HOW TO WIN AT COMPETITIONS
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 - $20 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, $2,000 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 thousand of œ's.
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 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 $200,000 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 favor 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.
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 numberof
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 dollars 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 of 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 - 'horrible!
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 programd 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 favor 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, clich s,
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 favorITES 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 favor 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, programS, we may find ourselves
visualising an everyday television 'soap' character, or one from some blockbusting
novel, with whom to add color 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 favorite 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
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).
