TED Opens Ads Worth Spreading in 2011

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TED, the non-profit dedicated to ideas worth spreading, launches its second annual Ads Worth Spreading initiative, as announced by TED Curator Chris Anderson from the IAB MIXX Conference stage in New York today.

Agencies, brands, producers and individuals are invited to submit work that expresses a clever, compelling or infectious idea. TED will open submissions on October 15, 2011 and close on December 31, 2011.  During this time, six teams of two – made up of one renowned TED speaker and one rising star from the advertising industry – will tap their networks to seek out and nominate compelling ads from specific areas of interest. In addition, TED's 24 Advocates from the advertising industry will make valuable suggestions and nominations. YouTube's Ad Blitz will help in sourcing all Super Bowl ads.

TED will then curate a final selection of 2011's ten most fascinating campaigns – the Ads Worth Spreading – to be announced at the TED2012 conference in Long Beach, California in March, and showcased on TED.com and YouTube.  

The teams responsible for nominating work to be recognized as Ads Worth spreading in 2011 are:

• TED Fellow Nassim Assefi + Tom Beckman, Creative Director, Prime PR Stockholm
• TED Speaker Dan Pink + Ari Kuschnir, CEO, m ss ng p eces
• TED Speaker Johanna Blakely + Kenzo Digital, Creative Director, Wieden + Kennedy  
• TED Speaker Raghava KK + Jinal Shah, Digital Strategist, JWT
• TED Speaker Tim Brown + Eliza Esquivel, Planning Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York
• TED Speaker Mary Roach + Mark Pytlik, Founder, Stink Digital London

A complete list of teams and Advocates of the initiative can be found here: http://on.ted.com/advocates

TED's mission is ideas worth spreading. The dream behind this initiative is to find companies that want to communicate ideas to their consumers in the same way that TED wants to communicate with its audience. What makes ideas powerful is that they have a life of their own; an idea can reset someone's worldview and even begin a domino effect as they pass it on to friends.

An ad worth spreading is a short way of communicating an idea. The 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.

Revealing the way a company thinks shows consumers what that company is and what it stands for. Chrysler's "Born of Fire" campaign, for example, spoke to people because it communicated an incredible idea – steel is born of fire, and cities that go through hard times aren't dead forever.

"In our brave new interconnected world, the rules of marketing are changing fast," said Chris Anderson, TED Curator. "Ambush advertising is broken. We think there's a better way based on sharing powerful ideas.  Most companies are teeming with amazing ideas that the rest of the world never gets to see.  But letting some of those ideas out into the world in an authentic way, companies have a shot at transforming the way they are perceived. We're looking forward to another fantastic round of entries from forward-thinking companies and people."

Once again, TED has integral support from YouTube, who will help promote and showcase selections online, as well as celebrating all final selections at TED2012 with an artistic installation.

"As advertising and marketing experiences evolve, with the second annual 'Ads Worth Spreading' challenge we are looking to nudge a new paradigm for marketers -- presenting ads that enrich the content they touch -- to help advertisers connect with audiences and become part of the conversation.  We've seen the volume of outstanding material in the marketplace increase -- and we look forward to seeing more impressive work," said Ronda Carnegie, TED's Head of Global Partnerships.

Ads Worth Spreading is open to all creators of campaigns in the business community and authorized brand representatives. The submission process opens on October 15, 2011 and closes on December 31, 2011. Special consideration to 2012 Super Bowl spots (February 5, 2012) will be proffered via YouTube's annual gallery of Super Bowl advertising, YouTube Ad Blitz.

Submission guidelines can be found online here: http://on.ted.com/awsguidelines

Ads Worth Spreading industry supporters include: YouTube, Contagious Magazine, AICP, 4A's, IAB, IAA, Art Directors Club, and NiceSpots.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Long Beach, California, along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world, and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED

Contact: Jen Hirsch, [email protected], 646.495.9723

SOURCE TED