There's This Contest. I'm A Judge. It's Really Scary

Apparently I am highly qualified to serve as a judge for a contest to identify the scariest products around. Despite some of the crazy (and terrifying) stuff brought to my attention already, this is going to be a lot of fun. So what exactly is this contest? Well allow me to turn it over to Tracy, one crazy blogger and the creator of I Hate My Message Board. Take it away, Tracy.

The Contest

It is with great pride that I announce the first annual IHMMB Scary Product Contest. I’d be nothing without scary products like canned pupa and chicken in a can and I’m overjoyed – overwhelmed even – to be able to give back to the blogging community by hosting this award.

Find and photograph a product that is scary in a weird, unusual, wacky sort of way. This post or my Museum of Snack Foods are examples of the kind of scary we mean. Post the photos and any descriptions on your blog with a link back to this post and leave the URL of your entry in comments. If you don’t have a blog, you can post on Flickr and leave the photo URL in comments.

Judging will be based not only on the inherent creepiness of the product but creativity in presentation and description. Go wild! Make a diorama! Stop motion video! Write a play! Make a collage!

The Judges

Aside from myself, the judges panel consists of...

David of Blogger Dad (the brain-child of this contest and the logo designer)

Tracy of I Hate My Message Board (that's me)

Sean of Writer Dad

Margaret of Nanny Goats in Panties

J.D. of I Do Things

Ron of Clark Kent's Lunchbox

(you may have hear of him?)

We’ll be visiting all the entries and might just Stumble, Tweet or link your post on Facebook or our own blogs if it’s particularly good. We don’t want this just to be a contest, we want this to be a community building exercise. What does that mean? Danged if we know, but we highly encourage participants and spectators to go around to all the other entries – leave a comment, talk some smack, kiss some butt, whatever seems to be the thing to do at the time.

Because the surest way to form a bond with somebody is to ask them “What the heck is THAT?!?”

The Prizes

First Prize will receive a I Hate My Message Board t-shirt as discussed in this post and only now going into production. It won’t look exactly like my crude rendering, but the same idea. And also a genuine...

Cheeseburger in a Can mounted in a Lucite box with an engraved faux-brass name plate declaring the owner the winner of the First Annual I Hate My Message Board Scary Product Contest.

And of course bragging rights.

3 Runners Up will receive a random food item of my choice. Could be limited edition Pocky, could be those fish n’ cheese sausages I’ve been putting off forever. The real prize is the anticipation.

Official Rules

• Contest open to anyone, anywhere but if I can’t send you the prize because of customs regulations or other shipping problems, we’ll work out an alternate prize.
• All entries must be 100% your own photos and text. You can not use other people’s photos or text.
• All entries must have at least one photo and text to describe the item. You can do more than this, of course. We encourage you to go crazy!
• Absolutely nothing that involves cruelty to actual animals or people. We reserve the right to toss out any entries we find offensive or degrading.
• Link back to this post in your entry, either with a text link or logo button (provided below).
• Post the photo and description on your blog or your own flickr account and post the url in the comments of this post.
• We can’t accept entries by any other method than comments on this post.
• You may enter as often as you wish but each entry must be a separate blog entry/flickr photo and make one comment for each entry.
• Contest closes 11.59 PM CST October 29, 2009
• Winner will be announced by 11.59 PM CST October 31, 2009
• Winners will be notified by email, please comment using a valid email address that you check regularly. If we can’t reach you by 11.59 PM CST November 7th, we’ll give your prize to somebody else.

Suggestions

• Creativity counts for a lot
• So does enthusiasm – if it’s a tie-breaker, we’ll go for the person who helped us spread the word.
• Judges aren’t supposed to be bribed but you know I bet they’d be tickled pink if you offered.
• The more people participate the more everyone benefits. Who knows how many cool blogs and/or photographers this contest will introduce us to?
• Visit the other entries! Have fun!
• You can share your photos in our IHMMB Scary Product Flickr group (but still make sure you leave your url to your entry in comments)
• Join us on Facebook or Twitter - we’ll be sharing the judge’s current favorites and our own scary finds.
• If you like this contest, share it with friends. Any tweets, stumbles, sharing on Facebook or other social media is very much welcomed and appreciated.

Feel free to use the large graphic at the top of this post to share word about this contest, or you can use this button sized one:

Thanks Tracy! Well, everyone, let's see those entries. Have fun, y'all!