Courageous Persuaders Video Scholarship

Scholarship Sponsored by Courageous Persuaders

Overview
High school students across the continental United States are invited to enter the 2025/2026 Courageous Persuaders competition by producing a short television-style commercial that encourages safe driving. Each submission must be 30 seconds or shorter and crafted to persuade middle school classrooms—the panels that will evaluate entries—about safe driving topics (examples: impaired driving, distracted driving). Videos are judged on originality, creativity, and persuasive impact.

Eligibility
- Open only to students enrolled in a high school located within the continental United States (grades 9–12; contestants must be 19 years old or younger).
- The competition is for the 2025/2026 program year.

How to Enter
- Upload your finished commercial to a public video hosting site (examples: YouTube, Vimeo, SchoolTube) and complete the online entry form, including the URL to your uploaded video.
- Public access is required. Entries hosted on private drives or links that require account access or permission (for example: private Google Drive, private Canva links) will be disqualified.
- The submission deadline falls in March; your entry must be uploaded and the entry form completed by that March deadline.

Entry Limits and Team Rules
- A single student may submit more than one commercial.
- Entries may be individual or team productions. Every person listed on the entry form must be a high school student in the continental United States (grades 9–12; ages 19 and under).
- Each team must designate a Team Captain. All team members must be listed on the entry form.
- If a winning entry is submitted by a team, any scholarship award will be divided equally among the team members named on the entry form.
- All team members must possess valid government-issued photo identification.

Consent Forms and Credits
- A Consent Form is required for every person who participated in creating, performing in, or contributing to the commercial. This includes team members, on-camera actors, voice talent, people shown in photographs, music composers, sound-effect creators, and musicians.
- You will be contacted to complete and return the required Consent Forms only if your entry is chosen as a finalist — and that must be done before the entry is sent for final judging, broadcast on television, or posted on the Courageous Persuaders website.
- Failure to supply completed Consent Forms for every participant when requested will result in disqualification.

Work Cited / Permissions
- Finalists must submit a Works Cited page in either MLA or APA format along with the Consent Forms. Include sources for any photographs, facts, or statistics used.
- Written permission is required to use family photos, published photographs, website images, school footage (including sports), or any copyrighted film/video material. Internet and magazine images, movie/game/TV footage, and news photos are typically copyrighted and cannot be used without permission.
- Any submitted video or photograph used without the owner’s signed permission will be disqualified.

Originality and Image Use
- All submitted visual content must be original. Use of copyrighted material or images generated by AI will cause disqualification.

Content and Safety Guidelines
- No real alcohol or illegal substances may be consumed or appear to be consumed during production. If you dramatize drinking, use a non-alcoholic substitute and cut the shot before anything is ingested.
- Drinking games (for example, Beer Pong) are not permitted in your video.
- All brand names, company names, and logos must be concealed or altered (this includes names/logos on clothing, hats, vehicles, signage, etc.). Do not include recognizable alcohol containers even if labels are removed.
- Commercials must be suitable for television viewing by a middle school audience: no profanity, explicit sexual material, or graphic violence.
- Entries with dangerous stunts, unsafe driving, vomiting scenes, or toileting scenes will be disqualified. (Example: a driver shown texting must be parked; any depiction of a moving vehicle while texting is grounds for disqualification.)
- Do not include phone numbers or web addresses other than CourageousPersuaders.com. You may credit the producers’ names or team members if you wish, but it is not required.
- Cemetery imagery: do not show tombstones with readable names and dates unless you have written permission from the deceased’s family (this permission must be submitted with your entry). You may obscure names/dates by blurring or blacking them out.

Use and Ownership
- Submitted videos will not be returned. By entering the competition you grant the Detroit Auto Dealers Association Education Foundation, Inc. (DADA Education Foundation) the right to display, duplicate, edit, and use your video for educational and promotional purposes as the Foundation deems appropriate. We recommend keeping a copy of your commercial for your records.
- Any entry that glamorizes or encourages alcohol use or other illegal activities will be disqualified.

Administration and Odds
- Courageous Persuaders (DADA Education Foundation) has sole authority to determine eligibility and to resolve any disputes about submissions.
- Because entry numbers vary each year, the odds of winning cannot be determined in advance.

Music & Audio Requirements
Acceptable sources for music and sound effects are limited to the following:
1) Courageous Persuaders Free-Use Music (see details and access below).
2) GarageBand content used in accordance with the GarageBand Software License Agreement.
3) Original music that you and/or your team composed and performed yourselves.

Important notes about audio:
- Do not use published or commercially released music without explicit permission from the rights holder. So-called “copyright-free” tracks from other websites may still carry legal restrictions; using them risks disqualification.
- Every person who composes or performs music or sound effects used in the entry must be listed and will be required to sign a Consent Form if your entry becomes a finalist.
- You may not include cover versions of other artists’ songs unless the performer is a team member who can sign the Consent Form. GarageBand may be used as part of your original music under its license, but no other external music or sound-effect sources are permitted.

Courageous Persuaders Free-Use Music — Rules and Access
- The Courageous Persuaders Free-Use Music provided for this competition may only be used for entries submitted to this competition.
- This special music library is available exclusively to students producing commercials for Courageous Persuaders.
- When you submit your video, you must identify any track used from the library as “Courageous Persuaders Free-Use Music” and list the specific track number(s).
- For questions about the music, email Brian Yessian: brian@yessian.com.
- Access instructions:
- Visit: https://yessian.disco.ac/cat/1137825369 and search for “Courageous Persuaders® Free-Use Music.”
- USER ID: courage@yessian.com
- Password: CPFirst1!
- NOTE: Do not change this password — the account must remain accessible to all students using the music library.