TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival’s Face of the Festival Campaign Pulls in Youth Voters

Public Vote In Their Thousands As Baby Kissing, Flyer Posting And Hospital Visits Get Out Of Hand

WHISTLER, BC, April 9, 2009 - The TELUS World Ski and Snowboard ‘Face of the Festival’ competition has seen thousands of Canadians shrug off voter apathy and throw their support behind their preferred candidates in what’s proving to be a tight race for the office of Online Video Host for the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival.



The successful candidate will have unrivalled access to all the musicians, athletes, arts and cultural personalities and events, (not to mention the biggest end of season après parties around). Taking place between 17-26 April in Whistler, BC, the ‘Face’ will feature in the Festival’s daily video highlights set to be broadcast on Dose.ca



The five finalists for the competition, announced earlier this week, hail from all across the country. Alex Hearn (formerly of Langley, BC), Ashley Scott (of Toronto, Ontario) and ‘Poncho’ (of Sydney, Australia) are all currently living in Whistler, while Gordie McKay of Halifax is representing the East Coast, and Miranda Furtado is gathering support in Milton, Ontario. Each has taken their own approach to getting the votes in but all are taking a leaf out of US President Obama’s book and offer serious inspiration to provincial election candidates wanting to connect with the youth vote.



Their online campaigns, run on shoestring-and-beer-ticket-budgets, have focussed on social media platforms Facebook, MySpace, Youtube and Twitter, in addition to www.wssf.com/faceofthefestival/. Traditional media rounds out the mix, as candidates Furtado and Hearn lobby for local print and broadcast attention, while other candidates deploy old-school grassroots tactics with poster campaigns.



Over 50 applicants submitted videos or took part in live auditions in Whistler village, following a casting call for a Face of the Festival. The audition tapes were posted at http://www.youtube.com/user/TWSSF2009 from which five finalists were selected.

Voting will continue over the Easter weekend, closing at 8am (PST) on Monday 13th April. Votes can be cast at: www.wssf.com/faceofthefestival







For more information about the free music, sports, arts and culture events on offer during the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival visit: www.wssf.com