Tales From The Inbox - January 26, 2010

January means a full inbox - here are some of the latest communications from contests, PR folks, OEMs, and others:

Rock Victorious: Nike Women Rock Victorious films have launched to celebrate personal moments of victory and the dedication to training of top female athletes - Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Susanna Kallur, and Lianne Sanderson.

Nike Women's Training is committed to fueling the power of sport in the life of every young female athlete around the world. Whether she's training, dancing, snowboarding, or running, when she dedicates herself - as these top athletes do - she too can reach her individual potential. Ultimately by celebrating the emotional power of an athlete's accomplishments we hope to inspire young female athletes to feel, experience, be a part of their own victorious moment. Check out the Rock Victorious site to see what it is all about.

Crash The Super Bowl: Yes, if you follow me on Twitter you know that I think this year's Super Bowl will be a major snoozefest. Epic boredom. This is what happens when you don't have a team in the playoffs or an NFL team in your MAJOR city at all. That's another story.

This year, Doritos presents the “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, incorporating user generated videos and potentially shelling out up to $5 million. Out of 4,000 entries, 6 finalists have been selected and now online consumer votes will determine which three winning contestant’s video will air during the Super Bowl. Today's video is one such finalist and you can see the rest here.

College Hoops: With college basketball in full swing, that means one thing for many hoops fans -- lots of game watching. During these exciting (and sometimes frustrating times), inspired fans may overflow with brilliant ideas to enhance the fan experience---only to be left disappointed that they lack an outlet to express their vision. Coke Zero heard the call from the fans and in response, launched the Department of Fannovation – an online hub where people can share these innovative ideas and then compete to win $10,000 and a trip for two to the NCAA Final Four in 2011.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to potential Fannovations; whether it’s a concession cup that turns into a megaphone, a pair of pants with a built in seat cushion, or something as simple as a new cheering device (think the Foam Finger or the popular Thunderstix).

Fans can head over now to CokeZero.com/NCAA page to submit their idea (along with any videos, photos, and drawings) and view/vote for the others. The top 64 will then advance to the “Brain Bracket,” as chosen by fan voting and Coke Zero, and these will then compete in a tournament-like “survive and advance” format until only one idea remains.

Seth Davis, the in studio NCAA analyst for CBS, helps explains in this video how the Department of Fannovation and Coke Zero’s first ever Brain Bracket will work here. You can get more info by clicking on this link also.