Blog Herald has a post up about a cash prize contest currently running thanks to an online discounts voucher site out of the UK.

The contest brings nothing new to the table in regards to the idea realm, but it does beg the question… is this the new pay per post? I mean, in the past you might have had a $1,500 budget to buy text links within blog posts via the many online providers. But considering the fact that Google started it’s offensive strike on link sellers, wouldn’t it make since to just hold a contest and give the $1,500 away as a prize?

The UK online discount vouchers site MyVoucherCodes, which offers British shoppers access to codes and promotions to save them money when shopping, is enticing bloggers to write reviews or create a video in a competition which could see the winner scoop a holiday or £3,000 (about $1,500)

Mark Pearson, MD of the site, is perfectly open about the free promotion that this contest could generate for his site. “Not only will the prize be the perfect trip to paradise for one lucky winner, but it also means that we continue in our campaign to help shoppers get the best deals and discounts by raising our profile across the UK and in particular search engines”.

Whatever the incentive for writing about a particular site, these are surely the best links — potentially of decent quality and embedded inside a variety of unique blog posts. That is, until such a time as Google has an “altruism meter” and can spot the motivation behind writing about a particular web site!

Those wishing to enter can either write a review of the site, either on their blog or a social networking site, or they can make a video “doing something silly to promote the site”. The competition closes on 12th January 2008.

Isn’t this sort of thing kind of like saying “we’re going to buy links, just not directly”?

Curious…