chevrolet and nbc's the apprentice have a contest where you can create your own chevy tahoe tv ad using stock clips and a simple point-and-click interface. the process is very simple.

it wasn't long before subversive ads starting turning up, ads with messages that chevrolet and nbc might not like. there were naturally ads that mocked the tahoe over environmental issues. but more than that, subversive ads on a variety of other subjects appeared.

the site has been quietly deleting some such ads when it finds them, so those links could go dead, but people with video capture software have been archiving some ads and submitting them to sites like youtube.

i came in a bit late, but i had to join the fun. here is mine. maybe it's a little obvious, but i made it quickly late at night. maybe i'll be inspired to make more.

apparently nightline aired a segment on this story tonight, according to missannethrope at dkos. i didn't find out about it until after it had aired here in indy, so i haven't seen it, but maybe the video will turn up online. (check the comments on that post for links to more ads.)

i noticed that missannethrope mentions an interview with someone named "gunderson"... though i could be wrong, this sounds like it was almost certainly "trademark" gunderson of the evolution control committee. (no mention on his websites, though.)

update: virago points our attention to the nightline segment on youtube. turns out it wasn't mark gunderson, but some guy named eric gundersen. maybe there's some magical culture-jamming power associated with that name.¶