to do 20 seconds, then the 6 seconds of animation, then a 4 second tag. Will that really disqualify the video??

2) Let’s say we want to show a package being delivered, from Zappos. Can we really not show the Zappos logo on that box? Can we not show the Zappos website? Say I want to use the Zappos website, for instance, as part of my story. If we strictly follow the rules, I can’t do that. Is that really the case??

thanx

OK ignore my last post’s question about the box. I see it was answered already.

Still have that question about the “ending” tag.

Thank you

I just want to be clear – the video cannot be hi-resolution nor widescreen format?

Hello. I’m also having difficulty opening the ‘special affidavit of eligibility’ pdf file. Also, is an animated entry acceptable? Is there a panel of judges or will the public vote/decide who wins? Thank you.

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OK ignore my last post’s question about the box. I see it was answered already.

Still have that question about the “ending” tag.

Thank you

Keep the animation right by the end, but if you want to do a joke sting right after, that’s okay. Especially if it’s funny, touching, or in any way makes people want to order from Zappos!

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I just want to be clear – the video cannot be hi-resolution nor widescreen format?

If you film in hi-res or widescreen, make sure you downconvert to SD 4:3 before you submit. I’d go with Full Frame to match the ending animation, but if you wanted to letterbox it, you could.

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Hello. I’m also having difficulty opening the ‘special affidavit of eligibility’ pdf file. Also, is an animated entry acceptable? Is there a panel of judges or will the public vote/decide who wins? Thank you.

Animated entries are totally great, just remember not to make your own Zappos logo. Save that for the end animation.

The PDF has been re-uploaded with the new materials pack. Let me know if there are still issues.

Hey Everybody! The required 6 second Zappos end animation is ready for you! Please download the materials pack, and slap that animation on your videos! I know that most of you are probably already done and just waiting for that animation, so I’m very excited to start seeing the eantries pour in over the next 12 days!

If you’ve already downloaded materials, do it again! It’s good practice for all the other contests after this that you’ll be entering.

Ian,

Ok, I’m sure the animation is going to bring a host of new questions. So here’s mine.
With there being no sound, are they open to us using whatever audio we’d like? Voiceover, music, etc?

In other words, is there any accompanying criterion for use of the end slate?

Jordan

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Ian,

Ok, I’m sure the animation is going to bring a host of new questions. So here’s mine.
With there being no sound, are they open to us using whatever audio we’d like? Voiceover, music, etc?

In other words, is there any accompanying criterion for use of the end slate?

Jordan

No requirements as to what audio you use over the end animation, so long as you’ve got the commercial rights to it.