CheapTickets Unveils Winning Commercial in 'We're Too Cheap to Advertise' Contest

CHICAGO, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- CheapTickets.com (www.cheaptickets.com) today announced the three winners of the "We're Too Cheap to Advertise" contest.  The promotion called on consumers to submit 30-second video ads illustrating how good it feels to save on travel with CheapTickets.

Votes from the general public in the "We're Too Cheap to Advertise" contest determined the three winning ads from six finalists:

Brendan Walsh, the Grand Prize winner, says his girlfriend told him about the contest. Walsh says he slept on it and actually dreamed up the idea for his "Fishing Season" ad. In his dream, Walsh created a commercial for the contest that showed a man trying to fly his early 1900s' plane from a rooftop as a way to save money on travel.

"In the dream, I went into my dad's garage and found all of the parts to make the plane," Walsh said. When he woke the next morning, Walsh built the necessary props that made his winning commercial a reality.

A film student at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Walsh co-founded the non-profit Cornerbrook Studios with his friend, Jim Wockenfuss, the contestant who produced "The Hotel Pregnant" commercial entry that took second prize in the CheapTickets contest.   Both Walsh and Wockenfuss, now the winners of $50,000 and $2,500 in airfare respectively, are excited to use their travel prizes to help support the mission of their charity.

First prize winner Dustin Storm also is looking forward to spending his winnings; he says he plans to use his $5,000 airfare prize to travel with his family "one cheap flight at a time".

"Congratulations to all the winners of the "We're Too Cheap to Advertise" contest and many thanks to all the gifted filmmakers and future titans of Madison Avenue who submitted so many worthy commercials, many of which we'll soon share publicly on our CheapTickets blog," said Deborah Italiano, Vice President of Brand Marketing for CheapTickets.com. "We're especially thrilled to award the $50,000 in airfare grand prize to our newest ambassador of cheap travel, Brendan Walsh. He created an outstanding commercial for our brand and one that we're proud to air on the Travel Channel."

Thousands of consumers participated in the "We're Too Cheap to Advertise" contest by way of their video submissions, their votes for the winning advertisement and in sharing the various stages of the event with their friends and families via social media. Joining other contestants who took the promotion of their commercial entry into their own hands, Walsh even created several of his own promotional videos on YouTube to generate votes in his favor.

To view the winning ads in the "We're Too Cheap to Advertise" contest, visit: www.cheaptickets.com/commercials.  

Celebrating with a Twitter Giveaway

With the winning commercials selected for the "We're Too Cheap to Advertise" promotion, CheapTickets is ready to celebrate with another Twitter contest giveaway. Follow @CheapTickets on Twitter now through August 9, 2010, retweet our message about the winning commercial, and you'll be entered to win a 4-day/3-night getaway for two to Las Vegas with accommodations at the world-class Venetian Hotel[2].   

Terms and Conditions:

[1] Grand Prize Winner's choice of either (i) $34,500 worth of Flight Vouchers and $15,500 in cash or (ii) $50,000 worth of Flight Vouchers. FIRST PRIZE: Winner's choice of either (i) $3,450 worth of Flight Vouchers and $1,550 in cash or (ii) $5,000 worth of Flight Vouchers. SECOND PRIZE: Winner's choice of either (i) $1,725 worth of Flight Vouchers and $775 in cash or (ii) $2,500 worth of Flight Vouchers.

[2]NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR PLAY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Open only to legal residents of the 48 contiguous U.S. (includes D.C.), 18 or older at the time of entry.  For entry requirements and official rules, visit www.cheaptickets.com/commercials between August 3, 2010 and August 9, 2010.  Void in AK and HI, and where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Sponsored by Trip Network, Inc., 500 West Madison Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60661.

About CheapTickets.com

CheapTickets is a leading seller of discounted leisure travel products online through its Web site, www.cheaptickets.com. CheapTickets provides consumers access to its collection of airfares on hundreds of airlines. In addition to cheap flights, CheapTickets' family of discounted travel products also includes cheap hotels, cheap cruises, cheap rental cars, cheap vacation packages, condo rentals and Last Minute Trips. Founded in 1986, CheapTickets is a brand that is owned and operated by Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW). OWW also owns and operates Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com), ebookers (http://www.ebookers.com), HotelClub (http://www.hotelclub.net/hotel.reservations/), RatesToGo (http://www.ratestogo.com/Hotels-Last-Minute/EN) and the Away Network (http://www.away.com).

SOURCE CheapTickets.com