Hiroki Ono's-"Feel the Globe" Announced as Grand Prize Winner of the MOFILM User-Generated Content Competition

CANNES, France, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- MOFILM, a pioneer of crowd sourcing for entertainment and mobile, and director Spike Lee, today announced the grand prize winner of the MOFILM user-generated content (UGC) competition at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival.

MOFILM brought together a powerhouse set of twelve brands, which consisted of AT&T, Best Buy, PepsiCo (Doritos), Hewlett Packard, Kodak, Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, Nokia, Philips, Telstra, Unilever (OMO),Visa and Vodafone. Each brand posted a brief on the MOFILM website, allowing entrants from all over the world upload their films and compete for awards and prizes. Each brand selected their favorite video that went on to compete for the grand prize of being on set with Spike Lee.

Hiroki Ono, a 23 year old from Yokohama, Japan received $12,000 in cash along with Nokia's top prize of having his winning video "Feel the Globe" embedded into more than ten million handsets and the opportunity to be on set with Spike Lee on his next project. Hiroki's video competed against submissions from over one hundred and twenty countries to win the coveted grand prize after convincing two of his co-workers to join him in creating his first ever video commercial. The winning video was filmed and edited in just two days.

The judging process composed of senior executives from Facebook, Coca-Cola, Sony BMG, Contagious, World 50, Accenture Marketing Sciences and CHI & Partners who ultimately chose Hiroki's video for Nokia, as the winner. The video features a young couple in love, one in New York and one in Japan, trying to stay connected with their Nokia phones even though they are a "Globe" apart.

Director Spike Lee commented saying, "I've really enjoyed the MOFILM competition. Any medium that brings creative talent to the forefront and gives them a platform to showcase their gift is exciting. User-generated content is a good thing for both the film and advertising industries".

Hiroki said he has dreamed of one day becoming a feature film director. "Words cannot describe the way I feel right now, I'm still in shock," exclaimed the young filmmaker.

Mahesh Pailoor from Los Angeles, California with his video called "Ordinary Creative Guy" for Best Buy received the second place prize of $6,000 in cash along with Best Buy's top prize of a $10,000 gift card. Jeff Gill from El Segundo, California with his video "Larry Had the Internet" for AT&T took third place and received $3000 in cash along with the AT&T's top prize of $2000 and tickets to the American Idol finale. All three filmmakers have also been brought to Cannes Lions.

Nokia's Head of Brand Engagement, Fiona Bosman said, "MOFILM is a great partnership opportunity for NOKIA in many ways. With our move towards internet services and solutions, and engaging content and tools; short film is a perfect fit. We felt that Hiroki's video truly connected with our brand and believe in supporting up and coming talent and welcome consumer views on what our brand means to them. We are very excited for Hiroki and wish him best of luck in his future film career."

Andy Baker, CEO, MOFILM, stated, "We are delighted with the results of the latest MOFILM competition which has again showcased the amazing talent present in the MOFILM global community. MOFILM gives ordinary filmmakers anywhere in the world the opportunity to be creative, be noticed and become famous. We are grateful to both the participating brands and Spike Lee for making this ground-breaking project such a success."

For a complete list of winners and videos as well as news on the next competition opening soon, please visit MOFILM at www.mofilm.com.

About MOFILM

MOFILM is a pioneer in creating tailor made content for online and mobile operators around the world. The MOFILM creative community spans one hundred and twenty countries and MOFILM distributes to mobile operators in forty two countries working to promote creative talent and filmmakers with leading film festivals and universities. For the latest information about MOFILM competitions please visit www.mofilm.com.

About Marketing50

Marketing 50, aka M50, is a private community created by senior-most chief marketing officer peers from globally leading organizations for the purpose of sharing insights, solutions and collaborative discovery in a trusted forum free from competition or solicitation.

About Hill & Knowlton

Hill & Knowlton is a leading international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational and global clients. The firm's legacy of harnessing the most powerful and efficient means of communication for its clients has made H&K a leading force in encouraging major corporations to embrace digital platforms and social media. H&K's Digital group tracks emerging Web trends and developments in real-time to ensure client communication strategies remain at the industry forefront. The firm is headquartered in New York with 73 offices in 41 countries, as well as an extensive associate network. The agency is part of WPP, one of the world's largest communications services groups.

SOURCE MOFILM