Important Dates
- March 27th: Submission Period Begins
- April 15th: Submission Period Ends
- April 21st: 1st Round Voting Begins
- April 27th: 1st Round Voting Ends
- April 29th: Finalists Announced
- April 29th: Judging Panel Begins
- NEW!Week of May 12: Winners Announced
The Judges
Ben Affleck
Steve Buscemi
Matt Damon
Donna Edwards
Michael Franti
Adrian Grenier
Ted Hope
Jesse Jackson
Rory Kennedy
John Legend
Lawrence Lessig
Moby
Markos Moulitsas
Tom Ortenberg
Heather Rae
James Schamus
Russell Simmons
DJ Spooky
Ricki Stern
Julia Stiles
Oliver Stone
Annie Sundberg
Eddie Vedder
Naomi Wolf
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about Ad Content
Questions about Copyright Laws
Questions about Submitting Your Ad
Questions about Voting and Prizes
Questions about Eligibility
Questions about Ad Content
Q: How long should my ad be?
A: You should make your ad 26 seconds long. That way, if it wins, it will accommodate the 4-second legal disclaimer required for broadcasting.
Q: I'm having trouble locating any fair-use footage or pictures of Barack Obama. What can I do?
A: You can find many pictures of Barack Obama on Flickr, including on the Barack Obama Flickr page. Many of these photos are licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows you to use them for political commercials as long as you give credit to their owners. You can also go to the forum on our website and check out the Technical Discussion. People may offer advice and links to fair-use footage and pictures. Also, footage from most of the presidential debates held this year is available for public use, as are any official portraits of Senator Obama.
Q: What would qualify as fair-use footage for me to use?
A: We can't give legal advice or guidance on individual submissions. Information about the fair use of third party content may be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website, located here. Many private and public organizations also supply information, including Stanford University here. MoveOn does not endorse any of these perspectives or resources, but they may be helpful to you in deciding what footage to you in your ad.
Q: Do I need to be aware of corporate logos on any footage I use, like from CNN or NBC?
A: Yes. You should be sure to crop or blur out any trademarked corporate logos for which you don't have rights as these may not be acceptable.
Q: Do you have any information on Barack Obama I could use in my ad?
A: Yes. Check out the About Barack Obama section of our site for an overview of Barack Obama's qualities, positions, and values.
Q: I want to use footage in my commercial that I don't have the rights to. Would MoveOn purchase the rights for me or provide footage?
A: We cannot purchase or provide footage for any commercials. You must have clearance for any footage, actors, music, or intellectual property of any sort that you use in your commercial. Putting the ad up on our website is itself a form of publication for which clearances need to be obtained. If you would like to use "screener" footage, or substitute footage, you are free to do so, but your entry will be judged as is.
Q: I don't have the resources to make an ad. May I submit a script or idea for an ad?
A: You cannot submit a script as an entry, but you can use the forum to either seek collaborators to help you realize your idea, or share your script for others to use.
Q: I think the best way to promote Obama is to criticize Senator Clinton. Can I submit an ad attacking her?
A: No.
Q: What if I say something nice about Hillary Clinton, but then say that Obama is better. Can I use her picture in that case?
A: No. These ads should focus on Senator Obama.
Q: Do we have to show a shot of ourselves saying "I approve this message"?
A: No. Don't worry about disclaimers. We'll handle that for any ads we decide to broadcast. But you should make your ad 26 seconds long so that it can accommodate a 4-second disclaimer if it wins. In other words, the video and audio of your ad should end after 26 seconds so that the standard MoveOn disclaimer, which includes onscreen text and voiceover, can be appended.
Q: I think I have a great ad idea, but I want to run it by you MoveOn/ObamaIn30Seconds folks to make sure it's something you like. Who can I send my idea to?
A: We encourage everyone to make their commercial and submit it! And if you can't make your commercial, go to our forum and put your idea up for grabs. Since this is a contest, however, we cannot advise anyone on their commercial.
Q: Can I talk about Hillary Clinton? How about George W. Bush? How about John McCain?
A: Ads should not talk about Hillary Clinton or reference her. Do not use her name; do not use her picture. If you mention John McCain, George W. Bush, or the Bush administration, you should only do so in the context of contrasting them with Barack Obama. If you do mention other candidates, any contrast you draw should be substantive—no personal attacks.
Q: Can I make a positive ad about Hillary?
A: No. This contest is specifically focused on making positive ads about Barack Obama.
Questions about Copyright Laws
Q: What would qualify as fair-use footage for me to use?
A: We can't give legal advice or guidance on individual submissions. Information about the fair use of third party content may be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website, located here. Many private and public organizations also supply information, including Stanford University here. MoveOn does not endorse any of these perspectives or resources, but they may be helpful to you in deciding what footage to you in your ad.
Q: Do I need to be aware of corporate logos on any footage I use, like from CNN or NBC?
A: Yes. You should be sure to crop or blur out any trademarked corporate logos for which you don't have rights as these may not be acceptable.
Q: Can you provide me advice on whether my ad follows copyright laws?
We're unable to provide individualized advice on copyright issues. Please review the relevant sections of the Official Rules and Guidelines to make sure you're in compliance with any relevant laws.
Q: I want to use footage in my commercial that I don't have the rights to. Would MoveOn purchase the rights for me or provide footage?
A: We cannot purchase or provide footage for any commercials. You must have clearance for any footage, actors, music, or intellectual property of any sort that you use in your commercial. Putting the ad up on our website is itself a form of publication for which clearances need to be obtained. If you would like to use "screener" footage, or substitute footage, you are free to do so, but your entry will be judged as is.
Q: I'd like to use a musical parody of an already established song in my commercial. Is musical parody a copyright infringement?
A: This is a gray area and so you should not include musical parody unless you've secured the rights to the music you're parodying.
Q: I'm having trouble locating any fair-use footage or pictures of Barack Obama. What can I do?
A: You can find many pictures of Barack Obama on Flickr, including on the Barack Obama Flickr page. Many of these photos are licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows you to use them for political commercials as long as you give credit to their owners. You can also go to the forum on our website and check out the Technical Discussion. People may offer advice and links to fair-use footage and pictures. Also, footage from most of the presidential debates held this year is available for public use, as are any official portraits of Senator Obama.
Q: I'm having trouble locating music to use. Any advice?
A: Some musicians make their music available under a Creative Commons license that would allow you to use it in your ad for free. You can find more information on that option at http://creativecommons.org/legalmusicforvideos. You can also purchase pre-cleared music that you should be able to use in your ad at sites like http://www.sirgroovy.com/, or download free music for your ad at http://www.mobygratis.com.
Questions about Submitting Your Ad
Q: How do I submit my ad?
A: We'll begin accepting submissions on March 27. During the submission period, which lasts until 11:59 p.m. PDT April 15, you can click on our "Submit your ad" link on the home page. We'll guide you through the process step-by-step.
Q: May I submit more than one ad?
A: Absolutely! Submit as many ads as you like.
Q: How long should my ad be?
A: You should make your ad 26 seconds long. That way it can accommodate a 4-second legal disclaimer that it will need to be broadcast if it wins. Ads that are 30 seconds long will have to be edited if they're chosen to be broadcast.
Q: What format should I submit my ad in?
A: We prefer that you submit your ad as either a QuickTime .MOV, Windows .AVI, or .MPG file—these are the most common formats and they work well within our system. We specifically recommend the MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format at 640x480 resolution with MP3 audio. If your ad wins, we'll request a higher-quality version (at least DV720x480 or 720x486 NTSC), so make sure to keep a copy of your high resolution version just in case.
Q: After I submitted my ad, it looks really bad. What should I do?
A: All ads will be transcoded into the FLV format for streaming to voters during the public voting portion of the contest. Many different formats and compression settings will result in a high-quality FLV, but one that we've had success with is a Quicktime .MOV file encoded as H.264 at 700Kbps with MP3 or AAC sound. We've found that very large video files don't look as good after transcoding as those that are approximately 2 - 4 Mb. So whatever compression you use, you should aim for that file size. And feel free to upload your entry as many times as you'd like until you're satisfied with how it looks in the viewer. We'll give you the opportunity to remove the extraneous versions.
Q: I submitted my ad, but it didn't seem to go through. How do I know you've received my ad?
A: All entrants who submit ads will receive email confirmation. If you don't receive an email confirmation after submitting your ad (remember, it may take some time to upload), please contact us at ObamaIn30Seconds@moveon.org. Please also double check that you are using the current version of your browser.
Q: Do we have to show a shot of ourselves saying "I approve this message"?
A: No. Don't worry about disclaimers. We'll handle that for any ads that we decide to broadcast. But you should make your ad 26 seconds long so that it can accommodate a 4-second disclaimer if it wins.
Q: I don't have the resources to make an ad. May I submit a script or idea for an ad?
A: You cannot submit a script as an entry, but you can use the forum to either seek collaborators to help you realize your idea, or share your script for others to use.
Q: I think I have a great ad idea, but I want to run it by you MoveOn/ObamaIn30Seconds folks to make sure it's something you like. Who can I send my idea to?
A: We encourage everyone to make their commercial and submit it! And if you can't make your commercial, go to our forum and put your idea up for grabs. Since this is a contest, however, we cannot advise anyone on their commercial.
Questions about Voting and Prizes
Q: What do I get if I win?
A: The winning ad will be broadcast nationally by MoveOn. The winner will also receive a $20,000 gift certificate for whatever video and production equipment they'd like.
Q: How will the judging work?
A: Entries will be judged, first by the MoveOn members, and then by our panel of judges, according to three weighted criteria:
- Overall Impact: How persuasive, memorable, and moving is it? (50%);
- Originality: Did the concepts/ideas/format seem fresh and new? (25%);
- Positive Message: Is it consistent with the positive message fueling Obama's campaign?(25%)
Once they're posted, we'll send out a link to rate the ads. You won't get to pick which ads you rate—that way, contestants can't ask all their friends to come and give their ad five stars.
Q: How do the finalists get chosen?
A: There are two ways to become a finalist. The 10 highest rated ads from the first round of voting by MoveOn members will be finalists. Additionally, the 5 ads that are viewed by the most individuals through our site will be finalists. Entrants will receive a direct link to their ad once it's posted on our site that they can give out. Using that link, friends can view the ad and count toward the total views on our site, but won't be able to rate the ad. When you rate ads, you won't get to pick which ones you rate—we'll pick for you. That way, contestants can't ask all their friends to come and give their ad five stars.
Q: Why can't I vote on the ad my friend sent me?
A: The 5 ads that are viewed by the most individuals through our site will be finalists. Using a direct link to an ad, you can view the ad and count toward the total number of viewers for that ad, but you won't be able to rate the ad. When you rate ads, you won't get to pick which ones you rate—we'll pick for you. That way, contestants can't ask all their friends to come and give their ad five stars.
Q: Where and when will the winning ad air?
A: The winning ad will be aired soon after the contest ends. We'll broadcast it nationally.
Questions about Eligibility
Q: I'm not a U.S. citizen. May I still submit an ad?
A: Unfortunately, we can only accept ads from U.S. citizens or U.S. resident aliens. Please read the Official Rules and Guidelines for more on this.
Q: Do I have to live in the United States to participate?
A: The contest is only open to people in the 50 states, Washington, D.C, or on U.S. military bases abroad. You'll have to provide the address of a residence in the U.S. or an APO/FPO when you submit your ad, and the winner will be responsible for any U.S. taxes on the prize.
Q: If I've volunteered for Barack Obama's campaign, can I still participate?
A: As long as you were serving only as a volunteer and don't have any privileged, private information about the campaign's strategy, you're still eligible to participate. If you have insider knowledge of the campaign, you're not eligible. And if you are or were a paid employee of the campaign, you're not eligible. And no matter what, you absolutely cannot coordinate your ad submission in any way, shape or form with the Obama campaign.
Q: How old do I have to be to submit an ad?
A: You must be at least 15 years old to participate in this contest.