Zooppa, the source of user-generated advertising, and Zappos.com have named the winners of their “Celebrate the Art of Gifting” video contest. The winning entrants will receive tens-of-thousands of dollars in prizes, including $25,000 for the overall winner and national exposure through television advertisements.
The contest asked participants to create a 30-second video that celebrates the art of gifting during the holiday season. In a period of just three-and-a-half weeks, nearly 200 entries were received and eight videos were selected for awards. Zappos is currently using one of the winning videos in its national campaign, including cable television spots and on its blog and Facebook fan page.
First place was awarded to Tim Merlau of Los Angeles for his Something for Everyone video. As the grand prize winner, Merlau collects $25,000. Second ($8,000) and third ($6,000) place honors went to Drew Elan of Nashville for The Gift Wrapper and Joseph Binetti of Los Angeles for 365 Days Later, respectively.
Additional winners include:
4th ($4,000) – My Brother's Sweater by Drew Elan of Nashville
5th ($2,000) – Zappos Holiday Gift Giving by Media House LLC in Highland Park, Illinois
6th ($1,000) – A Little Something by Allucinari Production House in Los Angeles
7th ($1,000)- The Art of Gift Giving by Kerry Furrh of Compton, California
8th ($1,000) – Disgruntled Elf by Kevin Langelier of Eastham, Massachusetts
“Zappos.com is a phenomenal brand that is known for delivering great service with a lot of fun and good humor, so this contest was a perfect fit and, as evidenced by the submissions and the winners, our community of film makers immediately 'got it',” said Wil Merritt, CEO, Zooppa. “It was a fun holiday-themed contest and the winning videos will spread the holiday cheer though broad exposure and acclaim as part of Zappos's national holiday ad campaign.”
“This was an exciting project because we were able to work with the filmmakers and let them create an ad that is really for the people by the people,” said Michelle Thomas, senior brand marketing manager at Zappos.com. “We are always looking for innovative ways to reach our customers and think out of the box to engage them.”
