The video you are about to watch is not an Onion parody of an infomercial.
It's an offer from Zimmerman Advertising founder Jordan Zimmerman enticing viewers with a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to go to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to meet … Jordan Zimmerman.
As part of an effort to generate publicity for his new book, "Leading Fearlessly," Mr. Zimmerman is fearlessly leading a social-media video challenge called "Meet Jordan Zimmerman."
Interested parties are instructed to post a Vine or Instagram a video explaining why he or she should be chosen to win the opportunity to meet the "maverick advertising icon." Those who create videos are also instructed to follow Mr. Zimmerman on Twitter and Instagram and to tweet their videos with the hashtag #leadingfearlessly. Mr. Zimmerman will "personally select the entrant he believes makes the best case," according to a press release.
"What do you have to do to win?" asks Mr. Zimmerman in a YouTube video. "Wow me. Show me how passionate you are about coming to meet me, getting an autographed copy of my book, asking me questions, and learning from me how to build your dream. ... I want to know you want to be here with me."
Folks looking to earn points by quoting the book might be out of luck. It won't be out until next year.
Presumably, though it isn't clear, this isn't limited to advertising folks. He's promising that he'll "advise you any way I can on any business deal you have."
But wait! There's more. In the YouTube video, Mr. Zimmerman makes his case for why you should want to have lunch with him: He started his agency with a $10,000 investment, and 30 years later has grown it into a "$3 billion empire."
That $3 billion figure is not the ad agency's revenue. It's not even the worldwide revenue of the network, TBWA Worldwide, that Zimmerman Advertising reports into at Omnicom Group. (TBWA had about $1.2 billion in worldwide revenue last year, according to Ad Age's Data Center.)
"If you're just looking to win a vacation, then you don't have the right mindset for this," said Mr. Jordan in a press release. He is not messing around. "I want to know how bad you really want it," said the copy on the contest's website.
A quick Twitter search for the #leadingfearlessly hashtag reveals that there was (at publication time) a whole one submission by a guy named Bill Vann, who professes his excitement about being the first contestant.
Act fast, though. This offer's only good until May 21.