Calling All Aspiring Models! Southpole® Clothing Launches Their First Online Model Search

Leading apparel company, Southpole®, has teamed up with social media advertising network, Brickfish®, to launch its first ever online model competition in search of male and female models to star in their 2009 advertising campaign. The ‘Southpole National Model Search’ campaign, located at http://www.brickfish.com/spole, gives aspiring models the opportunity to compete and become the new face of Southpole Juniors and Young Mens collections. The search began on November 13 and will run for approximately seven weeks. Within this period, contestants will submit photos, which will be posted online, where fans of the brand, friends and family will have the chance to vote for their favorites. The top 250 female and the top 250 male contestants will then be reviewed by Southpole executives and America’s Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez, to determine the final winners.

FORT LEE, N.J. (Business Wire EON) December 1, 2008 -- Leading apparel company, Southpole®, has teamed up with social media advertising network, Brickfish®, to launch its first ever online model competition in search of male and female models to star in their 2009 advertising campaign. The ‘Southpole National Model Search’ campaign, located at http://www.brickfish.com/spole, gives aspiring models the opportunity to compete and become the new face of Southpole Juniors and Young Mens collections. The search began on November 13 and will run for approximately seven weeks. Within this period, contestants will submit photos, which will be posted online, where fans of the brand, friends and family will have the chance to vote for their favorites. The top 250 female and the top 250 male contestants will then be reviewed by Southpole executives and America’s Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez, to determine the final winners.

It's not just about being stylish. As the number one fashion brand in streetwear, we represent such a large demographic and therefore we are looking for undiscovered talent that epitomizes the unique confidence, multicultural and diverse taste of our consumers.

Tapping into the current trend and popularity of reality television modeling contests, Southpole hopes to help undiscovered talent make their marks on the modeling scene, while giving fans of the brand the opportunity to vote and voice their opinion on who should be the next face of Southpole. Final entries will be judged on their overall appearance, personal style and their embodiment of the Southpole brand.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity for aspiring models, who will soon follow in the footsteps of former Southpole celebrities such as KD Aubert, Ciara, Omarion, Mario, Marques Houston, Keyshia Cole and many others who were endorsers for Southpole.

“We have decided to promote a nationwide model search for Southpole because we are constantly being approached by excited and enthusiastic consumers expressing their desire to be the next top model of our line. We wanted to tap into that energy and give them the opportunity to show us how they could represent Southpole,” said David Strumeier, senior vice president of marketing, licensing and new business development for Southpole. “It’s not just about being stylish. As the number one fashion brand in streetwear, we represent such a large demographic and therefore we are looking for undiscovered talent that epitomizes the unique confidence, multicultural and diverse taste of our consumers.”

Two grand prize winners (one female and one male) chosen from the top 250 highest scoring entries in each category, will be selected by a panel of Southpole experts and America’s Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez, to be featured in an upcoming 2009 advertising campaign. In addition to the grand prize winners, runner up winners (one female and one male) will be chosen from the top 250 highest scoring entries to receive a Southpole wardrobe worth $250 plus a swag bag. Southpole will also reward one male and one female, selected from the 250 most viral, a $1,000 cash prize.

Brickfish social media campaigns enable brands and agencies to launch online marketing campaigns that get consumers engaged in a meaningful brand dialogue. Consumers create exciting, personalized brand-focused user-generated content (UGC) and then virally share the campaign and their content with their vast social networks via widgets, IM, blogs, email and more. Campaign participants interact with the brand campaign in a variety of ways that include creating, reviewing, sharing, voting upon, and watching brand-relevant content. This powerful viral marketing vehicle generates extensive brand awareness, engagement, reach and results.

The deadline to submit entries for the Southpole Clothing Model Search is December 31. Winners will be notified on or about January 31.

Contestants can enter and learn more about the complete rules and requirements of the ‘Southpole National Model Search’ campaign at: http://www.brickfish.com/spole or http://www.myspace.com/southpoleusa.

About SOUTHPOLE®

For over a decade, Southpole® (www.southpole-usa.com) has been a leading fashion brand in the streetwear apparel industry. As the flagship brand of Wicked Fashions, Inc., Southpole reaches markets in the United States, Asia, and Europe with its affordable, yet stylish denim, sportswear, outerwear, and footwear for young men, juniors, kids, and plus size. Launched in 1991, it was the first brand to fill a niche for reasonably priced, urban clothing that appeals to a diversified, multicultural, mid-tier retail consumer.

About Brickfish®

Brickfish®, a leading social media advertising network, enables brand advertisers to reach their target audience on the social Web through viral marketing campaigns that engage consumers in a meaningful brand dialogue. Consumers create exciting, personalized brand-focused user-generated content (UGC) and then virally share the campaign and their content with their vast social networks via widgets, blogs, IM, email, and hundreds more. Additional campaign participants interact with the brand by creating, reviewing, sharing, voting upon, and watching brand-relevant content. All of these brand engagements are tracked with patent-pending Viral Map™ and Geo View technologies, which provide detailed data on the reach, engagement, and viral activity of each campaign across the Web and geographically. Brickfish uses an exclusive Cost Per Engagement® (CPE®) model for pricing and measuring consumer participation in online advertising campaigns. Brickfish has launched more than 250 successful campaigns for some of the world’s premier brands, including Kodak, Nike, Samsung, Coach, Givenchy, The North Face®, Intuit, Qualcomm, and more.