Pooch Photo Contest

I usually don't mess with contests, but this one looks too fun!

Hallmark wants to know whohas the funniest pet photo in America -- and the wit to craft a clever"birthday" sentiment to go along with it. Today Hallmark Cards, Inc., iskicking off "YourPets," a competition in which consumers will enter petphoto birthday card designs, Hallmark will print and sell the finalists,and America will vote on the best. The winner with the most online voteswill receive a $1,000 grand prize and a trip to Hallmark.
"YourPets" is the second in a series of ongoing card competitionsHallmark introduced in November. While the first competition encouragedconsumers to design a card corresponding with Hallmark's partnership with(PRODUCT) RED -- the finalists of which currently are for sale onhttp://www.Hallmark.com/you - - the second rendition is all about ourfavorite four-legged friends and the things they do to make us smile. In"YourPets," Hallmark is encouraging pet owners to dig through their photoalbums and submit the funniest, most endearing, cutest, silliest, or mostcreative pet photos along with a corresponding "birthday" sentiment for achance to win.
"Hallmark consumers have never been shy about sharing their ideas fornew greeting cards with us -- including sending us their funny pet photos-- and we love to hear from them," said Lindsey Roy, senior product managerat Hallmark. "In fact, we want to encourage it. With these competitions,we're giving our fans an opportunity to turn those great ideas into realHallmark cards. Even better, we want them to select the winner. We can'twait to see which one of their touching pet photos will win America'sheart."
If every dog has its day ... is today the day for your dog?
To enter the Hallmark "YourPets" competition, log on tohttp://www.Hallmark.com/you Jan. 14 - Feb. 3, 2008. Sixty-seven finalistswill each win $250 cash, and their cards will be printed by Hallmark andsold both online at http://www.Hallmark.com/you and in more than 10,000stores. The 67 finalist card designs in the pet picture contest will beselected based on:
-- Sendability (how easily the card can be sent to multiple people) -- Theme (how well it fits the funny pet birthday photo theme) -- Humor/cohesiveness of caption (how well the pet photo and writing go together) Finalists will be posted on http://www.Hallmark.com/you starting March3, 2008.
The top dog
After the finalists are announced, America will choose the winner.Through an open online voting process, one Grand Prize winner will beselected whose card will be available for sale athttp://www.Hallmark.com/you for at least a year and may become part ofanother card collection. The Grand Prize also includes a $1,000 cash prizeand trip to Hallmark with his/her pet for a professional photo shoot andworkshop with Hallmark's creative team. Complete contest rules are postedon the Web site. No purchase is necessary.