CopyDoodles Gag Cartoon Contest

By Mike Capuzzi | August 30, 2016

If you’ve been a reader of my marketing training content for any length of time, you know I am a big fan of using cartoons and comics in both online and offline marketing.  Several years ago, I even created a training course showing business owners how to use cartoons and comics effectively to get attention and get noticed.

punchout_comic

While there are several types of cartoons and comics suitable for use in your marketing, what I want to focus on today (and give you an opportunity to have a custom cartoon drawn for your use for free) is the infamous single-panel gag cartoon.

The single-panel gag cartoon was made famous by publications like The New Yorker and Playboy, and over the years these simple cartoons have made people laugh, cry, cringe and think.

Several marketers and advertisers have used gag cartoons to effectively get attention and drive response, and a quick search on my web site will result in several past articles and videos for your study on how cartoons and comics can be used.

There is no denying the power of the cartoon to get attention and get people involved with your content, which is why there are over 700 royalty-free gag comics designed for marketing use found in the CopyDoodles Access Club (CDAC), which members can personalize and download.

It’s now time to add some new cartoons to CDAC, and to make it a bit more interactive, I’m sponsoring a contest and allowing readers to contribute their gag cartoon ideas.  All winning ideas will be created by a professional cartoonist and each winner will get his or her cartoon created and sent to them for free!

There are four types of gag cartoons I am looking for:

1 – The captioned gag cartoon (where there is dialog in the cartoon).

1-captioned-gag-cartoon

2 – The personalized captioned gag cartoon (where the caption is meant to be personalized to the person looking at it or to you and your business).

2-personalized-captioned-gag-cartoon

3 – The non-captioned gag cartoon (where the image says everything).

3-non-caption-gag-cartoon

4 – The “punch-out” gag cartoon (As far as I know, I invented this unique form of personalized cartoons).  These unique cartoons have transparent areas which are designed to allow your own content to show through (like the one at the top too). 

1-punchout_comic_4

Some Marketing Related Gag Cartoon Ideas to Consider

  • A funny scene related to your business or life.
  • A sarcastic look at something related to your business or life.
  • Create a scene that you cannot replicate with a photograph.
  • Show the benefit of doing business with you.
  • Show the downside of not doing business with you.
  • Google “business cartoons” if you need some inspiration.

How to Submit Your Cartoon Idea

Only cartoon ideas that can be used by other business owners will be considered.  This means your gag idea has to be generic enough to be used by other business owners.

Fill out the form below with only one cartoon idea per submission.  You may submit up to three ideas total.

Describe the cartoon scene.  Be as specific as possible with all important details.  For example, here is what I wrote and sent to the cartoonist for the cartoon above with the men in the bathroom:

Three men are standing at a urinal.  The first guy is on his cell, which is plugged into the wall next to the urinal.  The second guy is looking at the plug on the wall.  The third guy is talking to the second guy.

Caption: “It was just a matter of time.”

If your cartoon is to have a caption, please provide a sample caption for us to review.

The deadline for idea submissions is September 30, 2016.  Winning idea contributors will have their cartoon sent as soon as it is completed.