Ads Worth Spreading is TED’s initiative to recognize and reward innovation, ingenuity and intelligence in advertising – the ads that people want to see, and share with their friends.
In 2012, TED is combining expert curation and crowdsourcing to discover compelling work from around the world. The ad industry’s brightest thinkers will work with TED speakers to nominate brilliant ads, while TED extends an open invitation to agencies, producers and brands to submit their work beginning 15 October 2011 through 31 December 2011.
Ads Worth Spreading is open to all organizations and individuals involved in designing, building, managing, maintaining, marketing or promoting online content for business, consumer or general audiences.
Ads that People Want to See + Share With Their Friends
Ads Worth Spreading began as a clarion call to the global advertising community in 2011, asking for ads that inspired and engaged audiences. TED received nearly 1,000 entries and picked 10 outstanding examples. It’s time for another round of Ads Worth Spreading from around the world.
Your ad can be as long as it takes to communicate the idea powerfully, up to five minutes, whether that’s through state-of-the-art animation, lush imagery or an individual talking directly to the camera. What matters is the “a-ha” moment, the central idea.
TED’s goal is simple: to make TED.com a place where the ads that run after the talks are every bit as compelling as the talks themselves.
TED Ads Worth Spreading 2012 Prizes Galore
Here’s the full run-down on what you win. Each of the winning ads will be:
- Featured on a dedicated page (in an online Winners Gallery) on TED.com for one year
- Featured at TED2012
- One representative per winning ad team will be invited to attend one day at TED2012 in Long Beach. Travel and lodging for the one-night trip will be provided*
- Each winning team will be granted one free webstream for TED2012, which can be shared by 10 team members
- Featured on the YouTube homepage and provided additional media exposure throughout the site [For video submissions only]
- Featured as TED.com postroll ads during the week of 26 March – 1 April, 2012
- Featured in an Ads Worth Spreading blog post on the TED Blog
- Featured in an Ads Worth Spreading tweet on @TEDNews and on the TED Facebook fan page
- Featured in an Ads Worth Spreading blog post on the YouTube blog
- Featured in an Ads Worth Spreading tweet on @YouTube and on the YouTube facebook fan page
- Featured in interviews produced by YouTube about the initiative
- Offered advice on best practices for winners in setting up their YouTube channel (e.g., video title, metadata, etc.)
In addition, creators of the winning ads will be invited to attend an Ads Worth Spreading celebration at the Art Director’s Club in New York City in March, 2012. (NOTE: Winners will be responsible for their own transportation, lodging, and all expenses in connection with the event.)
Important Ads Worth Spreading Regulations
- Entries must have been created and aired between January 2011 and December 2011.
- There’s no limit on the number of entries per person.
- Every ad entered must be available for viewing at a live URL through March 2012.
- Entrant must be the sole and exclusive owner of the submission or must have the right and permission to enter the submission into this contest and grant Sponsor the right to use the submission.
- The submission must be entrant’s own creation and must be 100% original.
Enter Online Starting 15 October 2011
All entries must be submitted digitally, online. No DVDs, tapes or other linear media and no submissions sent by post or courier will be accepted.
To submit visit the official website after 15 October 2011 and follow the onsite guidelines to submit your entry or entries.