Bad Ad Contest - Rules

1. Entrants must be enrolled in grades 6-12 in a public or private school, or participate in an after-school program or community organization in the USA or Canada.

2. Entries must include an entry form including:

• The entrant’s name, address, phone number, age and grade level.
• The name of the entrant's school (or the sponsoring after-school program or community organization) and the school or organization's mailing address.
• The name of the sponsoring adult (teacher, after-school program leader, community organization coordinator, etc.) and a phone number where he/she can be reached (such as a home phone).

Download an entry form

3. The essay must be no more than 600 words long, and must be free of grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.

4. The essay must:

• Describe the advertisement or ad campaign.
• Describe the techniques the ad uses to influence young minds.
• Describe the messages or values the ad promotes: Why might the ad be misleading or offensive to youth?
• Use various tools of analysis to "talk back" to the advertisement: What part of the story is not being told? How could the ad be more truthful?

5. See our Media Literacy Basics and Deconstruction pages for tips on how to deconstruct ads.

6. While editorial suggestions from teachers are encouraged, the essay must reflect the student's own thoughts and work.

7. If possible, each entry should include the actual ad itself (a hard copy for print ads, or a tape for radio or TV commercials). If this is not possible, include a detailed description of the ad.

8. Deadline: All essays must be postmarked by January 15, 2008. Late entries will not be read. Send all entries to:

BadAd Contest
New Mexico Media Literacy Project
6400 Wyoming Blvd. NE
Albuquerque NM 87109

9. Essays will be judged on their adherence to the guidelines listed in #3 & 4 above, and on the clarity, creativity, humor, and accuracy of their observations. Winners will be notified by April 1, 2008.

10. Prizes: Winning entries in each category will receive $100. Runner-up entries will receive $50. The sponsors of winning and runner-up entries will receive their choice of any two NMMLP resources.

11. All essays become the property of the contest committee. If you would like your essay to be returned, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

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