Watching ads could be your ticket to a fortune.

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Unless it’s Superbowl Sunday, most people don’t sit around watching ads (well, I do, it’s part of my job). But what if watching ads was turned into a lottery ticket? That’s the premise of AdJack, a new site that asks you to watch ads and then rewards you with a shot at $340,000 (and growing).

The idea is annoyingly simple, I wish I’d thought of it. Marketers and corporations know that it’s tough, especially in these days of DVRs, to get their ads in front of an audience. So, AdJack gets around that by tapping into the most basic of human needs…cold, hard cash.

Rather than paying you a menial sum, say 2 cents, to watch an ad, the AdJack folks are taking the money from advertisers and turning it into cash prizes. Just watch a minimum of five ads; each ad gives you a number for your lottery ticket. And you can come back again the next day and watch another five ads and earn another ticket.

The ads aren’t run-of-the-mill either. So far I’ve seen 50 or so ads and most have been entertaining. It’s not like you’re sat watching ads for OxyClean or credit card debt solutions, these ads are much more fun. Most are 30 seconds long, so in less than three minutes you’ve earned your ticket. Not a bad way to get a free shot at a big cash prize . And there are also runner up prizes of $25,000 and $1000. The big prize, the MadJack, grows if no-one wins it, just like the Powerball.

Here’s the write-up from AdJack:

The catch? No catch. AdJack.tv is the consumers’ forum for commenting on and interacting with brands via terrific video commercials.

The site debuted on January 11, 2008. Its two main purposes are:

• to feature great commercials for consumers’ enjoyment in a clutter-free, opt-in environment, and

• to offer marketers aggregate information about buyers’ preferences and demographics without spying or invading individual privacy.

Many people love to watch clever, well-produced commercials. They talk about the best commercials they see on the Internet and TV, they even wax nostalgic when they think of the best commercials from childhood. We love commercials, too, so we created AdJack to showcase some of our favorites. Then it occurred to us that there might be a way to make the public happy, inform advertisers as to what consumers like, and everyone make a little money in the process.

When consumers click on five ads to enjoy, share, or rate, registered members may choose to enter the sweepstakes—daily. To increase AdJack community fun, each Friday registered eligible members may win cash prizes in the sweepstakes.

Creative members can win cash prizes for animations and flash programs selected to announce each week’s winning numbers. Visitors may watch as many commercials as they like. Registration is optional and free.

As a further incentive to come back to the site, contestants in the sweepstakes get to pick the numbers for the draw. And as you already know what your own numbers are, that’s helpful. Of course, I’d need a mathematician to help me figure out of that’s a good or a bad thing…I reckon it’s probably not much different than a random drawing.

Either way, I’m in. Three minutes of my time to watch new commercials is fine by me, it’s all part of my daily routine anyway. And if I win a six figure jackpot in the process, well, that’ll make one very happy Wisebread blogger. Best of luck to you all.

Note: At the time this article was published, the main prize was $340,000. This could of course grow significantly or return to the $100,000 default prize.