TripAdvisor has unveiled its $1.5 million creative ad challenge. The company is inviting travel brands and advertising agencies to design a creative ad campaign that will run on TripAdvisor.

The 2012 TripAdvisor Creative Ad Challenge gives travel brands the freedom to develop a media campaign that tells a story and shows what their brand really stands for, rather than just focusing the on the more traditional ROI price point creative that is so common online, said Martin Verdon-Roe, VP Display Sales EMEAA for TripAdvisor.

“This is a truly unique opportunity for a brand to have a substantial campaign which can reach and impact a huge audience of potential travellers that are looking for inspiration while planning their next holiday or trip,” said Verdon-Roe.

The prize fund totals $1.5m in media value. All entries must be submitted by May 31st 2012 - the winning campaigns will run on TripAdvisor between August and October 2012.

The winner of an advertising market will receive advertising space on the Sites for the winner’s creative concept, to the value set out in the below table:

The campaigns will be judged by a panel of TripAdvisor sales and marketing experts, as well as representatives of CIMTIG.

The 2010 TripAdvisor Creative Ad Challenge was won by British Airways, with the airline’s concept involving an interactive game, inspired by the well-known The Price Is Right game show format. Over 12.5m ad impressions were served over the campaign period and the interaction rate on the banner exceeded 1.65 percent on all three formats used. The secondary result of the creative also helped BA generate over £1.5m of tracked bookings.