- Elaine Wong

As time may be running out for Embarq, the nation's fourth largest phone carrier is offering consumers “48 seconds of fame” via a YouTube contest. Based on the premise that high speed Internet transmits content 48 seconds faster than dial-up connections, the company is asking consumers to show what they can do in that amount of time.

The contest comes at a time when Embarq is struggling in the telecommunications business. The company reported a drop in third quarter revenue from $1.6 billion to $1.5 billion in its earnings report released Monday. That same day, Embarq also announced that it had offered itself up for sale to a mid-sized rival, CenturyTel, in a deal worth $11.6 billion. Both companies acknowledged the measure was necessary to each other's survival in a weakening economy.

Consumers are being asked to submit their videos at Youtube.com/embarq. The winner will get their 48 seconds of fame plus $5,000 and a year's worth of free high-speed Internet service. The contest runs through Nov. 7 and a panel of judges will narrow the submissions down to five finalists. Embarq will open the polls to the public, with the winner being announced on Dec. 15.

Digital marketing agency iCrossing, New  York, jumpstarted the creative process by launching a series of videos. There is one of an ice carver etching a marlin in 48 seconds and another of a woman telling her life story, also in 48 seconds. (Although it is fast-forwarded to fit the time frame.) "These were starters to get the ideas moving," said iCrossing account director Anita Shaw.

The site has received more than 700 videos of which Embarq has posted about 100 (not all were considered appropriate). The channel has received 122,401 views, with the top three most viewed videos being "Life story," "Pooch" and "Something Fishy," where a man squeezes a goldfish out of a dollar bill.