Back in April, Watchmen director Zack Snyder announced a pretty cool contest: He was turning to the fans to supply some of the background media scattered on screens throughout the film. Those who could create the best commercial for a Veidt Enterprises product might see their commercial running in the background of the movie.

If you didn't submit a commercial, never fear! Those of us who lack such mad film skills can still be involved. Snyder has chosen the best of the best, and it's up to us to vote on which one makes it into the film. (I'm kind of surprised he's choosing just one since there are an awful lot of television screens to fill in Watchmen.)

Simply head on over to the Watchmen YouTube Channel, watch them all, and vote for your favorites. Unless I'm missing something, it looks like you can only give them the traditional YouTube stars, and presumably they will begin eliminating from there. There are some really fantastic ones -- all of the perfume ones tend to blur together, as it seems everyone embraced the Calvin Klein aesthetic, but a few really managed to pull off some 80's flair. I'm leaning towards the two Real Men Use Veidt entries, the adorable tyke trying to pronounce Oxymandias, and the sexiness of this Nostalgia advertisement. The Max Headroom homage deserves some props, too. Visit, watch, and tell me which ones earned your vote.

Watchmen hits theatres March 6th, 2009. And somewhere on a television screen, we will see democracy in action. Well, the YouTube version, anyway.

See, this is why I like Zack Snyder so much. He's always involving the fans, and he does it in the right spirit. Now, he's partnered with YouTube to encourage Watchmen fans to enter a new contest and submit commercials for Veidt Enterprises. His intro video explains all (see below), and from there you can see what Veidt product moves you. Snyder has supplied all the product framework, all you creative types have to do is cobble together a commercial. The ones he likes best will win all sorts of prizes, as well as a chance to appear in the actual film. There are two samples up now for you to get an idea; one is for Veidt's Nostalgia cologne (80's flashback indeed!) and the other is for a sneaker.

If anyone enters, please keep us updated! I want a Cinematical reader to appear onscreen! More information on rules and such can be found on the main contest page. It's nearly as fun as the grindhouse trailer one Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez did. Watchmen opens on March 6th, 2009.