Sun Startup Essentials, the Sun Microsystems program dedicated to providing support, funding assistance, and discounted products to entrepreneurs, has announced it will join forces with Zooppa (http://www.zooppa.com), the social network for advertising creatives, to develop its new marketing campaign. The 40,000 members of Zooppa's creative community will compete to create print, banner and video ads that illustrate the benefits of membership in Sun Startup Essentials.

Submissions in Zooppa's Sun Startup Essentials competition will be accepted from May 27th until July 21st, 2009 on Zooppa.com. Cash prizes totaling $5,000 will be awarded to the ads receiving the most votes from Zooppa's creative community, as well as to ads specially chosen by Zooppa and by Sun Startup Essentials.

Sun Startup Essentials selected Zooppa for its new campaign targeting entrepreneurs in order to leverage Zooppa's social advertising model, ensuring viral distribution of a wide range of high-quality ads designed by Zooppa's community of creative directors and artists. Zooppa is the leading social network focused on user-generated advertising, with an international community comprised of more than 40,000 people.

According to Zooppa CEO Wil Merritt, "Zooppa's creative community is so keyed in to what's happening right now, we know they're going to make great ads for Sun Startup Essentials, and will share them across the social web in places where Sun's target audience will engage with them."