Contestants in the Sony Ericsson Smile Hunt must upload unretouched images of smiles, captured using camera phones only. The images must have been taken during 2009, and Sony Ericsson will award prizes to three individuals - a Judges Winner, People's Winner, and Smile Ambassador winner. The People's Winner will be selected via global public voting on Sony Ericsson's website, and the winner will receive an unspecified selection of Sony Ericsson products.
Selection for the Judges Winner is rather more complex, with three entries being considered from each eligible country, as nominated by local competition organizers or their media partners if applicable, or by the number of public votes received in countries with no media partner. From the many dozens of nominees, one winner will then be selected by a panel of five judges. In no particular order, the judges are Sony Ericsson's senior designer Martin Wezowski, Reuters UK & Ireland Chief of Photography David Viggers, and three well-known photographers - Tony Briggs, Liu Heung Shing and Angela Boatwright.
Contestants will be accepted from regions including:
- Austria
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Caribbean Islands
- Central America
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Mexico
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Finally, Smile Ambassadors must pre-register telling Sony Ericsson why they feel they should be chosen, and enclosing two "smile" images. This portion of the contest seems to be open only to participation from Romania and the United Kingdom (a couple of other European countries have the relevant link, but their rules pages refer to UK contestants and so this seems to be an error). The Smile Ambassadors in each case will be provided with a "kit" including a camera phone and events access, to help them capture photos of smiles. The Smile Ambassador Winner will apparently be the individual who captures the most smiles with their kit, and they will win a selection of Sony Ericsson products, plus a local exhibition of their photos if their images are cleared for this purpose.
In the United Kingdom, three Smile Ambassadors will be chosen with a preference towards individuals who are trendy, social and outgoing. Each Smile Ambassador will be provided with an unspecified Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot camera phone, travel to a European country for the individual and a friend, and a selection of festival / theatre / comedy / gig tickets, plus passes for VIP admission to club nights and events. In Romania, it seems that there will be one Smile Ambassador, and being fluent with social networking seems to be a plus, since Facebook / MySpace / Hi5 contacts are also being requested. The chosen individual will receive a Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905 camera phone, VIP tickets for two to a concert in Bucharest, Romania, and transport plus a night's accomodation should the individual be from outside of Bucharest.
For more details, visit the Sony Ericsson Smile Hunt website, and view the section for your home country.
