NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

Introduction

The MyPlate Fruits and Veggies Video Challenge (the “Challenge”) is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”). The Challenge is intended to provide recognition to individuals and teams of individuals (collectively, “Contestants”) for creating inspiring and instructive videos that show how to add more fruits and vegetables to a diet without straining your budget. The goal of the Challenge is to encourage healthy eating habits and raise awareness about USDA’s MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which include making half your plate fruits and vegetables, and to do it within a reasonable cost.

Summary* of How to Enter and Judging Criteria

1. Create a Video that is approximately 30 seconds long that highlights ways you have increased fruits and vegetables in your diet without straining your budget.
2. Register on FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov between September 26, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) and November 15, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (“EST”) and submit the following items (collectively, the “Submission”):
   • The title of your Video;
   • A link to your Video on YouTube;
   • A text description of what you did in the Video to increase fruits and vegetables in your diet; and
   • A transcript of the words spoken or sung in the Video.
3. All Submissions must be entered in one of the following three Categories: (a) Tips for kids; (b) Tips when eating at home; or (c) Tips when eating away from home.

All eligible Submissions will be judged by an internal panel to select the First and Second Prize winners in each Category. All Submissions will be judged on the following three criteria:

1. Quality of the idea (including creativity and originality);
2. Implementation of the idea (including Video and photo quality and creativity); and
3. Potential impact on healthy eating habits (including how instructive, easy-to-follow, and cost-effective the idea is).

The public will vote on the Submissions on FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov between September 26, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. EDT and December 12, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. EST to determine the Popular Choice winner in each Category.

*Review the sections below for a more detailed description and important requirements and restrictions.

1. Eligibility

To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, an individual or team —

1. shall have registered to participate in the Challenge under these Official Rules;
2. shall have complied with all the requirements set forth herein;
3. shall be at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry;
4. shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and
5. may not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment.

All individual members of a team must meet the eligibility requirements. (Note: "Team members" do not include people whose only contribution is appearing in the video. Minors can appear in the video, as long as the necessary consent forms are provided.)

An individual or team shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or team used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and teams participating in the competition on an equitable basis.

An individual may join more than one team.

Employees of the USDA, the judges, and ChallengePost, Inc. (collectively the “Promotion Entities”) or any of the Promotion Entities’ respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, or any other company or individual involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge and their immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children), and household members (people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each Promotion Entity employee are not eligible.

The Challenge is subject to all applicable federal laws and regulations. Participation constitutes Contestant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Challenge.

2. Sponsor and Administrator

Sponsor: USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 3101 Park Center Drive, 10th Floor Alexandria, VA 22302-1594.

Administrator: ChallengePost, Inc., 425 W. 13th Street, Suite #504, New York, NY 10014.

The Sponsor makes all decisions related to the development, management, and implementation of the Challenge. The role of the Administrator is to carry out the Challenge per the direction of the Sponsor.

3. Challenge Submission Period

The Challenge Submission Period begins on September 26, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. EDT and ends on November 15, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. EST (the “Challenge Submission Period”). Administrator’s computer is the official time-keeping device for this Challenge.

4. How to Enter and Submission Requirements

A. Registration:

During the Challenge Submission Period, visit FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov and register. Registration is free. After a Contestant registers, he or she must verify their email address via the registration email sent to the email entered in the registration form. A registered Contestant will then be able to enter a Submission. A Contestant will be required to fill out the submission form on FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov and must provide:

• The title of your Video;
• A link to your Video on YouTube. Your Video should be approximately 30 seconds long;
• A text description of what you did in the Video to increase fruits and vegetables in your diet; and
• A transcript of the words spoken or sung in the Video.

All Submissions must be entered in one of the following Categories: (a) Tips for kids; (b) Tips when eating at home; or (c) Tips when eating away from home. A Submission can be entered in only one Category.

All individuals that appear in a Video must complete and sign the Video Consent Form. If a minor appears in the Video, the minor’s parent / legal guardian must also sign the Video Consent Form. A Submission will not be considered complete and eligible to win prizes without a completed Video Consent Form being uploaded from all individuals that appear in the Video. All completed Video Consent Forms must be uploaded on the submission form on FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov.

B. Submission Requirements:

• The Video must be approximately 30 seconds long but not longer than one minute.
• The Video must focus on only one tip for increasing fruits and veggies choices economically.
• The Video must follow certain nutritional criteria, including: (a) it must focus on the promotion of how to eat more fruits and vegetables in a healthy and low cost manner; and (b) it cannot contain fried foods, high-fat sauces (e.g., cheese sauce, Alfredo sauce), or foods high in added sugar or solid fats (e.g., cakes, cookies, pies). However, a Video can contain fried foods, high-fat sauces, or foods high in added sugar or solid fats as a point of comparison as long as such foods are not promoted.
• The Video cannot feature recipes.
• The Video must not show fruits and vegetables hidden or disguised as a tip to increase consumption (e.g., vegetables “hidden” in a burger, fruit pureed in baked goods, etc.).
• The Video must not contain any commercial food businesses, restaurants, industry names, brand names, product placement, endorsements, or trademarks.
• The Video must communicate messages or images consistent with the nutrition messages of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and ChooseMyPlate.gov.
• The Video must include, at any point during the Video, the message “Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables” and must direct people to the website ChooseMyPlate.gov for more information.
• The Submission may be disqualified if the idea presented in the Video is not the same as or closely related to the idea described in the text description.
• The Contestant cannot make any changes or alterations to the Submission once the Submission Period has ended.
• Submissions which in Sponsor and/or Administrator’s sole discretion are determined to be substantially similar to a prior submitted entry in the Challenge will be disqualified.
• Submissions must be original, be the work of the Contestant, and must not violate the rights of other parties. Each Contestant represents and warrants that he or she is the sole author and owner of the Submission, that the Submission is wholly original with the Contestant, that it does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Contestant is aware, and is free of malware.
• The Administrator has the right to request access to the Video file to verify any criteria about the Submission.
• Submissions containing any matter which in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, Administrator and Judges is in obvious bad taste, which demonstrates a lack of respect for public morals or conduct, which contains nutrition messaging that is inconsistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate, or which adversely affects the reputation of the Sponsor will not be accepted. If the Sponsor, Administrator, or judges, in their discretion, find any Submission to be unacceptable, then such Submission shall be deemed disqualified.
• All Submissions must be in English.
• The Video cannot have been submitted previously in a promotion or contest of any kind, or previously exhibited or displayed publicly through any means.
• The Video may be submitted in only one category.
• The Video should not include any personal identification information about those in the Video (e.g., full name, address, social security number, etc.).
• The Video must not contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to privacy, publicity, or intellectual property rights, or material that constitutes copyright or license infringement.
• The Video must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene, hateful, defamatory, slanderous, or libelous.
• The Video must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred, or harm against any group or individual, or that promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
• The Video must not contain material that violates any applicable law.

C. Submission Rights:

Each Contestant grants to USDA, the Administrator, National Strategic Partners in USDA’s Nutrition Communicators Network who have agreed to post Videos, and others acting on behalf of USDA, an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive worldwide license to use, copy for use, distribute, display publicly, perform publicly, create derivative works, and license others to do so for the purpose of the Challenge until one year after the announcement of winners. This license includes posting or linking to the Submission on the official USDA and Administrator websites and partner websites and making it available for use by the public.

5. Display of Submissions and Public Voting to Determine the Popular Choice Winner in each Category

Submissions will be posted on FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov on a rolling basis after being screened by the Administrator for basic functionality, accuracy of nutrition messaging, and integrity (i.e., security). Submissions will not be posted until the completed Video Consent Form is received from all individuals that appear in the Video, as described in Section 4 above. All Contestants will have equal access to Submissions posted on the website. Non-Contestants interested in the Challenge are also encouraged to register on FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov. Registration will be required in order to receive updates on the Challenge and to vote on your favorite Submissions to determine the Popular Choice winner in each Category. The public voting will take place between on or about September 26, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. EDT and December 12, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. EST.

Each registered visitor is able to place one vote per day for each of their favorite Submissions. There will be one Popular Choice award in each category. In the event of a tie, an internal panel will choose the winner. Use of an automated process or similar device to submit an electronic vote is strictly prohibited. Any attempt to circumvent the one vote limit per Submission per day or to use an automated vote process will subject all votes from the person to disqualification. If a Contestant receives multiple and/or irregular votes from the same user or users, including but not limited to votes generated by a robotic, programmed, script, macro, other automated means or other source, the Sponsor and Administrator reserves the right to disqualify the Contestant in their sole discretion.

If the voting process fails to operate properly or appears to be tampered with or tainted with errors, fraud, or unfair practices, the Sponsor and Administrator in their sole discretion reserve the right to use another means to determine the Popular Choice winner in each Category (e.g., appointing a panel of judges).

Contestants may not pay people or provide any other type of consideration in exchange for votes, and any Contestant who violates this rule will be disqualified. Public votes may be displayed on the Challenge website, on a real-time basis, before being verified for integrity. These unverified votes do not necessarily reflect accurately the Popular Choice winners. The Popular Choice winner in each Category will be the Contestant who is contacted directly by the Administrator or Sponsor after votes have been verified. Sponsor reserves the right to modify the voting period at any time for any reason. If there is a tie between two or more Submissions for the most votes, the Popular Choice Award will be split equally amongst all tied Contestants.

6. Judges and Winner Selection

An internal panel will judge the Submissions on the criteria identified below to select the First and Second prize winners in each category. All judging will take place between on or about November 21, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. EST and December 12, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. EST.

The following information details the commitment of judges:

• Judges will be fair and impartial.
• A judge may not have a personal or financial interest in, or be an employee, officer, director, or agent of any entity that is a registered participant in the competition.
• A judge may not have a familial or financial relationship with an individual who is a registered Contestant.

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible Submissions received and the quality of Submissions.

First Prize and Second Prize in Each Category

Both the internal panel as well as the expert judging panel will evaluate each Submission on the following three criteria:

1. Quality of the idea (including creativity and originality);
2. Implementation of the idea (including Video and photo quality and creativity); and
3. Potential impact on healthy eating habits (including how instructive, easy-to-follow, and cost-effective the idea is).

The two Contestants whose Submissions earn the highest and second-highest overall scores in each Category will win, respectively, the First and Second prizes identified below in Section 8. In the event of a tie, winners will be selected based on the criteria described in (1), then (2), and finally (3). If there is still a tie then the winner will be selected based on a vote by the judging panel.

7. Verification of Potential Winners

ALL POTENTIAL CHALLENGE WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR AND/OR ADMINISTRATOR WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CHALLENGE. Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. The potential winners will be notified by email, telephone, or mail after the date of the judging. The potential winners will be required to sign and return to Sponsor, within ten (10) days of the date notice is sent, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release (except where prohibited) in order to claim his or her prize. If a potential winner of any prize cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release within the required time period (if applicable), or if the prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, the potential winner forfeits prize. In the event that a potential winner of a Challenge prize is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor may award the applicable prize to the Contestant whose Submission earned the highest score of the remaining of the eligible entries.

8. Prizes

Category: Tips for kids

Category: Tips when eating at home

Category: Tips when eating away from home

Prize purse may increase up until November 21, 2011. Under no circumstance will a prize level be removed or reduced except as provided in Section 11 below. All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner.

After prizes are awarded and the Challenge is completed, Sponsor and judges may, with a Contestant’s approval, independently consider further developing winning submissions for educational or other purposes.

If a team of individuals is selected as a prize winner, the prize will be awarded to the lead representative of the team and it will be up to him or her to split or appropriately allocate the prize. On award, the lead representative of the group will provide his or her full legal name, social security number, and information for the bank account that will receive the prize money.

9. Entry Conditions and Release

By entering, each Contestant agrees to: (a) Comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, Administrator, and judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Challenge; (b) Assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from the Contestant’s participation in the Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise. In this paragraph, “related entity” means a contractor or subcontractor at any level, and a supplier, user, customer, cooperating party, grantee, investigator, or detailee. Provided, however, that Contestants are not required to waive claims arising out of the unauthorized use or disclosure by the Sponsor and/or Administrator of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential business information of the Contestant; (c) Be responsible for obtaining their own liability insurance to cover claims by any third party for death, bodily injury, or property damage, or loss resulting from an activity carried out in connection with participation in the Challenge, and claims by the Federal Government for damage or loss to Government property resulting from such an activity; and (d) Indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.

10. Publicity

Except where prohibited, participation in the Challenge constitutes the winning Contestants’ consent to the use of its name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, and/or hometown and state by the Sponsor and its agents for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.

11. General Conditions

Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Challenge.

Sponsor and/or Administrator reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or Competitor it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Challenge or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Challenge may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor and/or Administrator reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor and/or Administrator’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible for, nor are they required to count, incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, unlawful or illicit votes, including those secured through payment, votes achieved through automated means or by registering more than one e-mail account and name, using another Contestant’s e-mail account and name, as well as those lost for technical reasons or otherwise.

12. Limitations of Liability

The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Contestants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Challenge; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Challenge; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Challenge or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Contestant’s participation in the Challenge or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. If for any reason a Contestant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, Contestant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Challenge. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded.

13. Disputes

Contestant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any prizes awarded, other than those concerning the administration of the Challenge or the determination of winners, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively in an appropriate judicial or administrative forum of the United States; and (3) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Challenge, but in no event attorneys’ fees. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Contestant and Sponsor in connection with the Challenge, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the United States Federal Government, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United States Federal Government.

14. Privacy

Sponsor collects personal information from you when you enter the Challenge. The information collected is subject to the ChallengePost privacy policy located at www.challengepost.com/privacy.

15. Challenge Results

For Challenge results, go to FruitsandVeggies.challenge.gov on or about December 14, 2011.

Disclaimer: The rules were clarified after the Competition started to specifically address the eligibility of video submissions that contain fried foods, high-fat sauces, or foods high in added sugar or solid fats as a point of comparison but do not promote such foods.