65 videos that met the criteria were submitted in the Drive $marter Challenge video contest. The Alliance to Save Energy has been extremely pleased with the caliber of the video entries, the entertainment value, and the very creative highlighting of one or more of the Drive $marter Challenge campaign's money-saving fuel efficiency tips.
It's a tough selection and judging process. Judges have narrowed it down to the top ten. Public voting -- which begins today, Monday, October 5 and concludes two weeks later on Monday, October 19, at 11:59 PM -- will determine the four prizewinners. Public voting will occur on the Drive $marter Challenge contest website --http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/contest. The grand prize winner will get $5,000, and the next three runners-up will win other exciting prizes.
And, after the judging is over, we plan to put all 65 contest videos on our YouTube channel.
That's quite an impressive response. When people submitted entries, were they primarily young, tech-savvy kids or were the demographics more diverse than that?
Entrants had to be 18 years and older. The Drive $marter Challenge video contest did tend to skew somewhat younger -- what appeared to be 20s and 30s, and we saw a lot of good video production and editing skills and a lot of fun and creativity. I personally loved the fun rap entry of a somewhat older couple -- I don't know at the time of this interview if it made it into the finals.
Tell us more about how we members of the public can view and vote for our favorite entries, Rozanne.
All members of the public have to do to vote is go to the Drive $marter Challenge contest website --http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/contest-- enter their e-mail address and assigned security code, and rate ten short videos on a 1-5 scale with 5 the best. Videos will appear at random so that no video will have an advantage over others.
So, let's recap, Rozanne. Starting today, Monday, October 5th, viewers have two weeks to go to the website and vote for their favorites. I've had a great time checking out some of the entries already, so I can vouch for the fact that OpEdNews readers will be able to pick up some practical tips while enjoying the artistry and humor of the contestants. That sounds like a win-win situation to me. Anything you'd like to add?
I was telling friends about the Alliance to Save Energy's Drive $marter Challenge video contest -- and spending a day watching 65 mostly humorous videos. And they said: "You mean you get PAID to watch videos?" I responded: "After writing dozens of funding proposals and materials to garner funding in a tough economy for an entire year, often into the wee hours of the morning, one day of chuckles was a well-deserved delight. Watching the creativity of others translating the money-saving gas tips into fun situations sparks my own creativity. I hope that the public has as much fun watching the videos as the Alliance communications team and our campaign partner judges."
Sounds good to me. Thanks for running this competition and bringing it to the attention of our readers, Rozanne. Can't wait to see what it takes to win this contest.
