Nikon launched an integrated marketing campaign that includes the first-ever “Nikon Festival” to celebrate, inspire and harness the current popularity of content creation shared through social media.

As a progressive social media innovator, Nikon is challenging budding filmmakers to upload 140-second short-form videos with the theme “A Day Through Your Lens” to www.NikonFestival.com and follow @nikonfestival on Twitter for a chance to win up to $100,000 and Nikon equipment to pursue and chronicle their dreams.

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Nikon advertising star Ashton Kutcher will contribute to the Nikon Festival by sharing a video he shot with a Nikon D5000. The video captures his recent visit to Africa.

The festival will be supported by a national TV broadcast and online advertising campaign and will run through the end of the year. The festival video submission period begins on Nov. 10 and will be open for entries for a six-week period.

“The Nikon Festival represents the progressive nature of our brand in merging social media with innovative products as a way to engage and empower aspiring photographers and filmmakers,” says Lisa Baxt, senior communications manager for Nikon Inc. "Nikon is committed to advancing HD video with the D5000 and other products and supporting it with an integrated marketing program that has a strong impact and is viral in nature. As part of this campaign, the festival presents the opportunity for current and future Nikon customers to tell their story with HD video.”

Nikon has also enlisted influencers from TV, photography and social media to serve as official festival judges. Each will also share personal videos shot with a Nikon DSLR camera, including actor/writer Rainn Wilson, Internet personality Justine Ezarik (iJustine) and visionary photographer Chase Jarvis. The Nikon Festival entries will be judged in December and winners will be announced in January.

“As an actor and avid writer, I applaud Nikon’s creation of this festival to advance the accessibility of thought-sharing and self-expression to aspiring filmmakers and photographers,” says Rainn Wilson. “I think this is a unique way for people to initiate dialogue on topics they care about while gaining exposure for their work. I’m excited to check out the videos people submit and will be tweeting throughout the festival.”

Upload “A Day Through Your Lens” Video
As guided by the video submissions of Ashton Kutcher and festival judges, entrants are challenged to create videos in 140 seconds or less, capturing the essence of a day in their life, whether funny, profound or inspirational. As videos are uploaded, they can be automatically shared with entrants’ social networks, including Twitter and Facebook, allowing instantaneous campaigning for views and votes. Although entrants are not required to use a specific camera, judges will be providing direction to meet the criteria of image quality, originality and ability to capture a day through their lens in 140 seconds.

Change Your Life in 140 Seconds or Less
Festival entrants will have the opportunity to win one of two awards: an audience award and a judges’ award. The winning video selected by the festival judges will be awarded $100,000 and Nikon equipment to pursue and chronicle their dreams. Additionally, the video getting the highest average rating and most audience views will be awarded the $25,000 Audience Award and Nikon equipment.

Entrants of the Festival, found at www.NikonFestival.com, are encouraged to use social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to share submissions and gain views and votes.

For more information on the Nikon Festival and other information on products from Nikon, please visit www.nikonusa.com. Follow the festival on Twitter at the address @nikonfestival.