- A 2011 Ford Explorer contest takes a different twist — no grand-prize giveaway of a car, but an online competition that awards $50,000 to one worthy nonprofit organization.
- The competition links celebrities, including comedian Will Ferrell, with different nonprofit organizations.
- The organization that receives the most votes in the online competition will get a $50,000 grant.
DEARBORN, Michigan — A 2011 Ford Explorer online contest that debuted on Monday uses celebrities, including comedian Will Ferrell, in a competition that will award $50,000 to one nonprofit organization. It's a do-gooder twist in the summer contest season that includes a songwriting competition for the 2012 Honda Civic.
The Ford contest, dubbed "Reinventing the Outdoors," is a partnership with the online community GOOD. Participants watch a series of celebrity videos online, and then cast ballots for their favorite. The celebrities in the video series are Will Ferrell, Edward Norton, Todd Wells, Arian Foster, Danny Way and Laird Hamilton. Voting ends on May 20 with the winner announced on May 24.
The videos are fairly straightforward and explain the charities represented by each celebrity. For example, Ferrell, the star of the 2006 movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, is shown playing golf and promoting Cancer for College, a nonprofit founded by his friend Craig Pollard. At one point in the video, Ferrell is asked "where did you get that (golf club)?" He responds: "I stole it from the golf hall of fame." But, otherwise, he explains his dedication to Cancer for College in a no-nonsense manner.
The other nonprofits involved in the competition include Action Sports Environmental Coalition, Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, Surfrider Foundation, Boys & Girls Club of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, and Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists.
Ford said in a statement that it wants to "recognize an organization that is committed to preserving the outdoors and reinventing how we live and play."
Inside Line says: One of the few automotive contests that is all heart.
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rod_stewart says:
10:03 AM, 05/17/2011
Oh right a contest by Ford is "all heart"......Im sure they didnt do a ton of research and conclude this would add value for the company.......yup just "all heart".....
EYE ROLL
-Rod