Justin Timberlake is hitting the big screen again next month with a lead role in the sci-fi thriller "In Time ." And the singer, actor and investor has teamed up with Los Angeles digital agency Talenthouse to launch a photography contest aimed at building buzz for the film.
"In Time " is set in a world in which people don't physically age past 25 and have to buy time to live longer. With that premise in mind, the new campaign, titled "Every Second Counts," calls for photo submissions that represent the idea of making every second count. (Photography is one of Mr. Timberlake's hobbies.)
Mr. Timberlake will use the winning photo as his Facebook profile picture in the month of November and that photo and those from nine other finalists will be featured at a pop-up gallery at the Los Angeles premiere of the film.
Talenthouse specializes in creating contests and voting widgets that connect celebrities with everyday people and "life-changing opportunities," said Talenthouse general manager Matt Wilkinson. The agency then delivers those widgets to relevant blogs around the web to spread the word and integrates them into social networks. Mr. Timberlake has also promoted the contest this week on Twitter, where he has more than 6 million followers.
When someone submits a photo or votes on a submission, he or she is shown a trailer for "In Time ." Mr. Wilkinson said Talenthouse hopes to generate 500,000 views of the trailer through the contest, which ends in two and a half weeks.
The voting is not used to determine the winner, but rather to help surface the best submissions, Mr. Wilkinson said. Mr. Timberlake and his firm Tennman Digital will choose the winner and finalists.
Mr. Wilkinson said Talenthouse has created 155 campaigns since its launch in the fall of 2009, including a create-a-superhero contest hosted by Stan Lee and a graphic art contest hosted by Paul McCartney.