• by Aaron Baar , May 11, 2011

Just as hamburgers go with fries, McDonald's is looking for another perfect pair to promote its new Frozen Strawberry Lemonade drink. And it's looking to find that pair on Twitter.

Inspired by what it believes is a perfect combination, the fast-food company is asking tweeters to get together and describe -- in 140 characters or less -- why they are a perfect pair. At stake, a $10,000 prize -- $5,000 in cash and $5,000 in vacation vouchers -- just in time for summer. (Two runners-up will win $1,000 each in McDonald's Arch Cards.)

"We were brainstorming ways to bring this product to market, and we wanted to think about the aspects of this product that were unique," Rick Wion, McDonald's director of social media, tells Marketing Daily. "We're continually looking at how we can use social media to extend and enhance our campaigns."

The nature of the pairing doesn't matter, Wion says -- family members, followers, office workers -- as long as they are linked on Twitter they can enter the contest. What does matter is to conform with the 140-character limit imposed by Twitter.

"The limit of 140 characters will lead to a new kind of creativity," Wion says. "I'm sure we'll get a combination of fun, heartwarming and other stories."

The Twitter entries are due by May 15. An in-house panel will select 10 finalists, who will then be sent a McDonald's-branded Flip video camera to create a video to further illustrate the original tweet. Understanding that the new world of social media could lead to some far-flung pairs, the finalist pairs are given a few weeks to create their videos, Wion says.

"If they're not together, they can send the camera back and forth," he says.