INTRODUCTION
I
remember when first I set sights on entering competitions many years ago,
my
father confiding in me that 'Nobody ever wins'.
He was certain of this
for
with all of his fifty or so years behind him had never come by even
one
person who had won so much as a prize in a local village fete.
It
worried me more that a little. Supposing
he was right - supposing it
was
all one big hype - something this was all designed to force an
unsuspecting
public into buying product they have no real use for,
but
which are necessary to validate entry to the competitions in the
first
place?
After
weeks of worry that me efforts were wasted, and the only one
to
gain was the promoter whose products I was spending my meagre
pocket
money on, I received notification of my very first prize - $10
in
a mars bar competition! In 1965 that was
no mean deal. I was
thrilled,
but still his words haunted me. Mars
after all are a highly
respected
company, and according to Pater probably judging by my
immature
writing they had decided to award a prize purely to elicit
my
future custom, and that of one day my children.
Today,
over 20 years later, I realise how wrong he was. I carried on
regardless
of his well-intentional warnings, and today I truly have
lost
track of the prizes I have won as a result.
But I recall amongst
them:
several radios, numerous silver items to commemorate the 1970s
Royal
Jubilee, many cash awards, a cellarful of wine, a years' supply
of
dogfood, gold ingots, recently a karaoke machine, $1,000 of goods
from
Presto, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Thankfully
I now know the old adage 'Nobody ever wins' is totally devoid
of
substance or truth. I even know personally
one woman who has won
four
cars and literally hundreds of other prizes before being presented
with
a spacious house in a truly desirable neighbourhood. In fact,
I
know several people who have won cars, Caribbean cruises, and cash
some
amounting to many thousands of pounds.
Ah,
I know what you now are no doubt thinking.
I am fortunate enough
to
be in with a crows blessed with good fortune, perhaps with a lucky
start
shining permanently above them. But I
don't. The people I know
are
triers - and stayers.
Persistence,
hard work, diligence, careful study, ability to stay the
course
when long losing spells invariably crop up, all go into making
a
big-time and consistent winner, and I state now without any fear of
contradiction
that good luck has no part to play in the game of
winning
at competitions, not that is on a consistent basis. Luck
might
bring one major prize to your door, but it will never attract
a
steady flow of awards. That steady flow
is something we can acquire,
through
those very characteristics we have already identified - diligence,
persistence,
fortitude, and sheer hard work.
Those
who still maintain that luck is a primary attribute for elevation
to
the realm of big time winners, and those who wish not to contribute
anything
by way of labour and persistence, please stop reading now!
Those
who wish to put in a few hours a week in pursuit of glittering
prizes,
and a few hours of sheer hard work and concentration at that,
please
continue, for now we will consider the art of acquiring those
exact
skills of competition expertise or ourselves.
And please don't
think
I.Q. is a significant factor either - it isn't - we all of us
can
easily acquire those very same skills possessed by the regular
winner
for ourselves. Read on!
WHY DO COMPETITIONS EXIST?
Competitions
are promoted for several different reasons, none of
them
concerned purely to benefit the consumer.
Competitions are
in
fact just another form of marketing tool, and a highly effective
one
at that. Often many thousands of entries
are made to one competition;
considering
that sometimes each entry must be validated by proof of
purchase
often in the form of packaging from the product concerned,
and
it becomes easy to understand that massive profits will be generated
by
the promoter.
This
though is just part of the potential rewards to come the way of
the
firm sponsoring the promotion, the hope being that once entrants
have
purchased their product for validate their entries, those people
or
a sizeable proportion of them at least, will continue to buy the
very
same product for many years to come.
Competitions
can serve many purposes to the organiser, including the
introduction
and promotion of new products, the change to revive a
product
for which sales have recently slumped, and offers the opportunity
also
to tempt a rival firm's customers to transfer their purchasing
power,
ostensibly for the purpose of obtaining competition qualifiers,
but
hoping of course that such a transfer of allegiance might prove
permanent.
Yet
other promoters seek to obtain full advantage of a product or
service
for which demand is seasonal.
Consequently on Christmas we
find
hampers firms, toy manufacturers, quality confectionery and high
class
cosmetics products, all of them the subject of competitions
with
usually extremely handsome rewards being offered. Men's
toiletries
in particular are renowned for the up-market cars their
manufacturers
offer in an all-out attempt to make their particular
product
the one fathers all over Britain will find in their stockings
on
Christmas day.
Food
and confectionery manufacturers; clothing specialists; perfumery,
alcohol
and cigarette producers; insurance companies; banks, travel
agencies,
estate agents, and so on, all seek to promote their goods
and
services via the popular method of offering substantial rewards
to
those who will make an initial purchase of that by which to qualify
for
entry to the appropriate competition.
And
yet a further band of promoters enter the arena purely to keep their
already
impressive share o the market for certain products. Heinz in
recent
years has sponsored a massive promotion, one which allows
participants
to make endless entries for prizes almost an equally
unlimited
number of prizes. In recent years they
have offered a car
each
day during which the promotion lasts, with many thousands of food
vouchers
being presented as consolation prizes.
Considering that Heinz
enjoy
an unrivalled position on many a household's kitchen shelves,
it
would hardly seem necessary to embark upon promotions for which
the
costs must surely run into millions. But
if by doing so they keep
ahead
of their rivals, then Heinz and thousands upon thousands of
eager
contestant are hardly likely to raise any objections of results
achieved.
WHAT PRIZES ARE OFFERED
Prizes,
usually dependent upon the size and prestige of the company
concerned,
range from meagre to truly magnificent in proportion. Firms
such
as Heinz and many of the larger supermarket chains, regularly
offer
cars in their promotions, often with several first prizes being
followed
by a myriad of smaller but extremely useful awards being made
to
runners up. Schweppes too are well known
for really big prize
promotions,
in recent years offering $100,000 in cash to the lucky
first
prize winner.
Polo
on the other hand, though they regularly promote competitions
in
which cars and huge cash sums are involved, one decided to make
what
could only amount to a novelty reward for winners, this consisting
of
many tins of Polo 'holes'.
WHO WINS COMPETITIONS?
'Winning'
can perhaps best be considered by reference to the opportunist
entrant
who might win that very first competition he or she goes in
for,
and the regular entrant who though he or she might never get to
the
very top of any prize winners list, nevertheless manages to
attract
a steady stream of worthwhile prizes often throughout a
career
lasting many years.
Usually
the prizes will go to those who deserve them and here we find
the
regular competitor; the one who works hard at the hobby; that person
who
studies the form and never allows his talents to become stale,
will
be the one to feature more regularly at the very top of the list
of
worthy winners. Where competitions are
carefully judged and where
judges
take care to eliminate obviously 'plagiarised' slogans from past
competitions,
it is rare to discover a relative newcomer to the hobby
making
off with first prize.
It
can't though be denied that on occasion a newcomer discovers an
inherent
talent for creating slogans and tie breakers, one which will
take
him or hr immediately to the top of the competitions tree. Hence
where
we hear of people winning big prizes with first ever competition
entries,
it is usually great talent or extreme good luck to which they
may
attribute their success.
Luck
in general has no part to play in the life of the regular winner;
diligence,
persistence and working hard at improving one's skills are
the
primary characteristics of the regular small or big-time winner.
'Plagiarism'
is much maligned characteristic, with no
place in the
lives
of genuine entrants, amounting as it does to the deliberate
copying
of someone else's past winning tie breaker.
Competition
rules
almost always state that 'originality' is required of the tie
breakers
submitted for the competition, meaning of course that the
slogan
should not only be especially created for the competition
concerned,
but that it also should comprise only the original and
sole
efforts of the person in whose name the entry is made.
HOW DO I JOIN THIS BAND OF BIG-TIME
WINNERS?
First
of all you must decide to acquire those characteristics of
diligence,
persistence, and tie breaking skills for yourself. Once
the
newcomer to competitions accepts that nothing in the way of big
prizes
are likely to come without effort, then the very first hurdle
is
overcome.
The
next step is to take out a subscription to the enthusiasts'
fortnightly
magazine 'Competitors Journal', in which you will discover
mountains
of information of use to seasoned competitors and raw
newcomers
alike: what competitions are currently available; what
tie
breaker trends are currently winning favour with the judges;
how
to improve your skills in first part tasks and tie breaker writing
too;
what tips, techniques and ideas can improve your winning chances,
and
so much more.
You
might next decide to subscribe to a solutionist magazine, offering
a
service usually only in respect of preliminary competition tasks.
For
a fee that varies widely between firms, the agency employs a team
of
specialist researchers to investigate the answer to part one factual
questions,
provide expert advice in relation to order-of-merit tasks,
to
search through those elusive word-squares, to do crosswords,
spot-the-ball,
and whatever else might be required by which to be
almost
certain that you will find your way through the first stage
of
the competition and ultimately ensure yourself a place on the final
judging
table where those tie breaker sills come to the fore.
Whether
using a solutionist service might be seen as an unnecessary
extravagance
or else something conferring an unfair advantage on those
who
can afford to avail themselves on the service in the first place,
is
largely for the individual to decide.
Certainly using such an
agency
will save you an awful lot of time and trouble looking up
answers
and carrying out other tasks for yourself, though it must be
remembered
that though a good solutionist's research is accurate of
90%
of occasions, what of that odd 1 competition in 10, for which you
have
written a brilliant tie breaker but in using the erroneous
information
provided you effectively disqualify yourself before you
submit
your entry to the post?
For
my own part, I subscribe to a solutionist service, but view their
research
information only as a back up to that research I carry out
for
myself. If our answers agree - great - I
now go to town on my
tie
breaker. If our answers differ, I
recheck my own findings. If
we
still differ, I enter those answers I personally believe to be
correct.
That
competitor intend on maintaining a constant stream of wins has
several
other tricks up his or her sleeve, including:
Keeping
records of past winning tie breakers, particularly those
of
competitions sponsored by the firm whose competition is now being
entered. The aim here is not to copy or plagiarise
past winning
lines,
just to discover whether any trends exist which might be
capitalised
upon. In my own experience, I won a
great many
competitions
promoted by supermarket chain 'Presto' - every single
one
of them with a rhyming couplet!.
Maintaining a competitions diary with details
of closing dates,
qualifiers
required, research to carry out, and so on carefully entered.
Maintaining a wordbank system along with
records of one's own winning
and
non-winning tie breakers. The latter of
course being one's own
creation,
leave the creator free to use them in any future competition
for
which they might prove appropriate. A wordbank
simply comprises
some
method of filing ideas, words, skeleton outlines, along with
such
as proverbs, double meaning words and phrases, homonyms and
catch
phrases, all of which might prove useful and potentially
invaluable
as a starting point for some future competition slogan
or
tie breaker.
Footnote.
Remember Strategy is All Important.
WHERE DO I GET ENTRY FORMS
From
Shops and Retail Outlets
'Specific
Stores' promotions
Many
firms, particularly those with stores nationwide, tempt extra
custom
by means of regular promotions, the magnet usually comprising
very
handsome prizes indeed. Primary amongst
these firms are: Tesco,
Safeway,
Sainsbury's, The Co-op, along with major chemists Boots and
perennial
'super store' Woolworths.
Often
competitions will be in respect of products available only from
the
store concerned, in which case the company might take the step of
incorporating
competition details onto the product packaging itself,
ensuring
of course that labels from pre-promotion products can not be
used
be validate entry. Here a golden rule of
the successful competitor
is
to immediately acquire all of the qualifiers needed for the number
of
entries it has decided to make. It is
not unknown for special packs
to
disappear from the shelves within weeks; that person who has
completed
the competition task, produced a brilliant tie breaker,
but
who nevertheless can not obtain the further proofs of purchase
he
or she requires has effectively wasted time, money and perhaps an
excellent
chance to make it to the winners list.
Be warned!
At
other times forms are provided, often where the product concerned
is
available from several other sources.
Usually such forms will be
located
near to the product display itself or else close to the store's
check-out.
National Promotions
In
this case forms are available from a great many sources: from shops,
suppliers,
sometimes on product packaging, newspapers, often via direct
mail
or upon application to the company itself.
The item required to
permit
entry to the competition can be purchased from whatever source
one
chooses. No till receipts are usually
required either, greatly
increasing
the chances of using up at least a few labels hoarded in
pre-promotion
days.
Product Packaging
As
already considered, here the label or entry form details, are
incorporated
into the product label or packaging, ensuring that a
purchase
must be made to validate entry. Make
appropriate purchases
as
soon as you are able if that earlier warning of wasted time, money
and
effort is not to rear its ugly head.
FROM
SPECIALIST SUPPLIERS
As
is the case for a great many of the more popular hobbies and
pastimes,
a number of specialist services are available by which
to
ease the burden of obtaining necessary supplies, in this case of
the
often elusive entry form.
For
a fee, and usually a low one at that, specialist entry form
suppliers
will scour shops, magazines and newspapers, many of them
travelling
the entire length of the country in the process, the
intention
being to offer a regular (usually monthly) supply to eager
customers
for whom a great deal of time, legwork and frustration has
been
eliminated.
A
list of the longer - established entry forms suppliers is provided
at
the end of this manual.
FROM
CONTACTS
One
of the very best things about competitions is the friends one
acquires
in the process, many of them fellow embers of the many clubs
organised
up and down the country. Sometimes
strong friendships are
formed
with people who though they might never meet, will continue a
friendship
by correspondence often extending over several years.
Such
contacts along with friends, relatives and colleagues should be
alerted
to your need for entry forms, with either little reward and
incentives
being given to those who don't share your hobby, and a
swap-shop
system being involved with fellow competitors.
OTHER
SOURCES
Ten
years of so ago, it was usual to find the majority of major
promotions
being advertised in the national and local press, with
the
appropriate entry form appearing alongside.
Not so today however,
and
it is comparatively rare for competitions to be promoted in this
way,
unless the competition is in itself organised by the newspaper
or
magazine concerned. Almost all
publications run a competition of
some
sort, some regularly, others perhaps offering prizes in the
pre-run
to Christmas or holiday season, when local firms might be
keen
to offer prizes for the opportunity of a little extra prime-time
advertising.
Usually
promotions in magazines and newspapers involve a great degree
of
luck for any degree of regular success, since usually they take the
form
of a draw with no tie breaker usually being required of the entrant.
Given
that whatever task is required of the entrant is usually one which
will
result in an almost certain 100% success rate, it is not unknown
for
many thousands of entries to reach the final selection of winners
stage.
Sometimes
forms are provided as part of a basic solutionist service,
sometimes
they are printed in 'Competitors Journal', and for many a
competition
addict the answer of availing themselves of a particularly
elusive
entry form is a simple matter of writing to the Public
Relations
Department of the company sponsoring the competition.
RIGHT, I'VE GOT MY FORMS. NOW WHAT?
Now
you must learn something about what competitions generally involve.
Though
there is no set pattern, usually a competition comprises two
parts:
the first or preliminary stage being that by which often many
thousands
of entrants will be reduced to a quantity suitable for
judging
on the strength of their tie breakers.
This preliminary task
or
eliminating process might take several forms, including Order-of-Merit,
Factual
Questions, Spot-the-Difference, Matters of Opinion, Spot-the-Ball,
Locate
the Buried Treasure, Word Squares, Work Making and so on. Some
tasks
present a far greater problem than others in virtually guaranteeing
oneself
a place through to stage two, that stage where whatever form
the
tie breaker takes will be judged and finally produce the ultimate
winners
list.
To
add to what potential confusion might already exist, some of these
tasks
are all that is required of the competitor, no tie breaker being
required
at this stage. Depending on the ease
with which many of these
tie
breaker free entries can be made, the whole competition is little
more
than a prize draw, perhaps the only time that luck plays an
essential
part in deciding exactly who ultimately receives a prize.
LET
US BRIEFLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE MOST POPULAR PRELIMINARY TASKS SET
FOR
THE ENTRANT:
Order-of-Merit. These I hate, for the chances
of obtaining a correct
line
and guaranteeing one's place on the final judging table, is entirely
dependent
upon the number of factors or points are provided for the
entrant
to place in order of importance or suitability against whatever
criterion
the promoter sets. We might for instance
be asked to place
in
order of importance several features relating to a holiday in the
United
States all arrangements for which are made by a travel firm
sponsoring
the competition. So the factors might
include: destination,
safety
record of airline, cost, special facilities for children, and so on.
To
my mind the only good thing about this particular task is the fact that
statistically
the entrant is able to analyse exactly how many lines or
entries
he or she must submit in order to provide that which proves
'correct'
or rather coincides with the order in which the features
are
placed by the judges whose opinion in this respect is final.
By
way of illustrating this method of statistical analysis, the number
of
combinations for 3 factor is:
3 x
2 x 1 = 6 combinations and consequently
6 entries will ensure that
1
coincides with that of the judges.
Take
10 factors, not an uncommon number to discover in a great many
promotions,
and the formula becomes:
10
x 9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = ???
Work
this one out for yourselves and I'm sure you'll come to understand
the
reason, why several millions of pounds have been up for grabs to
that
person who comes up with a 'correct' line in many recent competitions.
If
you fancy odds such as this stick to something with a far better
chance
of a winning line - like the football pools.
Factual Questions. This type the expert tie
breaker creator loves,
for
unless some really gruesome trick question is put in for good measure,
and
they rarely are, all the entrant need do is subscribe to a good
solutionist
agency, to whose services is added a liberal dollop of
research,
research, research. Factual questions as
the name implies
have
an actual answer, not one subject to guesswork or opinion.
Sometimes
we must discover and provide the answer in its entirety;
at
other times we are provided with a list of alternatives from which
to
make our selection.
Spot-the-Difference. Again an often easy task,
we usually are shown
two
photographs, pictures or diagrams, which we are told differ in
several
respects. Sometimes we are told how many
differences exist;
sometimes
not. In the latter case the task becomes
much more difficult,
often
leading the over-cautious entrant to identify printing errors and
anomalies
along with genuine differences.
Solutionists again are an
extremely
useful idea particularly when confirming or otherwise one's
own
findings. It is not uncommon for
agencies to miss one difference
that
you have in fact spotted; hence you will avail yourself of a good
chance
of reaching the final judging table, far greater than those who
rely
entirely upon the deliberations of outside sources.
Matters of Opinion. As the name implies we are
asked our opinions on
a
set topic or theme. We might for
instance be asked to select from a
list
of alternatives, that meal best suited to a particular occasion,
the
breed of dog best suited to certain families for which personal
details
are provided, the dress or outfit best suited for attendance
at
particular functions and events. Often
one, sometimes two or more,
selections
have an obvious partner. The heavily
sequinned ball gown
would
not for instance be considered by most as prime choice of outfit
for
a ride with the local hunt.
As
the order-of-merit exercise, the winning line will be that to
coincide
with the resultant deliberations of the judging panel.
Spot-the-Ball (or whatever). We surely all of
us are familiar with
this
particular task, whereby on a picture of such as a football match,
children
playing handball on the beach, a scene from a Wimbledon tournament,
we
are required to identify the location of the obliterated ball.
Sometimes
the obliterated object is: the sun, a dog, the dog's bone,
the
position where an aimed arrow will fall, the golf ball will reach,
and
so on.
Locate the Buried Treasure. Here we are
usually given a set of clues
along
with map, grid, even a picture or
photograph, from which we must
identify
and mark the location of the treasure, often than which forms
the
prize matter of the competition involved.
Word Squares. These often present as easy task
- and a highly boring
one
too, as we seek to discover words hidden in a grid resembling a
cross-word
puzzle without the blacked-out squares.
The grid is filled
entirely
with letters, many of them consecutively will form actual
words
which we must identify and mark.
Sometimes we are told what
words
we must look for, sometimes we must carry on often for hour
until
we either are convinced we have found all words involved, or
the
entrant collapses instead into an exhausted heap - 'orrible!
Word Making. And I hate this task too, one
which requires the entrant
to
make as many words as are possible from a set phrase. Often one
forming
the name of the sponsor or the product the competition is promoting.
Even
from a phrase comprising just a very few letters, words produced
can
extend to many hundreds, even thousands.
It takes ages to be just a
little
happy that one's list will be in with a fighting chance of a
prize
- unless of course you consider that many computer buffs entrants
have
programmed their computers to churn out all potential words in
virtually
a few minutes - dare I say I rest my case?
Estimation Exercises. This type of preliminary
task requires of us
an
estimation based usually upon something concerning the competition
theme
or prize on offer. In a holiday
competition we might be asked
to
estimate the number of passing through Heathrow Airport in the coming
holiday
season; in a baby competition we might be asked to estimate
the
number of babies to be born in London during the current year,
and
so on. A highly subjective task, this is
another which is almost
certainly
never to guarantee a place for the expert writer of tie
breakers
to have his or her skills accurately assessed.
Estimation
exercises
incidentally, usually concern fact, feats, events and such
which
have not yet reached completion. YUK!
Identify the Locations, Celebrities, etc. From
a group of such as
masked
celebrity photographs, slightly obscured pictures of landmarks,
locations,
etc., we are expected to identify the person or whatever
is
involved. Sometimes we are provided with
that invaluable list of
alternatives;
again sometimes not.
A WORD ABOUT PRIZE DRAWS
For
the regular winner, one who places heavy emphasis on skills and
technique
in entering and subsequent winning, the prize draw is not
a
competition at all in the real sense of the word. Here all that is
required
of the entrant is to place hi or her name on a form provided
or
else on a plain piece of paper, following which all entries will be
placed
in a drum* and winner selected at random, rather like the raffle
with
which we all of us are almost certainly familiar.
In reality the winners list might be selected
by computer.
THE NEVER TO BE UNDER-ESTIMATED TIE BREAKER
This
perhaps is the most important section of this or any manual or
course
on the subject of achieving a regular place on the winners
lists
of the very many competitions sponsored today.
Please read this
section
with care, never under-estimate the importance of the tie
breaker
- never throw in the very first ideas that spring to
mind
- never decry the work of others. Here
is where your real
chance
of obtaining truly magnificent prizes presents itself. Read on!
A
tie breaker by its very definition, is a technique designed to break
a
tie between candidates as yet of equal standing. In the order-of-merit
exercise,
with odds so heavily stacked against acquiring a 'correct' line,
the
tie breaker stage might not even come into play, it might not even be
set
in the first place but reserved as a secondary measure in the unlikely
event
more than one entrant presents a line coinciding with that determined
by
the judges.
RHYME
as we've already decided, accounts for the great majority of
winning
lines, but given today's higher entry levels, the simple rhyme
has
been somewhat stripped of its magnetic powers.
Some other device
is
therefore incorporated by which to make the rhyme stand out from the
crowd. We find therefore such unforgettable offering
as:
SPLENDID
BLENDED (Brevity and Rhyme)
MORE
PICK UP PER CUP (Play on Words and Rhyme)
NIGHT
AND DAY,RELIANT'S WAY (Opposites and Rhyme)
EVE
IT, TRY IT, BUY IT! (Rhyming Triple)
MY
BEST PROTECTION FOR BAKING PERFECTION IS OCCIDENT FLOUR (Internal Rhyme)
If
we choose though, to leave the rhyming device to our fellow competitors,
we
could always resort to looking for WORDS WITHIN A WORD. The following
example
is somewhat self-explanatory for this technique, which though
often
difficult to master, can produce some of the most memorable of tie
breakers.
TAKES THE B OUT OF BEATING AND GIVES
DELICIOUS EATING
When
the sentence requiring completion is one for which no gimmick, joke
or
light-hearted approach will fit the bill, then the SERIOUS completion
is
one worth considering:
DRIVERS
DO BE CAREFUL, LET MY CHILD COME HOME ALIVE
Anther
to produce highly memorable results, but one much easier to
accomplish,
is that technique which results from utilising OPPOSITES
OR
CONTRASTS:
ALWAYS
ONE STEP AHEAD BUT A PRICE RISE BEHIND
And
a technique to win favour with almost all judging panels, but only
where
the end result is really different, and not simply a
regurgitation
of tie breakers of days long gone, is that to incorporate
a
PLAY ON WORDS AND PUNS. Though
essentially different in definition,
I
have grouped together the play on words and pun, since both result
primarily
from playing around with words, phrases, clichés,
proverbs
and such, until the desired effect is achieved.
It is
worth
noting however, that the pun usually has a humorous end
result,
whilst the play on words may or may not possess a more
serious
element:
NO
RUST FOR THE WARY
If
two rhyming components don't satisfy, then try your hand at THE
TRIPLE,
which as the name implies has three components, sometimes
rhyming,
sometimes not.
GRANDPA
LOVED THEM, SO DID DAD, NOW THEY'RE FAVOURITES WITH THE LAD
But
perhaps what you have to say is best said only in duplicate; in
which
case REPETITION is the technique by which to make your feelings knows:
BALANCED
MEALS ON BALANCED BUDGETS
Another
interesting device is that of REVERSAL, an eye-catching technique
that
can result in an extremely memorable tie breaker:
EXACTLY
RIGHT TO WRITE EXACTLY
To
consider the INCLUSION OF PRODUCT-STORE-PERSON'S NAME, ETC is most
definitely
to win favour with the judges, particularly those actually
representing
the company promoting the competition:
ASDA
- THE FOUR LETTER WORD DISCERNING SHOPPERS SWEAR BY
And
'Initially' a very good tie breaker type is the ACROSTIC, where
letters
forming an appropriate word, for example the firm or product
promoted
in the competition, are used as the starting letters of the
words
in the entrant's message:
BISTO
IS SUNDAY'S TASTIEST OFFERING (BISTO)
SENTIMENTAL
competitors come to the fore when appealing to the judge's
sense
of 'family' loyalty, whether of the kinship of Company variety:
WHEN
TIME IS SHORT IT'S MUM'S FIRST THOUGHT
MADE
BY OUR FAMILY FOR YOURS
Brevity
of course is one of the most envied of tie breaker
characteristics,
and often something very difficult to achieve.
QUICKIES
are often both memorable and pleasing to the judges'
eyes,
and of course if some other technique such as double meaning
words
or puns is incorporated, the end result becomes even more
worthy
of big prize status:
JOINT
HAPPINESS (Bisto purchased at Morrisons)
Entrants
renowned for repeating themselves must surely place their
confidence
in that device known as ALLITERATION, where some or all of
the
words in the tie breaker start with the same letter or sound, and
again
extremely memorable results can be achieved, especially if some
other
technique is also incorporated:
STUDY
THE SECRET OF SLOGANS THAT SELL
Those
of us known to change our minds must surely score highly in
the
game with ALTERED WORDS. We rely heavily
on words which sound
alike,
though we can also take advantage of 'coined' words, which
don't
actually exist in true vocabulary.
Another eye-catching technique
if
properly utilised, if over-done it's sure to end up looking awkward
and
contrived:
WE
CAN SIR, CURE CANCER
WRECK-LESS,
NOT RECKLESS
For
something truly different we need look no further than
GIMMICKS-ODDITIES-ABBREVIATIONS:
E-Z
WAY TO PREVENT D-K
Sing
your way to victory with RHYMING JINGLES, a variation of the
rhyming
technique, possessing both rhythm and balance that tends to
make
the reader want to sing along:
ETERNAL
ROMA BLENDS SO WELL, FOUNTAINS, FUN AND PETER'S BELL
TOPICAL
EVENTS AND PEOPLE brought us the brilliant:
SHE
MADE HER MARK BEFORE REACHING HER PRIME (Margaret Thatcher)
And
HOMONYMS or words which though spelt differently still sound the
same,
were responsible for:
SUPERBLY
RIGHT FOR WRITING
PRODUCT
PERSONALISED on the other hand, appeals to the judges' sense
of
Company loyalty, suggesting you have only their product in mind:
BORN
IN HEREFORD AND RAISED IN GLASSES EVERYWHERE (Cider)
For
big kids everywhere, NURSERY RHYMES transport us back to a time
long
gone, by which are evoked memories to stir even the hardest of
judges'
hearts:
I
AM THE WOMAN THAT SWALLOWED THE SPIDER THAT GIGGLED AND GIGGLED
AND
GIGGLED IN CIDER (Cider)
With
SONGS, BOOKS, TV TOPICS, PROGRAMMES, we may find ourselves
visualising
an everyday television 'soap' character, or one from
some
blockbusting novel, with whom to add colour and usually hilarity
to
the situation:
I'M
NO KRYSTLE IN SUSPENDERS, MORE LIKE PAULINE IN EASTENDERS
DOUBLE
MEANING WORDS AND PHRASES account for such worthy winners as:
B.A.
IS A DEGREE ABOVE THE REST
ODD-LONG-DIFFERENT-COINED
WORDS though, seek to impress the judge here
with
the quality of the entrant's vocabulary, as with:
SOUPA-CALLOUS-TRAGIC-MYSTIC-EXPERT-ALATROCIOUS
A
favourite of many competitions enthusiasts, the COMPETITION THEME
is
one likely to be in the minds of all our fellow entrants, and so
'first
thoughts' must almost always be discarded, as must ideas used
in
past competitions with a similar theme, for fear of heavy duplication
and
subsequent disqualification.
Music
Theme: THEY'RE TUNED IN FOR SOUND VALUE
FOREIGN
FLAVOUR is a technique used almost invariably where the theme
of
the competition or the product itself has a foreign connection:
RIVIERA
SHADES MAKE ME LOOK SO CHIC, OOH-LA-LA THEY'RE MAGNIFIQUE
And
some competitions lend themselves well to the inclusion of a little
PATRIOTISM. Hence we find:
WHAT
BRITAIN MAKES BRITAIN MAKES BETTER
HEADLINES
give impact to the entry form as well as to the contents of
the
newsagent's stands:
EXTRA!
EXTRA! EXTRA! NEWS THAT'S HOT! SPAM 'N' PANCAKES HIT THE SPOT
The
DRUM-BEAT RHYTHM that endeared us all to: 'Milk has goota lotta
bottle',
just effectively sings the praises of other products:
THEY
PACKS FRESHA RASHA
And
ONE-WORDERS are eye-catching if only because of what one can find to
say
in so few letters:
DRAM-ATIC
(Whisky)
With
that lot from which to draw inspiration, surely those of us
suffering
the longest of losing spells can start creating worthy
winners
'write' away!
RULES
are
vitally important and as such should never be ignored. Usually
one
will find rules that virtually coincide from one competition to
the
next, and as such the regular competitor might feel tempted to
skip
over this particular section of the entry form.
The regular
winner
most certainly will not choose to follow this option, since
often
hidden in that small print is something totally different to
anything
he or she has come by before. I've even
seen a rule such
as
"write only in black ink" - why I'll never know, but had I
written
in blue ball-point then my entry would surely have gone
straight
into the checking panel's nearest rubbish bin.
The
rules might give some indication as to how many entries are
permitted
per person, as well as how many qualifiers are required
and
what form they should take (sometimes specific stores till receipts
are
required).
Always
read the rules carefully and comply with them in every detail.
TIE BREAKERS AND SLOGANS TO ASPIRE TO
Approved
by a Thousand Million Thirsts (Alcoholic Beverage) After
the
Wreck Comes the Reckoning (Motor Insurance Firm) Alert Today,
Alive
Tomorrow (Road Safety Slogan) An Army of Kernels (Roasted Peanuts)
Comfort
Of American Life (Coal) Danger Lurks Where Caution Shirks
(Road
Safety Slogan) E-Z Way to Prevent D-K (Dental Problems) Peer of
the
Whisky Realm (Whisky) Protects Profits (Insurance Company)
Andrews
for Inner Cleanliness (Andrews Liver Salts) Accidents Begin
where
Caution Ends (Road Safety Campaign) Ale that Fits the Name
of
Schlitz (Schlitz Beer) Arrest Cancer, It's Wanted for Murder
(Cancer
Prevention) Be Coaled and Warm (Coal) Guinness is Good for
You
(Guinness) He Passed Them All, All Saw His Passing (Road Safety)
One
Good Ton Deserves Another (Coal) There's More Pick-Up Per Cup
(Coffee)
Where Omaha's Wise Advertise (Advertising Publication)
Worth
Waking For (Breakfast Cereal) Bet Sheers of Your Life (Hosiery)
Thirst
Come, Thirst Served (Beverage) We Can Sir, Cure Cancer
(Cancer
Prevention) For the REST of Your Life (Beds) Glue Without Goo
(Glue)
Hat Ease on the Home Front (Millinery) Ingersoll, the
Watchword
of the Nation (Watches) Rest Assured (Hotel) For the
Heads
of the Family (Shampoo) Freedom's Just a Word Until you Lose
It
(USA War Bonds) No Rust for the Wary (Car Rust proofing) Your
Name
Alone Secures a Loan (Loan Company) 'Twas the Bite before
Christmas
(Christmas Foodstuffs)
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