In these hyper-connected, crowdsourced times, brands are eager to recruit passionate fans to be the face of their product. That’s especially true when it means that they can skip a lot of the work of casting commercials, and instead get loads of submissions from people eager to prove their loyalty to whatever it is the brand in question sells.
Two iconic Texas brands—one old, one new—are seeking their most dedicated fans, and asking them to submit videos gushing about why they love either the Austin City Limits Music Festival or Blue Bell ice cream. (No bonus points awarded for expressing a love of both—these are unrelated contests.)
For Blue Bell, the contest is simple: They’re looking for an extra to be in a new commercial they’re filming in the company’s hometown of Brenham, and they’re asking fans to send in a 20-second video of themselves explaining why they’re the person for the job. No kids allowed, presumably for labor laws, which means that a grown man or woman will have to humble themselves as they explain their ice cream superfandom. The prize, though? An all-expense-paid trip to Brenham, where you’ll be treated like a minor celebrity for a day while you’re on set. (We’re betting there’ll be some ice cream involved, too.)
Over at ACL, meanwhile, the quest for the biggest festival lover offers prizes with a wider appeal than a visit to one of Texas’ charming small towns: They’re seeking the “mayor” of ACL, and offering the “ACL-Fest-know-it-all who deserves to be Mayor” a prize package worthy of such a distinction: An official city proclamation from Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell declaring it [your name] day in the city; your own ride to and from the hellish traffic landscape that is Zilker Park during ACL weekend; 2 VIP passes for each weekend; 5 general-admission passes for each weekend (so your friends you don’t like enough to give the extra VIP passes to can also come hang out); tickets to all of the ACL TV tapings happening during the festival; and a bunch more.
That’s an impressive prize package for someone who really, really loves ACL, which the winner will because why else would they have entered the contest? Those interested in holding this distinguished office can submit videos (or nominate their friends), and then vote next week via social media platforms to let the festival know who truly deserves such a distinction.
