NEWTON, Mass., Jan. 29, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced the winners of its latest user-generated TV Ad Contest awarding one grand prize and five runner-up winners. The contest, launched October 2014, required that submissions highlight the benefits of using TripAdvisor to plan and book the perfect trip.

"We're excited to announce the winners of TripAdvisor's latest user-generated TV Ad Contest and congratulate them on their fabulous submissions," said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor. "The amount of creativity in our community is amazing, as is their gift of storytelling to showcase how TripAdvisor is the best site to shop for a better vacation."

TripAdvisor named James Winterhalter, a U.S.-based filmmaker, photographer and designer, the grand prize winner for his submission, "The Everything Hotel." Winterhalter has received a prize of $25,000 and his ad will air on U.S. national cable television this week as part of TripAdvisor's current "plan, compare and book" ad campaign rotation.

"I'm thrilled to be chosen as the grand prize winner of the TripAdvisor ad contest," said Winterhalter, whose winning entry features a woman who uses TripAdvisor to book a hotel that has everything she needs and more. "I'm using the prize money to buy my parents plane tickets to Ireland, where they have always wanted to go. It's an amazing feeling to give back to them this year."

TripAdvisor TV Ad Contest Runner-Up Winners:

• Michael Savisky (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) - Entry: "Life's a Trip"
• Sophia Dagher (Alpharetta, Georgia) - Entry: "The Little Things"
• Joshua Swartz (Glendale, Arizona) - Entry: "Weekend Bro Time"
• Steve Sowrey (Austin, Texas) - Entry: "Owl Eyes"
• Nick Sosin (New York, New York) - Entry: "This is My Trip"

Winning videos from the contest can be found at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/TripNews-a_ctr.NewTVContestUS

TripAdvisor received hundreds of entries from users in the U.S., France and Australia, where TripAdvisor's television ads are airing. As a user-generated travel site, it is a natural extension for TripAdvisor to engage its community - allowing travelers to share their own experiences through personal versions of the ads.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 315 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 200 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4.4 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 45 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq:TRIP) manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.lafourchette.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, www.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, August 2014

**Source: Google Analytics, average monthly unique users, Q3 2014; does not include traffic to daodao.com

CONTACT: Julie Cassetina

         (617) 670-6529

         jcassetina@tripadvisor.com