Tie-Breaker Competitions UK: How to Write Winning Slogans

▍Tie-Breaker Competitions UK: How to Write Winning Slogans

A tie-breaker competition is the classic British comp format: enter a draw, then write a short slogan or sentence ("in 15 words or fewer, tell us why…") and the brand picks a winner from the entries judged acceptable. The slogan is what makes it legal as a skill competition, and it's also what decides whether you win.

Most UK compers under-invest in tie-breakers. They treat them as box-ticking, paste in a generic line, and wonder why they never win the bigger brand prizes. The reality is that tie-breaker comps consistently have the best win odds of any UK competition type — because most entries are forgettable, the few that aren't really stand out.

This is the full guide: what a tie-breaker actually is in UK law, the rule of brevity, the three structures that judges keep picking, and the line-by-line process for writing entries that get shortlisted.

▍What is a tie-breaker competition?

A tie-breaker competition is a UK prize draw with a skill element bolted on. You enter normally (web form, postal, on-pack code, magazine coupon), and as part of the entry you write a slogan or short answer to a question like:

• "In 15 words or fewer, tell us why you love [Brand X]"
• "Complete this sentence in no more than 20 words: '[Product] makes my morning better because…'"
• "Create a 10-word slogan for our new [product]"

The word "tie-breaker" is slightly misleading. In practice, the brand doesn't typically run a random draw and then use the slogan to break a tie. They (or their judging panel) read every slogan, throw out the obvious copy-paste rubbish, and pick a winner from the entries they consider creative and on-brand. Some run it as a genuine random draw from the pool of "acceptable" entries; others pick the slogan they most liked. The rules will usually say which, and "the judges' decision is final" is a standard line.

What matters for you: a competent slogan dramatically widens your chance of being in the pool that's actually drawn from. A forgettable one quietly puts you in the discard pile.

▍Why tie-breakers exist (the legal bit)

This is the bit most beginner comping guides skip, and it's actually useful to understand.

Under UK gambling law, a prize draw that requires payment to enter is a lottery unless it offers a free entry route — which is why on-pack promotions like McDonald's Monopoly always include a no-purchase-necessary postal option. Lotteries are tightly regulated by the Gambling Commission and brands can't just run them.

There's an exception: competitions with a genuine element of skill aren't lotteries, regardless of whether they charge to enter. The skill has to be more than trivial — it has to be enough that a meaningful number of entrants would be eliminated by it. A tie-breaker slogan is the simplest, cheapest way for a brand to add that skill element and stay on the right side of the law.

That's why so many big UK on-pack promos and magazine comps include a tie-breaker: it lets the brand run the promotion (often tied to a purchase) without the regulatory headache of a lottery licence. It's also why the slogan element is treated seriously by promoters — a token, ignored tie-breaker could be challenged as an unlicensed lottery in disguise.

Knowing this changes how you write. The brand needs your entry to look like an actual skill response. Sloppy, generic, irrelevant entries are exactly what the promoter wants to filter out — and what their judging panel is briefed to remove.

▍The rule of brevity

UK tie-breakers almost always have a word limit, and it's almost always tight. Common limits and where you'll see them:

Word limits get enforced strictly. Going one word over is the single most common reason valid-looking entries get binned. Most rules also clarify that hyphenated compounds count as one word and that numerals ("6") and number-words ("six") both count as one — but always read the specific T&Cs because some brands count hyphenated words as two, and some explicitly exclude articles (a, an, the) from the count.

A practical tip: write in a word counter, not your head. Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and most note apps will give you a live count. If the limit is 15 and you have 14, that's perfect. If you have 16, cut a word — don't argue with the form validation.

Why brevity matters beyond the rules: judges read hundreds, sometimes thousands of entries. A judge with 800 slogans to skim is making a 1-2 second decision per entry. Tight, punchy lines that land on first read get picked. Rambling, padded lines get scanned and dismissed.

▍What judges actually look for

Brands rarely publish detailed judging criteria, but if you've ever sat on a judging panel for a magazine competition or a brand promo, the unwritten criteria are usually some version of:

1. Brand fit — does this slogan sound like something the brand would put on a poster? Would the marketing team be proud to share it on Instagram? An entry that calls a luxury skincare brand "cheap and cheerful" is dead on arrival regardless of how clever the wording is.
2. Demonstrated product understanding — does the entrant actually know what this product does, or is this a generic line that could be about any product? Specificity wins. "Your dry shampoo saves my Monday lectures" beats "I love your products".
3. Memorability — would a stranger remember this slogan an hour later? Rhyme, alliteration, rhythm, and unexpected word choices all help.
4. Originality — is this an obvious cliché, or has the entrant come up with something fresh? Judges see the same five or six lazy openings over and over ("Because I'm worth it", "Because nothing comes close", "Simply the best") and bin them immediately.
5. Brevity of impact — does it deliver the punch in as few words as possible? Tight is good; padded is bad.
6. Technical accuracy — spelling, grammar, punctuation. A typo doesn't always disqualify, but it tilts judges away from picking your entry when they have a clean alternative.

Notice what isn't on this list: sob stories, deservingness, how badly you need the prize. Brands aren't picking winners based on hardship. Plenty of compers waste their tie-breaker on "I deserve this because…" — judges are emphatically not looking for reasons you personally deserve the win.

▍The three structures that consistently win

After years of UK tie-breaker patterns, a handful of structural templates keep coming up in winning entries. None of these are magic formulas — substitute your own ideas in — but they're proven scaffolds.

Structure 1: The brand-fit pun

Take the brand or product name and build a slogan around a play on it. This works because puns are memorable and because the brand name gets repeated naturally, which marketing teams love.

Examples (generic, build your own around the actual brand):

• For a tea brand called "Morning Glory": "Morning Glory makes my Monday alarm bearable."
• For a chocolate brand called "Velvet": "Velvet by name, velvet on the tongue."
• For an outdoor coat brand called "Endure": "Endure outlasts the British weather. And my dog."

The pattern: brand name → unexpected pivot → small personal detail. Three beats, under 15 words.

Structure 2: The rhythmic list / AABB pattern

Three or four short phrases with parallel rhythm. Easy to read, easy to remember. Works especially well when the brand has multiple benefits to highlight.

Examples:

• "Quick to brew, slow to drink, lasts the whole afternoon."
• "Soft on skin. Tough on grime. Kind on the planet."
• "Strong enough for spillages. Soft enough for newborns. Cheap enough for twins."

The pattern: three parallel clauses, each delivering a different product benefit. The rhythm carries the entry even if the individual lines aren't witty in isolation.

Structure 3: The completion twist

For "complete this sentence" tie-breakers, the winning move is almost always to do something unexpected with the second half. Brand prompts are usually written to invite generic completions — your job is to swerve.

Examples:

• Prompt: "My morning isn't complete without [Brand] because…" — Generic completion: "…it tastes amazing." Better: "…my children make it for me badly, which somehow makes it better."
• Prompt: "[Brand] makes me feel…" — Generic: "…happy and refreshed." Better: "…like a grown-up, despite the toddler shouting from the kitchen."
• Prompt: "I love [Brand] because…" — Generic: "…it's the best on the market." Better: "…it survived three house moves and one toddler."

The pattern: the prompt sets up the obvious answer; your completion delivers something specific, slightly funny, and personal.

▍A note on rhyme, alliteration, and AABB

UK judging panels have a soft spot for rhyme. It's not universal — some brands actively discourage it — but rhyming slogans are over-represented in winners' lists. The reason is simple: rhyme makes lines stick in memory, and judges remember the entries they read.

Alliteration (repeating consonants) does the same job more subtly. "Perfectly portable, perpetually powerful" is alliterative. So is "creamy, crunchy, completely irresistible". Use sparingly — too much alliteration sounds like a Year-9 English exercise.

The AABB pattern (two pairs of rhyming or rhythmic lines) is a workhorse for longer tie-breakers. Example:

"Long days, no time to think. A perfect cup, a moment to drink. Your blend turns my afternoon round. The best ten quid I've ever found."

This is 28 words — fits a 30-word limit, has rhyme, rhythm, and a personal beat. It's the kind of entry that gets shortlisted even from a pool of 5,000.

▍Character count vs word count

Some modern tie-breakers (especially online ones) use character limits instead of word limits — usually 100, 150, or 280 characters (the old Twitter limit). This changes the strategy.

With word limits, you optimise for punch per word. With character limits, you optimise for punch per character. That tends to favour:

• Short, common words over long ones ("use" beats "utilise")
• Contractions ("I'm" beats "I am")
• No semicolons or dashes (waste of characters)
• Numerals over number-words where allowed ("3" beats "three")

A 100-character tie-breaker is roughly 18-20 English words. A 280-character one is roughly 50 words. Always check the live counter before submitting — and remember the counter usually includes spaces.

▍The brainstorm process: 20 slogans, pick one

No professional copywriter writes one slogan and submits it. The reliable process for tie-breakers:

1. Spend 5 minutes researching the brand. Look at their Instagram, their website hero copy, their About page. Get a sense of their voice. Are they playful or premium? Family-focused or aspirational?
2. Brainstorm 20 slogans in a single sitting. Don't edit, don't second-guess. Volume is the goal. Use a notes app, write quickly, allow bad ones — bad slogans are how you find good ones.
3. Walk away for 30 minutes (kettle, dog, anything). The brain keeps working on it in the background.
4. Come back and shortlist 3-5. Apply the judging criteria above. Cross out anything generic, off-brand, or over the word limit.
5. Polish your top 3. Tighten every word. Count characters or words live. Read each one aloud — if you stumble reading it, the judge will too.
6. Pick the one that surprised you most. Not the safest, not the cleverest, the most surprising-yet-on-brand. Surprise is what makes judges stop scrolling.

Most beginners skip steps 1, 3, and 6. The result is a competent but forgettable entry.

▍Common tie-breaker mistakes

• Generic openings. "I love [Brand] because…" with the rest of the sentence applicable to any brand. Make the second half impossible to apply to a competitor.
• Sob stories without craft. "I haven't had a holiday in 10 years and need this win" is not a tie-breaker; it's a request, and judges bin it.
• Overusing exclamation marks! One per slogan, maximum, and usually zero.
• Trying too hard to be funny. Forced jokes land badly in 15 words. Subtle wit beats stand-up comedy.
• Ignoring the brand's actual product. A skincare tie-breaker that doesn't mention skin or your face is doing it wrong.
• Submitting your first draft. Almost always wrong. Brainstorm volume, then choose.
• Reusing the same line across multiple brands. Some compers maintain a "slogan bank". This is fine for inspiration, but copy-pasting the same slogan into ten different brand comps is exactly what filters spot.
• Padding to hit the word count. A clean 11-word line beats a padded 15-word one. Aim to use most of the limit, but don't add words that don't earn their place.

▍When to enter tie-breakers, when to skip

Not every tie-breaker is worth your time. The rough rule:

• Enter when the prize is meaningful (£50+ value), the entry count is likely to be modest (low promotion, niche brand, magazine-only), and you can think of a slogan in 10 minutes.
• Skip when the prize is small (a sample box), the brand is huge (so entry volume will be massive), and the prompt doesn't spark a single idea after a few minutes.

Compers who learn tie-breaker craft find their win rate on this category is much higher than on pure random draws. The effort barrier filters out 80%+ of competitors, and a decent slogan puts you in the top 10-20% that the judges actually consider.

▍Tie-breakers in magazine vs online comps

Tie-breakers are still huge in UK women's weekly magazines (Bella, Take a Break, That's Life, My Weekly, Woman's Own). These are often paid-to-enter (£0.60-£1 entry fee posted to a P.O. box) and traditionally have tighter judging — the magazine literally prints winning slogans in the next issue.

Online tie-breakers (brand websites, Instagram captions, Facebook comments) tend to be looser. Volume is much higher, judging is faster, and a clever line stands out more sharply because so many entries are throwaway.

The magazine route is where many of the UK's most successful tie-breaker compers built their reputation. If you're serious about this category, magazine and newspaper competitions covers the format in detail. Worth investing in a couple of weekly magazines and entering every tie-breaker for a month as practice — the postage costs are small and the skill compounds quickly.

▍How tie-breakers fit into your wider comping setup

Tie-breakers aren't a strategy on their own. They sit alongside:

• Random prize draws — the bulk of UK comping volume, no skill element, you enter and wait
• Photo and creative entries — see our photo entry competitions guide for the format
• Instant wins — code entry, scratchcards, lower effort per entry
• Quiz competitions — see our quiz competitions strategy guide for the research-led approach
• Skill-based creative comps — covered in how to win creative competitions

Most serious compers spend 70-80% of their daily time on random draws (high volume, low effort per entry) and 20-30% on the skill categories where their effort multiplies their odds. If you currently spend zero time on tie-breakers, even shifting 10% of your daily time to them will probably move your win rate noticeably within a couple of months.

The ultimate guide to comping covers the full daily workflow if you're building a comping routine from scratch.

▍Tracking your tie-breakers

The single biggest improvement most compers make to their tie-breaker craft is keeping a log. For every tie-breaker you enter, record:

• The brand and competition
• The prompt (exact wording)
• The word/character limit
• Your final entry
• The closing date
• Whether you won (and what you won)

After 3-6 months, patterns emerge. You'll see which structures get you shortlisted, which prompt styles you handle well, and which you should skip. A competition tracker like Sweepzy handles the closing-date and result tracking automatically, so you can focus on the slogan craft itself. You can also see our entry methods guide for the full taxonomy of UK comp formats.

▍Final thought

Tie-breakers reward the small fraction of compers who actually take them seriously. The bar is low — most entries are forgettable — so a competent slogan written with brand-awareness, brevity, and a surprising twist will get you shortlisted far more often than random odds suggest.

The craft compounds. Your fifth slogan won't be great. Your fiftieth will be measurably better. By your hundredth, you'll start winning the kind of brand prizes (holidays, gadgets, branded hampers worth £200+) that the casual comper never even sees.

Create a free Sweepzy account to track every tie-breaker you enter, save your slogan ideas, and never miss a closing date. Free forever, no credit card needed.

Keep reading:

• Quiz competitions strategy: research-led entry methods
• How to win creative competitions
• Photo entry competitions guide
• Magazine and newspaper competitions
• The ultimate guide to comping
• Competition entry secrets: what consistent winners do differently