In pictures: Young designers create ads for Black Country and Staffordshire businesses
More than 1,000 youngsters from across the Black Country and Staffordshire have designed eye-catching advertisements for businesses throughout the region – and as a result everyone was a winner.
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The firms, which included companies, authorities and attractions, were given bright and beautiful promotional material to advertise their work, while the youngsters put pen to paper for the chance of claiming a £500 prize for their school.
Judges for the Express & Star's annual Design an Ad competition – now in its 14th year– had tough decisions to make, with the entries whittled down to just 29 ahead of a prize giving ceremony at Wolverhampton Racecourse.
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Each school had been paired with a different company or authority, which then provided a theme for an ad that the pupils had to create.
The 29 pupils who reached the final came top of the class at their primary schools by producing an advertisement that got the thumbs up from the business bosses on the judging panel.
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It was then down to Express & Star readers to pick an overall winner from the 29 vibrant designs, to win the £500 prize.
All of the finalists were given a certificate, book tokens and a £50 cheque for their school.
It was Jamie Welch, a five year old artist from Tettenhall College Preparatory School, tasked with creating an advert for Alton Towers who landed the top prize.
His inspiration was the Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure, a new ride at the CBeebies Land at the theme park, based on the loveable characters Kwazii, Barnacles and Peso, who Jamie expertly replicated in his piece.
Jamie, from Tettenhall, said after his win: "I am very happy that I won first prize. I love art and enjoyed making this piece."
His mother Elizabeth Welch said: "He is always drawing around the house, he loves it."
Jamie's piece showed the three Octonauts characters shouting 'hip, hip, hooray' next to the cars and tracks that form the rollercoaster, which opened at the Staffordshire amusement park earlier this year.
The announcement that Jamie had won was preceded by a dramatic roll call of names.
One of the standout pieces belonged to Elyse Mannion, 11, from Long Knowle Primary School, Wolverhampton.
She was given the task of producing an advert for Shrek: The Musical, which opens at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre on September 30.
Her work, utilising bright colours, included
space for ticket prices, box office and website details and a five star review line amongst the excellent drawings of Shrek, Donkey, the Gingerbread Man and Princess Fiona.
As a thanks for her efforts, she will now get to go and see Shrek: The Musical on its opening night in the city.
Elyse said: "It was a lot of hard work but I enjoyed it.
"I can't wait to watch the show, I love Shrek."
The Grand Theatre's press and PR manager, Scott Bird, said:
"I think the standard this year is really high, everyone has done so well and they really are all winners."
Young Imogen Gage represented Castlecroft Primary School in the Design an Ad competition with her ad based on the family values that drive Clarkwood Engineering
The family business, formed in 1974, proved to be a great inspiration to the nine year old, who showed that the different branches of the firm which work together hold similarities to a tree that has grown strong over the years with proper care.
She said: "I thought of what goes into a business and all of the different jobs people had and I thought about family trees, so put the two together. I really like drawing and this was a chance to show that to people."
Imogen's father, Neil Gage, spoke of his pride at his daughter's achievement and added:
"We are very proud of Imogen today, she is always drawing whenever she has some spare time."
Other designs promoted businesses including convenience stores, women's aid groups, museums, car manufacturers and an airport. Each stuck admirably to their task of creating a piece that was both eye-catching and informative, in the grand tradition of advertising.
Darren Griffin, business manager at the Express & Star, said he had dealt with nearly 13 million advertisements during his career and the work of the selected finalists was up there with some of the best.
He said: "The designs we have had this year were fantastic and I can honestly say that there are some really talented children amongst us today. Each year the Express & Star publish a huge number of stories, features and supplements but I have to say that Design an Ad is our favourite.
"It is a brilliant way of bringing together our children, schools. teachers, parents, local businesses and the newspaper.
"This project could simply not go ahead without the support of the sponsors but the biggest thanks has to go to all of the children who put crayon and felt tip to paper and gave us so much enjoyment."
Express & Star deputy editor Diane Davies thanked the sponsors for their support, praised the quality of work on display and presented the children with their awards.
She said: "Each year I am genuinely delighted by the high standard of entries the competition receives. I am relieved that I get the best job, presenting the awards, and don't have to pick the winner."
