The Morgan Motor Challenge: Think Like an Ad Agency, Win $5,000 and a HP ZBook

Usually you design products, but can you also design an ad? If you can, you might win $5,000, a HP ZBook (estimated price $4,400), and publication credits at Morgan Motor’s website and magazine. The “Design for Morgan Motor Company” challenge asks you to create a magazine ad to promote the Morgan 3 Wheeler, a modern successor to the iconic vehicle that dated all the way back to 1910.

The challenge is hosted by Talenthouse, an online portal that connects artists and band advertisers. Along with Morgan Motor, Autodesk, HP, and NVIDIA are involved in the campaign. The winning entry will be part of the Morgan 3 Wheeler’s launch at an auto trade show.

To create your rendering, you can download the Autodesk Product Design Suite Trial or AutoCAD Design Suite 2014 Trial, grab the 3D files from Talenthouse, produce a customized rendering, then create a magazine ad with it using some kind of photo-editing program. The final delivery should be a JPEG or PNG file no bigger than 5MB. (For specific guidelines, visit the contest site.)

The panel of judges are:

• Andrew Cresci (General Manager, NVIDIA Manufacturing)
• Marion Landry (Technical Marketing Manager, 3ds Max Design and Showcase, Autodesk)
• Matti Rogers (Publisher, MOG Magazine)
• Jon Wells (Senior Designer, Morgan Motor Company)
• Sean Young (World Segment Manager, Product Development & AEC, HP)

In addition to the grand prize, the judges also plan to pick a runner-up to be awarded an all-in-one HP Z1 workstation. Another winner chosen as People’s Choice by popular vote will receive a HP ZBook 15 mobile workstation.

Most automotive commercials today are created not in photography but in renderings, so it make sense for Morgan Motor to let contestants create an ad using 3D files. In addition, it circumvents the challenge of giving contestants access to the physical model of the high-end vehicle. With the downloaded Inventor, Showcase, or 3ds Max files, users should be able to examine the vehicle virtually from every possible angle to render an attractive image.

Note: DE is not involved in running or judging, so if you have questions, please contact the contest organizers directly.