TRURO, N.S. – Voting is now open for a new film competition promoting youth creativity and local business.
The final five commercials for the Hubtown Ad Challenge are now online after a live viewing at Truro Nissan on Thursday, showcasing each of the contestants and the commercials they shot.
“I watch these commercials over and over again and find it’s easy to forget they were created by students in our community,” said Erik Muckle, general manager of Truro Nissan, who is holding the contest.
“The quality and creativity is truly amazing. I can’t wait to see who nails the top spot but I think that each director truly is a winner. It’s hard not to be proud of the work they’ve accomplished.”
The contest started back in October, asking students in grades 6-12 to submit ideas for a commercial for one of five local businesses – Bike Monkey, G&G Computers, Stanfield’s Masstown Market and Patterson Sales and Services.
Five finalists were then chosen from the submissions, and were given access to the equipment needed to shoot their commercial idea, as well as a team of film industry professionals to work with, including Canadian actor and author Jonathan Torrens.
“With nearly a combined 20,000 total views and counting, we’re blown away by the support the community is giving this contest as well as the support the businesses involved are giving these young filmmakers,” said Torrens.
“It’s going to be an exciting horse race right down to the wire.”
The five commercials are live and viewable on the Hubtown Ad Challenge Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HubtownAdChallenge), and can be voted on by clicking ‘Like’ on whichever commercial is the voter’s favourite.
Only ‘Likes’ on the challenge’s Facebook page are counted as a vote, shared posts won’t count, so voters need to like the original video post on the official Facebook page.
Voting will be open until Friday at noon, after which the votes will be tallied and a winner will be announced shortly after.
The winning commercial will go on to be used by the company it was shot for, and the winning creator will receive a ‘Creator Package,’ which includes a new DSLR camera, a microphone, and a few SD cards to kick off their film career.
