If you take a picture of your empty cupholder and tweet it @DentyneGum via TwitPic with the hashtag #emptycupholder, Dentyne will send you a free “limited edition” bottle of gum.

Although there have been Twitter promotions from many companies before (they’ve proven successful enough that they keep coming), this one is distinguished somewhat by the use of TwitPic. Other promotions have just asked you to retweet something to receive a prize.

The idea is that a little more involvement and creativity should go a long way, and when you participate you provide Dentyne free exposure to all your followers. A person who is very concerned about his or her Twitter image probably won’t participate for fear of being labeled a spammer, but your average Twitter user won’t have any qualms about it.

A few weeks ago we learned that Pepsi is skipping the Super Bowl commercial tradition, instead investing $20 million in a crowd-sourced social media campaign that could include something similar to what Dentyne is doing. It’d be premature to say that social media will supplant traditional advertising completely, but it’s become clear that social media campaigns are essential components of any sales strategy.

Tags: advertising, dentyne, free, gum, promotion, twitpic, twitter