This post will address the scenes that were allowed to be modified AFTER the contest was over, just so Home Depot could retain them as winner, in apparent violation of their own contest rules. Home Depot and the Long family have now posted that the re-submitted video changed "one brief shot", but we know that is simply not true.
Below you will see messages from both Home Depot and the Long family that say an image was changed, as in singular... one. But all that aside, where in the contest rules does it say that it is Home Depot's responsibility to inform the entrant as to their eligibility? In the contest rules, it places sole responsibility on the entrant. So, allowing the Long family to modify their video and then resubmit AFTER the contest was over seems completely in violation of Home Depot's own contest rules. Home Depot's excuse that they gave everyone that "opportunity" seems besides the point, and more like a smokescreen than a legal justification. What do you think?
Below you will see messages from both Home Depot and the Long family that say an image was changed, as in singular... one. But all that aside, where in the contest rules does it say that it is Home Depot's responsibility to inform the entrant as to their eligibility? In the contest rules, it places sole responsibility on the entrant. So, allowing the Long family to modify their video and then resubmit AFTER the contest was over seems completely in violation of Home Depot's own contest rules. Home Depot's excuse that they gave everyone that "opportunity" seems besides the point, and more like a smokescreen than a legal justification. What do you think?
(UPDATE: To be fair, this may be a matter of parsing words. Upon reviewing the message threads preceding the re-edited video, the main objection by YouTube posters was the mention of "The Right Stuff" movie poster, which may have led to the "image" versus "images". It was a a seemingly obvious violation, so it was a natural focus for objection. It was only after the re-edited video was submitted that it became apparent the extent of the changes. These seem a little bit "word-smithy", but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt. It still doesn't alter the fact that Home Depot claims it was their responsibility to inform the winners AFTER the deadline that they needed to make some changes, a point which seems contradictory to anything I can find in the official contest rules.)
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