AVON,
Ohio - Twenty-year-old Matthew Nupen will never
lose his truck in a crowded parking lot in fact, it catches the
eye of every passerby. That's because Nupen gave his truck an
original and sticky makeover with duct tape! And, his duct tape
design "Dragon" has earned him the top prize of $2,500
cash in the first annual Stuck in Traffic Contest, sponsored by
Duck® brand Duct Tape.
Nupen, a
resident of Morris, Minnesota, transformed his 1989 Chevy S-10
into a green dragon, complete with duct tape nostrils, fangs,
spikes and scales. The dragon design beat 18 other duct-taped
vehicles from 13 states and Canada. Rolling in help from his mom
and friends, Nupen covered his truck bumper to bumper with 10
rolls of green, black, white, red, yellow and gray duct tape.
Down to the finishing touches, his duct tape dragon took more
than 50 hours of cutting, shaping and sticking.
Nupen got
the idea to duct tape his vehicle when an uncle suggested he use
the sticky stuff to cover rust spots on his first truck. Because
it was fun, and he liked the way it looked, Nupen covered the
entire truck with the gray tape. When he heard about the Stuck
in Traffic Contest, he couldn't resist giving his new truck a
duct tape makeover.
Nupen said that while some people stare at his duct-taped truck,
most just laugh and smile when they see it. The best part is driving
in rush-hour traffic. "People are sitting in traffic,
no one's having fun they all look crabby. People usually smile
when I pull up next to them."
In addition
to Nupen, Henkel Consumer Adhesives, Inc., marketers of Duck brand
Tape awarded $1,000 cash to 2nd Place Winner Laura Thompson of
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, for her duct tape "Van Go," and
$500 cash to Garrett Porter of Olathe, Kansas, for his duct tape
design "Flames." In addition, several individuals, including
David Prout of Sandusky, Ohio; Kristy Gomez of Union City, New
Jersey; and Lena Le of Ypsilanti, Michigan, were named Honorable
Mention Winners and received Duck Tape Sportswear packages.
Michelle Heffner,
Digital Communications Manager for Henkel Consumer Adhesives,
said she was impressed by the high quality of entries. "We
were excited by the amount of detail on these vehicles, and overwhelmed
by the creativity and originality these individuals used in giving
their vehicle a duct tape makeover."
To view all
of the entries in the 2002 Duck® brand Duct Tape Stuck in
Traffic Contest, visit www.ducktapeclub.com/traffic/entries.asp.