HOW TO WIN AT COMPETITIONS

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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 - œ10

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, œ1,000 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 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

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!

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 œ100,000 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?

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!

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.

:ENTRYFORMS

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.

:NOWWHAT?

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.

:TIEBREAKERS

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 utilizing 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)

Lord of the Manor Titles and Lord and Lady of the manor titles. Lordship and Ladyships