Amtrak Marketing Video Contest

[coachseats]

The finalists have been selected for Amtrak Marketing's "Trainsportation" video contest. You can view the videos and vote for your favorite at: http://www.amtraktrainsportationvideocontest.com/

My brother is one of the finalists! His video is the one titled "Why We Ride" by tylerjhicks. He worked very hard on his submission and could really use the video equipment. (He is studying film in college, but borrowed the camera to make this video.) To vote, watch his video then click on "onboard" below it. I think you'll enjoy watching the video and he would appreciate your support. Feel free to leave any comments about the videos here and I will pass it along to him. THANKS!!!

 

[battalion51]

Cool video. I'm On board.

 

[Acela150]

I voted for the "On-Board" video. You get riders views. The "Offtrack" video didn't make me wanna ride Amtrak at all. The On-Board video makes me want to experience it for myself. Even though I've been riding for 16 years.

Steve

 

[wcswingdance]

I voted for your brother's video. He did a great job and I hope he wins!

 

[KayBee]

I voted for "Why we ride". It takes good editing skills and good people skills to do a proper interview based ad. I thought your brother did an excellent job.

I'm onboard with his effort, and best of luck to him!

 

[Trogdor]

What do "Onboard" and "off track" have to do with the two videos? I'm assuming that if you like the video you're watching, you click "onboard" and if you don't like it, you click "off track." However, it isn't really explained anywhere. How is a voter to know exactly what he/she is voting on?

 

[AlanB]

What do "Onboard" and "off track" have to do with the two videos? I'm assuming that if you like the video you're watching, you click "onboard" and if you don't like it, you click "off track." However, it isn't really explained anywhere. How is a voter to know exactly what he/she is voting on?

Agreed, it took me a minute to figure that one out too.

 

[coachseats]

Thanks for all of the support so far! I will pass along the compliments to my brother. Agreed, it is kind of a pain to vote and hard to figure out what means what, but as I put in my first post, you click on "onboard" under the video you like to vote. Thanks again, and feel free to keep voting until April 30th.

 

[Guest]

I liked the other guys video, but to vote you have to register and allow third party cookies. Too much effort so your brother gets my vote by me not voting against him. The singing guy started out kind of corny but once that auto-tune kicked in I really got into it. The singing guy just was way more creative than the interview guy. The interview video just reminded me of a boring PBS show.

 

[haolerider]

I liked the other guys video, but to vote you have to register and allow third party cookies. Too much effort so your brother gets my vote by me not voting against him. The singing guy started out kind of corny but once that auto-tune kicked in I really got into it. The singing guy just was way more creative than the interview guy. The interview video just reminded me of a boring PBS show.

Although the second video was clever, he really did not focus on the benefits of train travel as visually as the first video. I voted for the first entry. Both were very well done.

It is interesting to note that on Trainorders.com there seems to be some controversy about the whole contest. One or two of their members obviously did not read the entire contest rules nor take the time to understand the reason for the contest. They felt it had been rigged by Amtrak to produce a commercial or promotion and pretend it was done by a non-professional. Too bad they didn't take the time to understand the focus, but I guess there will always be people who see a conspiricy in everything.

 

[Guest]

Although the second video was clever, he really did not focus on the benefits of train travel as visually as the first video. I voted for the first entry. Both were very well done.

The thing is that ads are made to bring just attention to the product, not give every detail about it. Consider Meow Mix, the clever song grabs your attention and promotes brand recognition. Meow Mix commercials don't really show any information about the product at all. Think about super bowl ads, they are all about clever ways of brand recognition instead of promoting the benefits of the product.

 

[kent]

Although the second video was clever, he really did not focus on the benefits of train travel as visually as the first video. I voted for the first entry. Both were very well done.

The thing is that ads are made to bring just attention to the product, not give every detail about it. Consider Meow Mix, the clever song grabs your attention and promotes brand recognition. Meow Mix commercials don't really show any information about the product at all. Think about super bowl ads, they are all about clever ways of brand recognition instead of promoting the benefits of the product.

Yeah, I gotta say the "Jingle" is now stuck in my head as much as I am not an Auto-Tune fanboy, it is clearly the most memorable ad. This kid took it to the street, did some acting and wrote a SONG!

 

[haolerider]

Although the second video was clever, he really did not focus on the benefits of train travel as visually as the first video. I voted for the first entry. Both were very well done.

The thing is that ads are made to bring just attention to the product, not give every detail about it. Consider Meow Mix, the clever song grabs your attention and promotes brand recognition. Meow Mix commercials don't really show any information about the product at all. Think about super bowl ads, they are all about clever ways of brand recognition instead of promoting the benefits of the product.

you have to remember that these are not ads, but promotionial videos. Ads are generally limited to 15 seconds, 30 seconds or 1 minute - in which time you have to grab the attention of the audience, mention or show the product and give them some sort of call to action. That is not the purpose of a promotional video. It is generally intended to provide information and show the product - using a variety of techniques. These are certainly not Super Bowl ads, nor was that the intent.

 

[Kent]

Indeed, the singer certainly grabbed my attention and provided great information, showed the product and used an amazing variety of techniques! Mission accomplished. I still got that tune in my head!

 

[MrFSS]

CHICAGO (AP) - A DePaul University student has won an Amtrak video contest and received more than $3,000 in prizes.

Paul Hennessey of DePaul was honored during recent National Train Day ceremonies at Chicago's Union Station. His "See America-2.0" video was exhibited in the station's Great Hall.

The contest was open to all Illinois college students. Their travel-themed videos were judged by industry experts.

Hennessey's entry and one from runner-up Tyler Hicks of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb can be viewed online through Saturday.

LINK

 

[coachseats]

Yeah- my brother was very bummed that he didn't win the contest and the video equipment which he could have really used for film school. It was up for public vote for the winner so he said he really couldn't complain since the other guy must have had more people who liked his video and were willing to log in and vote. But he had fun making it, got some good experience at filming and editing, and did get two round trip Amtrak tickets as a consolation prize. Thanks for everyone who voted and congrats to the winner!

 

[Donctor]

CHICAGO (AP) - A DePaul University student has won an Amtrak video contest and received more than $3,000 in prizes.
Paul Hennessey of DePaul was honored during recent National Train Day ceremonies at Chicago's Union Station. His "See America-2.0" video was exhibited in the station's Great Hall.

LINK

I thought "See America-2.0" was terrible. The guy couldn't even sync the vocal tracks to the backing. Shameful.

 

[Donctor]

Yeah- my brother was very bummed that he didn't win the contest and the video equipment which he could have really used for film school. It was up for public vote for the winner so he said he really couldn't complain since the other guy must have had more people who liked his video and were willing to log in and vote. But he had fun making it, got some good experience at filming and editing, and did get two round trip Amtrak tickets as a consolation prize. Thanks for everyone who voted and congrats to the winner!

I think your brother's video was better.

 

[Guest]

CHICAGO (AP) - A DePaul University student has won an Amtrak video contest and received more than $3,000 in prizes.
Paul Hennessey of DePaul was honored during recent National Train Day ceremonies at Chicago's Union Station. His "See America-2.0" video was exhibited in the station's Great Hall.

LINK

I thought "See America-2.0" was terrible. The guy couldn't even sync the vocal tracks to the backing. Shameful.

Wow, calling someone shameful is harsh. Did you have money on this or something?

 

[Donctor]

CHICAGO (AP) - A DePaul University student has won an Amtrak video contest and received more than $3,000 in prizes.
Paul Hennessey of DePaul was honored during recent National Train Day ceremonies at Chicago's Union Station. His "See America-2.0" video was exhibited in the station's Great Hall.

LINK

I thought "See America-2.0" was terrible. The guy couldn't even sync the vocal tracks to the backing. Shameful.

Wow, calling someone shameful is harsh. Did you have money on this or something?

Yes

No really, it just amazes me that someone could clearly put so much effort into their video, yet not take the one minute necessary to properly sync the audio tracks.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

What bothers me was there were only 2 entries.

 

[haolerider]

Aloha
What bothers me was there were only 2 entries.

Those were the two finalists. There were other earlier entries that did not qualify for the finals. I also voted for #1.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha
What bothers me was there were only 2 entries.

Those were the two finalists. There were other earlier entries that did not qualify for the finals. I also voted for #1.

Aloha

Wow, I only saw the 2 never any others. I thought there were only entries. Had I known about something sooner I might have tried to do something. Very slight chance, but definitely would like to have seen more involvement.

 

[haolerider]

Aloha
What bothers me was there were only 2 entries.

Those were the two finalists. There were other earlier entries that did not qualify for the finals. I also voted for #1.

Aloha

Wow, I only saw the 2 never any others. I thought there were only entries. Had I known about something sooner I might have tried to do something. Very slight chance, but definitely would like to have seen more involvement.

This was a contest focused in Illinois for college students studying film making. It was designed by the Marketing/Advertising agency for Amtrak, under the budget of the Chicago Amtrak Marketing group, so it was not open to everyone. Perhaps, given the success of this initial effort, Amtrak may want to open it to the country in general, but I doubt that will happen.

 

[Guest]

Aloha
What bothers me was there were only 2 entries.

Those were the two finalists. There were other earlier entries that did not qualify for the finals. I also voted for #1.

Aloha

Wow, I only saw the 2 never any others. I thought there were only entries. Had I known about something sooner I might have tried to do something. Very slight chance, but definitely would like to have seen more involvement.

I remember the contest deadline getting extended and there only being one entry on the website. It looked like there were only two entries to me.

Also you wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway, it was only for college students in Illinois.