VAUGHAN—One week after The Manitoulin Expositor’s success at the Canadian Community Newspaper Association’s national awards for excellence in our field, the provincial Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA) Better Newspapers Competition was held in Vaughan, with this newspaper taking home yet more hardware.
The Expositor placed first in its division for Original Ad Idea for the Anchor Bar and Grill’s weekly ad that cleverly touted its ‘50 shades of chicken’ promotion for the month of March 2013. The ad featured a roasting chicken bound by butchers string—a clever pun based on the hit novel ‘50 Shades of Grey.’
The ad, created by summer student Mitchell Harasym, had this reaction from judge Wayne Aubert: “Funny copy. Funny visual. Wish it were more dominant, pun intended, in the layout.”
The December 27, 2012 editorial, ‘Idle No More calls to all segments of society’ by staff writer Michael Erskine, placed second out of 30 entries. “A well-researched piece that makes its points strongly while discussing an issue about which there is much to be said,” said judge Darren Ridgley.
The Expositor’s website, www.manitoulin.ca (which had placed first nationally the week before), took a third place finish for Best Community Website/Web Portal.
“Impressive social media interactivity on articles,” wrote judge Cheryl Wirch-Ryckman. “Great layout on the obits page, one of the best I’ve seen created locally.”
The Manitoulin Art Tour’s full-page ad created by production assistant Erin Toth garnered an honourable mention from judge Andrea Hillo, who stated, “Nice, clean design, high impact full-page ad. Attractive colours and clear ‘to the fact’ information. Lovely.”
Expositor publisher Rick McCutchen commented that the variation of awards, from online to editorial to production, is a good commentary on a well-rounded newspaper and thanked his staff for their thought provoking, innovative and creative hard work.
