Do I have to place an ad on MSN to enter? Yes. The online advertising submitted for judging must have appeared on an MSN website between 6/1/2004 and 5/31/2005 to be eligible.

How many ads can I enter? An entrant may submit a maximum of three ads. You can enter a unique ad in only one category. Each element of a single ad campaign is considered a unique entry. All entries must be received by 11:59 PM PT on May 31, 2005 to be eligible.

Which MSN sites qualify? Ads can run on any MSN sites. For a complete list of MSN sites, see http://advertising.msn.com/msnsites/msnsites.asp.

Which type of ads qualify? Entries may be in the form of any ad type supported by MSN, including advertorial, banner, button, content module, email, exit ad, mid-page ad, news alert, over-the-page ad, pop-under ad, pop-up ad, showcase ad, skyscraper, streaming, transition ad, vertical ad, MSN Video ad, MSN rich media and supported third party rich media solutions.

Who is judging the contest? Entries will be judged in each category by a panel of industry creatives based on creative execution within the category, innovation and the entrant's assessment of ad merit as stated on the entry form. The judging panel will be chaired by Paul Lavoie of Taxi.

Will you publish information I provide about the ad's business merits? Microsoft will hold the entrant's statement regarding the ad merit confidential and will not publish it in any form without the express written consent of the entrant.

What do you mean by rich media? Rich media includes HTML, Third-Party Served HTML, Flash, DHTML, JavaScript and other scripted ads. Rich media ads can be in a Microsoft rich media format (see http://advertising.msn.com/adproducts/msnrichmedia.asp for a complete list) or any of the MSN-supported third party sites listed on http://advertising.msn.com/adproducts/3rdpartyrichmedia.asp.

What are the prizes? $10,000 will be awarded to the First Place winner and $5,000 will be awarded to the Second Place winner in each category, provided a qualified number of entries are received. There is a $25,000 prize for the Best Overall entry ("Best in Show") from among all submissions across the four (4) categories.

Who are the prizes paid to? The prize will be awarded to the company responsible for submitting the entry, not the individual submitting the entry on their behalf. Many companies have internal policies regarding employee acceptance of cash from vendors. It is the company's responsibility to determine equitable distribution of prize money in compliance with internal policies and procedures.

Will my ad be shown on MSN? Entries may be displayed on the MSN Advertising website and other MSN websites. However, Microsoft cannot guarantee that a particular entry will be showcased on its websites.

What's the deadline for submitting my entry? All entries must be received by 11:59 PM PT on May 31, 2005 to be eligible.

Can I mail in my entry form? No, only online entries will be accepted.

Can I mail the ad elements on a CD? No, the advertising element files must be sent as WinZip attachments to ccontest@microsoft.com, or propped to a Web/FTP site with location and instructions sent to ccontest@microsoft.com for pick up. CDs will not be accepted.

Will I be notified if my submission is incomplete or my ad elements are not received? No, we will not notify entrants if their entry is not complete. Please check to make sure that you: (1) Complete the online entry form in its entirety before submitting, and (2) follow the instructions for submission of ad elements as listed in the Rules.