Like many East Coast transplants, Baxter Finley initially basked in the California sunshine when he moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s. However, he soon discovered that the bountiful heat and sun makes for dry and rough skin. Unsatisfied with the products on the market, he created Baxter of California, a line of high quality skincare products designed specifically for men.

Throughout the years, Baxter of California has evolved from being known for its signature product, Super Shave, to being known for its suite of men’s products that combine cutting edge formulations with premium ingredients. The brand prides itself on being one of the first, if not, the first men’s grooming and skincare brand in the US, and its products have a strong, almost cultish, following. Made especially for men’s skin, which is thicker and oilier than lady dermis, Baxter of California takes a classic yet modern approach to grooming, making the grooming ritual refined and essential to the modern man’s lifestyle.

With this in mind, Baxter of California is working with Tongal to create videos that will bring awareness to the brand and show that it’s the grooming brand of choice for the style-conscious man. In a saturated product market, Baxter of California stands up above the rest with its unique heritage and intelligent skincare solutions to anti-aging, shaving, and grooming.

What you need to know (please see the Details tab for more information):

Given Baxter of California is a men’s brand, keep in mind what men tend to “share” when it comes to videos.

- Idea Phase: Baxter of California is looking for Ideas that are either hilarious or emotional. Confused? Don’t be. You have up to 5 Idea submissions. Submit an Idea that will make viewers laugh or submit one that will make viewers think or do both. Ideate outside of the box!

- Pitch Phase: For inspiration check out Eric Kelly’s Training 101 for an example of a humorous video and McLaren 50 – Courage for an example of a thought provoking video. Be sure to include links to previous work and don’t forget that you can upload scripts and storyboards to your Pitch so that it stands out from the rest. Other videos to take into consideration: Zombie Boy, Lacoste Live - We Were Never Born

- Video Phase: Wildcard videos wanted! If your Pitch does not win during the Pitch Phase, you’re invited to submit a Wildcard video based on either a winning Idea or your own Idea. This is your chance to show us your chops!

The goal of this project is to create a 60-120 second video that will build awareness and interest in Baxter of California. The video should either be humorous or emotional while aiming for high sharability. The takeaway from the videos should be, “There is a cool men’s grooming brand out there called Baxter of California that I want to learn more about and try.”

-- Brand Persona: Founded in California in 1965 by Baxter Finley, this is a mid-60s-70s cool Hollywood brand, from the era of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Endless Summer, and Mad Men. It offers styling, haircare, shaving and skincare products for men who take pride in their appearance, but who don’t try too hard. It’s a brand used by men “in the know.”

• Vision: To be the grooming brand of choice for the style-conscious man.

• Positioning in marketplace: Baxter of California is a premium-priced men’s grooming line sold in top barbershops, men’s lifestyle stores and online.

• Sense of Purpose: Baxter of California enables men around the world to be their best, most confident selves by providing them with intelligent, technologically-advanced grooming solutions specially formulated for their specific skin and haircare needs.

• Product Attributes: Grooming authority, classic, reputable, professional quality and expertise, cutting edge, high performance, science meets nature formulas, clean, sleek, modern design.

• Brand personality/Advertising Values: Aspirational California lifestyle, masculine, classic yet modern, timeless, stylish, sophisticated, cool, confident, understated, exclusive.

-- Key Marketing Messages: Tagline- Evolving men's grooming since 1965

-- Target Audience/ Reach: The focus is men 25-45; affluent, style-conscious, urban/suburban, professional, influencer/tastemaker.

-- Tone: Think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Mad Men – Baxter of California has heritage, but the brand is not rat pack/golden age of Hollywood- think NEW COOL HOLLYWOOD. Be inspired by the era of Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, and Steve McQueen.

-- Executional Mandatories: It must be clear that the brand is Baxter of California (at least 2 mentions), that it is a men’s grooming brand, and it has California roots. PLEASE AVOID frat boy humor and toilet jokes. The brand may ask to put a call-to-action bumper at the end of the video.

-- Exposure: Youtube, Facebook, baxterofcalifornia.com, Twitter, and any male-oriented social media sites or blogs.

This project will be worth a total of $30,000 and consist of three phases, an Idea Phase, a Pitch Phase and a Video Phase. Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.

PHASE 1: IDEA – Tell us your Idea for a “Evolution of Grooming” Video in 140 characters or less. Remember, an Idea (What is an Idea Phase?) is not a detailed script; it is a spark of inspiration, or a distillation of what will happen in the Video. As always, Ideas should be clever and engaging. Winning Idea creators will each receive $250 and a 5% one-time residual payment for every winning Video their Idea is used to generate. (That means if your winning Idea is the basis for the 1st place Video, you will receive $750, the 2nd place Video $400, the 3rd place Video $225) – see Video Phase Payout details below.

PHASE 2: PITCH – Using text (500 characters or less), images (storyboards), video, and external links (to other supporting assets, i.e., your reel, etc.), give us your Pitch (What Is a Pitch Phase?) for how YOU would go about producing a 60 – 120 second video based on one of the winning Ideas. The TWO most compelling Pitches will be selected and will receive $1,000 to help create their Video. Those winners (upon submitting their Winner's Affidavit and IP Assignment) will also be GUARANTEED a winning place in the subsequent Video Phase. So, if your Pitch is selected and you submit a video during the Video Phase, you will win an additional $4,500, at a minimum, and have a chance to compete for the $15,000 first place Video prize (subject to deduction for one-time 5% residual payment). Remember your Pitch can include any, and all, of the assets mentioned above and you MUST include a link to some of your previous video work on Tongal or elsewhere to be considered for this phase. For an example of an effective pitch, check out Erik Beck’s winning “3 Artists & 5,000 LEGOs”. All Pitches will remain private until after the winners of the Video Phase are announced and the Project is complete. Keep in mind, if you don’t win the Pitch Phase or choose not to create a Pitch, you will still have the opportunity to create and submit a “Wild Card” Video. 

PHASE 3: VIDEO – The TWO winners from the Pitch Phase will create a 60 – 120 second video based upon their winning Pitches, and all other creators are invited to enter a “Wild Card” (What Is a Wildcard?) submission that is not based on any winning material from the previous phases. The Judges will score all Wild Card Videos and the highest scoring Wild Card Video and the TWO (2) winning Videos submitted by Pitch winners will be scored to determine the standings for the Video Phase. Remember, the TWO Pitch winners, along with the non-Pitch Video creator, will receive prizes.

-- Video Phase Payout: Winners of the Video Phase will earn the following prizes: 1st place $15,000, 2nd place $8,000, 3rd place $4,500 (less any 5% one-time residual payments paid to Idea winners, as applicable).

-- Music: Killer Tracks is a leading provider of production music for use in film, television, advertising and interactive media. Killer Tracks’ music will be available to registered Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into official Submissions to this Project. No other use is permitted. You may only use up to THREE Killer Tracks maximum as part of your video Submission.

To use the Killer Tracks site, click HERE (killertracks.com) or on the "Killer Tracks" button on the right hand side of this page. On their homepage, click the red login tab in the upper right-hand corner and enter the following credentials:

Username: TongalMusicKT@tongal.com 

Password:  duchess

Click login. We encourage you to use the “Themed Playlist” tab for exploring the catalog as it provides pre-curated song choices based on several popular themes. Alternately, use the "Search" tab to enter your own criteria. To watch a quick tutorial video on how to use the website, click HERE: (http://killertracks.com/tutorial/).

Once you’ve identified the song(s) you want to use, click the down arrow under the Actions column to the right of the song title/description. This will open a Download Manager window, allowing you to save the file to the location of your choice. Keep track of the CD#, Track #, Track Title and Composer(s) of the songs you end up using in the video, as you will need to provide that info once you turn in the final edit. Getting the right track can really help sell your video, so make it killer!

1. The Video MUST not exceed 120 seconds in length. Preferred format is HD 720p 16x9.  Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX.

2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.

3. In the event you utilize any third party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.

4. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Baxter of California.

5. Submissions must not portray Baxter of California in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Baxter of California. 

6. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.

7. Limit 5 submission(s) per member, per phase.

8. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.

9. Minimum 50 Pitches, or the contest may repost for fourteen (14) days at the sponsor's discretion.

10. Sponsor will be entitled to one reasonable round of revisions on the finished video without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.

11. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, winning video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, and Music Releases for all assets appearing in the video as well as the project files, editing sequence and an uncompressed quicktime .mov file in either Animation or ProRes 422 codecs at 1920x1080 to claim their prize.

12. BY SUBMITTING A VIDEO ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES SOLELY THE PROPERTY OF TONGAL – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEB SITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL.  FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.

13. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.

14. In addition to the judging criteria stated in the Official Rules, pitches will also be evaluated on that member's ability to execute the final video based on their prior work and experience as a filmmaker.