Your City, Your Vision, Your Ad

During a press conference last Monday, Austin Mayor Pro Tem, Brewster McCracken announced a nifty little ad competition. While not officially a campaign ad, the winning 25 second ad will be aired on Comedy Central with funding coming directly from McCracken campaign funds.

Because of campaign finance laws, the winning ad will be accompanied by the all to familiar disclaimer that reads something like this:

"Pol adv paid for by Brewster McCracken for Mayor, Martha Smiley treasurer, 3616 Far West Blvd Ste 117-231, Austin TX, 78731."

Left: Brewster McCracken
Right: Lee Leffingwell

Although the folks at McCracken's camp are quick to point out that this is not a campaign ad, all the hub bub will surely result in increased and ongoing focus on McCracken and will no doubt involve plenty of website hits.

Hub bub you say? Surely a contest judged by four of Austin's most acclaimed digital media professionals will create a stir, right? Well the blog boards are a buzz with postings on the matter. The Statesman, The Daily Texan, and The Burnt Orange Report have all weighed in and it looks like there will be quite a strong interest in this little PR move.


Below are the technical specifications and timeline from McCracken's website.

Timeline (subject to change)
February 23 – Entries Open
February 23 - March 20 – Select entries will be featured on the campaign website
March 20 – Entries Close
March 25 – Finalists Selected and Notified
April 3 – Winner Announced
April 6-10 – Winner Aired on Comedy Central (TimeWarner) in the Austin region

* Must be NTSC format
* Must be 25 seconds in length
* Quicktime file (finalists must provide an uncompressed version…see below)
* 720 x 486 aspect ratio
* Lower field first (interlaced)
* Data read no larger than 8 bit
* Embedded Stereo Audio
* Audio must be at least 48KHz
* All graphics must be within safety title zone