It seems that the people behind the John Caples International Awards hit upon a creative way to increase the number of entries for their annual competition. Founder Andi Emerson and her crew received the highest number of international entries ever — a 16 percent increase over last year. The number of U.S. entries was up as well, thanks to a banner ad campaign run by 24/7 Media that generated more than 1 million hits on the Caples Web site and 350 downloads of the entry form.
So what if the banners used bad grammar — “We could of done a flashy banner to get you to enter” — as mentioned in this space and an exchange of Letters to the Editor a few months ago. Pavlika and Chinnici Direct came up with the campaign, which included a blank call for entry with a Post-It note that said, “Oh forget it. Just go to the Web site and get the entry forms yourself.”
