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Special Projects > 2008

Odyssey’s special projects are missions of a different nature, not just an effort to beat the clock and end up in the record books, but projects with diverse and unique objectives.

2008 GM Canada School Spirit Challenge

Odyssey teamed up with General Motors of Canada to gauge the school spirit of colleges and universities across Canada. Teams competed in a series of campus and community challenges, including choosing, buying and delivering food to local food banks.

university students surrounding red Saturn Astra

The competition was held in five cities across Canada (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver). The winner in each city (out of three universities or colleges in each city) received a $1,000 donation to their school. A national winner was selected from the five regional winners and that winner, Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS, received an additional $5,000 for their school.

Facebook provided a great social media component. Our Group, GM Canada School Spirit Challenge, saw a lot of action during the Challenge. Please visit to see the photos.

Hybrid: Chevy Malibu, Las Vegas to Death Valley. October 22-24, 20082008 Chevy Malibu Hybrid Las Vegas to Death Valley — Lifestyle Media Program

Media participants went from Las Vegas, Nevada, the Entertainment Capital of the world, to Death Valley, California, the hottest, driest, lowest spot in North America and back to experience a drive in the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid, the 2008 North American Car of the Year. Along the way, there was a stop at Amargosa Opera House, an improbable structure rising out of the scrabbly desert, a peek at Death Valley from Dante’s View, a mile up and a walk on the saltiest, lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, to name a few highlights!


2008 Saturn Astra in New Brunswick-Lifestyle Media Program

pair of hikers in Mary's Point, New Brunswick, overlooking Grindstone Island in the Bay of Fundy

A full-on adventure that had media participants using the nimble 2009 Saturn Astra to deliver them to a busy slate of adventures including rappelling off cliffs hanging over the Bay of Fundy, sea kayaking in the waters that boast the highest tides in the world, hiking on the bottom of the ocean floor and delving in the belly of the earth with some caving. All of this on the spectacular Bay of Fundy shores of New Brunswick.

2008 Honda Accord FOUR Challenge

2008 Honda Accord

Twelve journalists and their spouses participated in three motoring challenges, hosted by Honda Canada, in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

The Challenge was broken into four scoring sections. A trivia quiz with questions like: ‘What are the 4 Greek classical elements? Name 4 things that come in fours. Name 4 songs that have the word four in them. What flies and has 4 wings?’ to get them thinking. A photo contest to shoot items en route that began with the letters F-O-U-R and A-C-C-O-R-D. Points were awarded for a shot of 4 strangers in their Accord as well as a ‘beauty shot’ of their car. At a slide show at dinner, the competitors determined who had the best shots for even more bonus points.

There was also a simple parking challenge and a fuel economy challenge, the big kahuna worth 50% of the overall score.

2008 Catch the Vibe Multi-City Tour

2008 Pontiac Vibe

Armed only with a new 2009 Pontiac Vibe team car, a BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8130 smartphone from Bell and the CatchTheVibe.ca website, 96 journalists, bloggers and enthusiasts from all walks of life were set loose on the streets of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to compete in an urban relay challenge event.

Team members had to rely on each other’s strengths and experiences and fully utilize their social media network. The driving challenge included 4 daily legs for one week in each city. Two members from each team competed each day in a series of challenges to earn points for their teams. At the end of each day’s challenge, team members passed over their keys and communications devices (and the wisdom they accumulated from their day’s experiences) to their teammates who continued the challenge the following day.

Visitors to the site got involved and had the opportunity to win a 1-year lease of a 2009 Pontiac Vibe or one of six BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8130 smartphones from Bell or one of four Sony VAIO TZ-Series notebook personal computers.

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