• by Wayne Friedman , March 10, 2010

With fans already creating their own "Lost" entertainment online, ABC has decided to jump into the act. The network is setting up a contest for fans to create their own TV promo for the show.

The viewer competition, "The Ultimate "Lost" Fan Promo Contest," will let viewers choose from a host of online tools -- video clips and art, or choose from their own resources -- to compete for the honors of creating a 35-second promo that will air the week of the "Lost" finale, scheduled for May 23.

"We wanted to show our appreciation for the fans," says Mike Benson, executive vice president of marketing and promotion for the ABC Network. "There is a high-level engagement for the show."

Benson notes the push for the contest came from the intense activity of the "Lost" fans, creating their own video, art, T-shirts and posters, for years. "We thought, why not harness what is going on?"

Though many TV promos are created with inside knowledge of the upcoming week's episode, Benson says this fan-created promotion will be generic in nature.

Benson says there have already been "hundreds of thousands of hits" for the contest on the "Lost" Web site. So great is the interest around the event, even ABC staffers are hankering to create their own special promos. Benson didn't think they would be permitted to enter.