Cingular Invites America to 'Take a Shot' at Winning $50,000
Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:34 pm
Since Cingular Wireless introduced the now-famous blue signal bars into its 'Raising the Bar' advertising campaign, people across the country are seeing more bars in more places - and not just on their wireless phones. As a result, today Cingular Wireless, along with Sony Ericsson and acclaimed photographer Robert Clark, invite customers to submit photos of "five bars" images as seen in their daily lives, for a chance to win a Grand Prize of $50,000.
Between July 1 and September 24, 'Raising the Bar' fans can submit images that bring to life the five signal bars wherever and whenever they see them, by sending a picture message from their Cingular Wireless phone. Each submission enters each photo into the photo contest for a chance to win the Grand Prize of $50,000 or a weekly First Prize of $500. Submissions can be sent via Multimedia Message (MMS) to 52277-86946 (5 bars to win). Additionally, each submission automatically enters each customer into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a $50 cash prize.
Cingular advertisements, created by BBDO New York and Atlanta, have become renowned for their use of the five-bar imagery. Houses, wheat fields, docks and even arrangements of sushi have been used to depict the coverage of
Cingular's ALLOVER network.
"We knew that our ALLOVER network would have people seeing 'More Bars in More Places', but when people began sending us unsolicited photographs of 'bar raising scenarios,' it confirmed our brand was positively resonating with the American public," said Marc Lefar, chief marketing officer, Cingular Wireless. "It gave us the idea to create the "Raising the Bar" Photo Contest and Sweepstakes, which rewards people for identifying with the Cingular brand and for using our wireless technology in their everyday lives."
Each week, five randomly selected winners will receive $50 in cash for their photo submission. Additionally, one winner from each week will receive $500 and be named "Photo of the Week" by a panel of judges. At the end of the promotion, Cingular's celebrity judge, Robert Clark, - an avid user of Sony Ericsson's S710 camera phone - will judge the top photos and select five finalists. From those five finalists, our customers will select the Grand Prize winner by voting for their favorite photo via text messaging. The photo with the most votes will receive the $50,000 Grand Prize. Participants can enter as many times as they like, with every photo message submitted counting as one daily sweepstakes and contest entry.
The contest will be supported by an online media and advertising campaign created by Atmosphere BBDO, Cingular's digital agency of record. For more details and rules and regulations about the "Raising the Bar" Photo Contest and Sweepstakes, please visit our website at http://www.cingular.com/fivebars .
