The Engadget commercial contest!

It's time to get the word out, everybody. Engadget needs a commercial to air during the Super Bowl -- well, not really, but we want you to make a commercial for us anyway. Your reward will be handsome; we're kicking down a sick new Vaio with Blu-ray, HDMI, and a 17-inch screen as a reward to the winner.

Here are the rules:

• Make the ultimate Engadget commercial
• Keep it PG-13 (like the site)
• Keep it under 5 minutes long (if you really must go longer, break it up into pieces, like those serialized commercials)
• If it's not in English, please include subtitles!
• You can enter no more than three different commercials
• It has to be your work! You can re-enact some famous commercial or something, but you can't just slap our logo on somebody's else's copyrighted material.
• Yes, it can be animation, 3D rendered, or whatever else you can imagine

Here's what you win: a Sony Vaio VGN-AR190G Blu-ray laptop (MSRP $3,400) with the following specs:

• 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  
• Blu-ray drive(!)
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
• 17-inch WUXGA display (1920 x 1200)
• NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600GT graphics (256MB RAM), HDMI out
• 200GB SATA RAID 0 drives
• ExpressCard/54 slot
• PC Card slot
• SD / Memory Stick media reader
• 802.11/a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth
• 1394, S-Video, USB 2.0 (3), VGA, S/PDIF, Ethernet, v.92 modem, webcam
• XP Media Center 2005, tons of bundled software
• House of Flying Daggers on Blu-ray, HDMI to DVI adapter, etc.

Here's how you enter:

• Send your clip to contests at engadget dawt com -- it can't be any larger than 10MB due to size limitations of email, but be sure to keep a higher resolution copy for us to show on the site! If it's just too large to send to us, you can put it on YouTube (or another video sharing site) and send us the link -- but we prefer email.
• Have yours in by 11:59PM EST, Sunday September 10th
• Contest is open to anyone worldwide -- including professionals -- so bring your a-game!

So fire up iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, After Effects, Final Cut, or whatever the hell it is you peeps use to make your home movies -- you've got a laptop to win. (Logo material after the break!)

Update: It appears there was some confusion about the original draft of this post. We're not intending to air the commercials anywhere but here on this site -- the Super Bowl thing is just a joke, ok people? And even if we did for some reason decide to spend like a couple mil on a Super Bowl ad, you'd better believe we'd cut the winner in on that action. Hm, first blog with a Super Bowl ad... maybe we were on to something.

Here are those images you asked for!


[PNG] [GIF] [EPS]

[PNG] [GIF] [EPS]

[Conrad @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:07PM]

Apple 1984 = Engadget 2006 :-)

[boynamedsue @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:15PM]

i thought you were gonna air a commercial during the superbowl?

Engadget: well yeah, not on the same channel though.

[narco @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:16PM]

Yeah, but instead of throwing a hammer at IBM, the chick can throw a bunch of mini-SD cards at Sony.

Fishes,
narco.

[Ladderless @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:17PM]

Is superbowl advertising really the best way to spend $millions getting the word out? Please don't tell me the engadget folks are getting swollen heads, and simply want to see their names "in lights"

I can think of lots of ways to spread the word, and score a more direct hit...
Hobby/computer/AV magazine advertising
A travelling mini trade show/Conference (if you can get corporate sponsorship, you could visit many, many, many cities for a small fraction of what one SB ad would cost)
Electronics store tie-ins
Enthusiasts' web site banners

I'd like to see who the marketing guru is that is telling you to spend zillions on one or two TV spots.

[Chris @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:20PM]

How will you fund that??? Superbowl commercials cost a fortune.

I'm thinkin for the commercial you could do the first part where it explains, say, "Find out all the info on all the latest in technology" etc. Then at the end show the logo and url.

[nabil @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:20PM]

five MINUTE commercial?

[narco @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:22PM]

Ladderless, but if the ads are clever enough then they'll probably spread on youtube and other sites and get more exposure that way than by traditional advertising.

[james @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:23PM]

Superbowl spot 2.4mil for :30. Super blog site buying 5min. Not f'n happening

[Robert Preseau @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:24PM]

Hey Ryan,

Two things...

1. Can you throw up some official logo files for us?

2. Are there any concerns over masking brand names if gadgets are displayed?

[Stu L Tissimus @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:24PM]

They'll fund it by being part of AOL, Chris. :D

[Daniel @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:28PM]

Holy Crap.

1. It's not necessarily on the same channel as the Super Bowl.

2. Engadget is owned by larger people with larger wallets anyway.

[Arbo @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:30PM]

um.. a 5 minute commercial... during the Super Bowl.. good luck with that..

[Morgan @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:31PM]

5mins? that's a long commercial.. under 10MB? don't you mean 30 seconds?!

[obviously @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:35PM]

are you guys fucking idiots? obviously they're not doing a super bowl ad.

[puh_fifer @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:35PM]

How about a Sprint Superbowl ad spoof where you just show people throwing popular gadgets into the faces of their friends?

[Mr.Kaiser @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:36PM]

If i knew how to animate I would win that in about 5 minutes. Seriously, I have such a great idea

[Rafael @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:38PM]

A director usually makes 10K-25K a day for a 30: Superbowl TV commercial. And Engadget wants people spending days on their own for a Sony PC laptop?
If you are going to broadcast this commercial and spend several 100K on a TV network, you better hire a creative Director to make a descent commercial and pay more, no?
Or is it for youtube then?

Mmhhh at least have a MacBook Pro... ;)

[Killamajiger @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:39PM]

Will you be using the actual user-created comercial on the air, or will you take the idea and premis from the winning idea and then have a real add agency create one? Because it seems a bit pointless to spend $$$ on a add that will most likley not be profesional quality.

[Ryan Block @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:41PM]

Naw, we were just kidding! Not really going to do a Super Bowl commercial. It's pretty awesome that you guys think we'd be able to fund that though, right?

I'll work on getting those logo files up ASAP.

Best, Ryan

[Steve @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:42PM]

Might have to be done.

Now all i need is a videocamera...

[zach @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:47PM]

Haha, an Engadget commercial. I can think of so many ideas... :)

[Ryan Block @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:54PM]

Ok, added the logo material in jpg, png, gif, and eps! Good luck everybody!

[ben @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:59PM]

Yay! I am so excited. I won't be able to enter a video because my computer is so freakin weak and could never handle such a thing. But, I love that engadget is getting so big that you are going to get a commercial. Yay

[verticalforce @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:03PM]

A guy from Pixar is going to win this. For sure.

[Stew @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:13PM]

PC's are now always more expensive than Macs.

[Strifx @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:16PM]

Here I understand it, laptop computer... for me the table personal COMPUTER and to lite...

[Mark 2000 @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:18PM]

Wow, a chance to do $10,000 worth of work (maybe worth more since you belong to AOL) and odds are you'll get nothing? Even if you win, a $3000 computer is still not worth as much as what an ad agency would charge AOL for a commercial. This is a rip, plain and simple. People, don't waste your time.

[Jeff Foster @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:31PM]

cheapest-commercial-ever.

:P

[Andy Briggs @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:32PM]

I might try something here...

P.S. To Engadget, to avoid your embarassment, you put the prizes as the laptop then list all the hardware in it. I, and possibly the prize winner, may argue that you should award them the laptop AND all of those components as well. Just some advice - say that the below hardware comprises the laptop specification.

[mike p @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:33PM]

HEY, THEY ARE NOT FORCING YOU TO ENTER, ITS A CONTEST, GET OVER IT

[Mike @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:35PM]

Do anyone beside me get the point of this contest? It is just for fun not for profit. The commircial will probably never be seen on tv and if your going to complain about not getting paid then dont make a commircial.

[Chuck @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:37PM]

"Sony's kicking down a sick new Vaio with Blu-ray, HDMI, and a 17-inch screen as a reward to the winner."

hmmm...now why would I want a sick vaio?

[film student @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:39PM]

it's just a contest! if you don't like it, don't enter! it's like complaining that all these "bloggers" are making it more difficult for "professional" writers to make a living. too bad!

[scenespin @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:42PM]

Here's a word of incentive to Mike P, Film Student and any other people that think this is a great idea for a 'portfolio piece'.

When you work for nothing in the advertising industry, you are worth nothing to advertising industry. Stand up for yourself or get rolled.

[Reggie @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:45PM]

Suggestion for the main prize: choice between a Vaio or a 3GHz Mac Pro. :)

[film student @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:48PM]

that is the stupidest thing I've heard. this is a chance for someone who isn't in the industry to create something cool, I know it's tough for all you "professionals" to understand, but what you do isn't all that special or complicated.

[mike p @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:51PM]

who cares if your a film school student... engadget should have said no pros...

[mark @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:56PM]

I'd rather prefer getting the money to buy a new machine (Mac Pro) myself instead of the laptop.
I Would have to pay about $800 for taxes for that laptop...
Should be possible especially for international entrants...

[Jason Smith @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:02PM]

These comments are cracking me up. I don't see how this is any different than the t-shirt contest. A lot of graphic designers bitched about having to compete with amateurs, but I had a lot of fun entering even if I didn't win dammit, and to me it was cool that Engadget was letting its readers design the shirt. Same deal here, it's cool that Engadget wants the readers doing shit, and the incentive is a chance to win a laptop. If it's not worth it you, don't enter. I don't work at mcdonalds because the pay is too low, but I don't complain that other people do.

[Stefan E. @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:05PM]

What is the point of a non-professional taking a chance to make a commercial for electronic gadgets through a competition? Be more creative, go outside and shot, make a short, make a documentary, make a video installation, or make a PSA.
For the pros, take a look at this:
http://www.no-spec.com/

[A.A. Fussy @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:06PM]

Bet there'll be a prize for non-US entrants.

[Dave Christovich @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:07PM]

Yeah, that is one "sick" laptop, alright!

[Mark J. @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:11PM]

how old is engadget?

[Nathan M @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:13PM]

"I hope the student that does this thing for free and wins the shitty laptop gets kicked out of his film school for getting caught sucking off the dean for better grades." Because of course, everyone who enters this is a film student who is giving head to the faculty.[/sarcasm]

You people whining about this need to get a life, one that doesn't require an internet connection. This is just a contest that people can enter for fun, and you're just making bigger asses of yourselves than Engadget ever could.

[kenney @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:14PM]

Now are you sure this laptops battery will go boom when the person wins it, if so i'm in.

[Todd @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:22PM]

REQUEST: Can we just go ahead and disqualify all the "Im a Mac, Im a PC" commercial parodies now? It will save a lot of time.

QUESTION: Is it OK to make fun of engadget, AOL and all of engadget's competitors? Just wondering because "conflict of interest" censorship will make the contest boring.

[Mark J. @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:40PM]

why are most of these people complaining. Its not a forced contest, and its ENGADGET! One of the coolest websites on the series of tubes known as the interwebs. It's nice to have the opportunity to participate in the making of a commercial for Engadget. Plus! BONUS: Free Laptop with BD-RW :D. Even if you don't win who cares, you tried and chances are you learned something while making your entry. So all of you newblets that are bitching about the prize or crying because professionals are invited to try too, get over it and go play WOW or something, since you're obviously not going to spend the time to touch base with your editting skills. ktnxowned.

[Ryan Block @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:40PM]

Wow, what's the deal? We're not actually planning on airing this thing on television or anything, we just thought it would be a fun contest idea! You guys really need to chill out!

Best, Ryan

[yosh @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:46PM]

Dave Christovich, you're so white. Just stop using this idiotic ghetto slang.

[qbert @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:48PM]

I think it sounds like an awesome idea with a NICE reward. I want to see him videos, put em up!