Friskies Search for Next Great Original Internet Cat Video

Friskies® Presents “The Friskies“

Films have the Oscars®, television shows have the Emmys®, and now internet cat videos have “The Friskies.” Sponsored by Friskies cat food brand, “The Friskies” is a national contest to find and honor the best in original Internet cat videos with tiger sized prizes and charity donations, including a $15,000 Grand Prize.

And if this isn’t super exciting enough, one of the judges is our good friend Karen Nichols, mother of Skeezix and editor of Mousebreath!  This makes me want to run and scratch the sofa from excitement.

Cats Rule the Internet!

Humans have been creating and sharing the videos they take of their cats just for fun.  but now, cat parents and  cats have the opportunity to  be recognized for their achievements.

“We love cat videos because they showcase the imagination of both cats and their owners,” said Shaun Belongie, Friskies brand manager.  “Some may say that there are too many cat videos on the Internet already.  We don’t think so.  We’re launching ‘The Friskies’ because we think the next great cat video is just waiting to be discovered.”

“The Friskies” formally celebrates the genre of Internet cat videos by awarding cash prizes and trophies in specific categories. The contest also rewards the online community’s participation efforts with donations of Friskies cat food to cat charity organization partners. Friskies has committed to donate 125,000 cans of cat food to cat charity organization partners.  Each time someone enters the contest, votes, or likes or shares a video; five additional cans of Friskies cat food will be added to the total number of cans to be donated, up to a total of 250,000 cans.

About the Contest

The call for entries is open now through October 12 at www.TheFriskies.com. Up to Twelve finalists will be chosen for the judging and public voting phase in October, and winners will be announced in November. Each finalist will receive a one-year supply of Friskies cat food, and an original Friskies cat statue, the “Cat-uette.” The grand prize winner receives $15,000 and the honor of “Best Video,” and four category prize winners receive $2,500. The Cat-egories include:

Catness: The essence of cat behavior – moments of pure cat awesomeness

Catcom: Your cat in a humorous situation

Catventure: An indoor cat adventure

Catch All: For entries that don’t fit into one of the other categories

Entries must be original videos no longer than three minutes. Videos will be judged on originality, overall artistic impression, cinematography, technical production, audience appeal and entertainment quality, cat playfulness or quirks, sense of a story being told, and portraying cat’s perspective.

Contest Judges

For a contest of this magnitude, Friskies recruited a highly-qualified panel to judge the finalists’ videos. The judges hail from acclaimed professional backgrounds in art design, various aspects of the film industry, and cat lifestyle media:

Wayne White: Iconic folk artist, original set designer for Pee Wee’s Playhouse and star of this fall’s

acclaimed documentary Beauty is Embarrassing.

Michael Showalter: Actor, comedian, cat humorist, and professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts known for co-writing the cult hit Wet Hot American Summer and as a member of the sketch comedy trio Stella.

Tim League: Film industry trendsetter known for founding Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, Rolling Roadshow and Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the nation.

Karen Nichols: Managing editor of award-winning online cat lifestyle magazine Mousebreath, and Internet cat video creator and aficionado.

Cat Shelters Nationwide To Benefit

The best Internet cat video stars and their directors aren’t the only winners of “The Friskies.” The contest is possible in part because many rescue cats have found happy homes…with owners who love sharing videos of their cats’ awesomeness on the Internet.