Media Isle of Man - the company behind Isle of Man Today - is bringing back its long-running ‘Design An Ad’ competition for 2025.

And this year it’s bigger and better than ever.

The initiative invites students aged four to 16 (Years 1 to 10) to design an advert for a well-known Isle of Man business or charity, with a total of £750 in prizes up for grabs for the winning schools.

Now in its 30th year, the annual competition continues to go from strength to strength. It’s a fixture on the academic calendar and is widely embraced by island schools, with teachers, pupils and parents all getting involved. The aim is to spark creativity and imagination while giving students a chance to explore current trends and themes in advertising.

Participants were provided with a range of creative briefs submitted by this year’s Campaign Partners, including Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, Fly Direct, Kip McGrath Isle of Man, Manx Wildlife Trust, Rex Motor Company, Robinson’s Food Hall, and Visit Isle of Man. Each advertiser’s brief outlined a theme or idea for students to build their designs around.

Once completed, all entries were sent to Media Isle of Man, where they were carefully reviewed and judged by members of their in-house marketing team.

Winners and highly commended students have been invited to an awards ceremony in July at the Ballakermeen Studio Theatre. They’ll be joined by teachers and representatives from this year’s Campaign Partners to celebrate the students’ hard work and creativity. Each winning and highly commended pupil will receive a certificate and a trophy, and prizes will be awarded to the overall junior and senior winners, as well as the school with the most entries relative to the size of their student body.

The awards will be hosted by Kim Graziano, Head of Brand and Creative at Media Isle of Man, and will open with a message from Hon Daphne Caine MHK, speaking on behalf of the Department of Education, Sport and Culture.

Minister Caine, who also opened last year’s ceremony, praised the competition, saying: ‘The Design an Ad competition is a wonderful way to showcase the creative skills of students. The opportunity to collaborate and work alongside local businesses to produce these innovative advertisements is key to developing young people’s skills. Year on year, Media Isle of Man continues to successfully organise and hold this fantastic competition, and I extend my thanks to all involved. I look forward to attending the Design an Ad award ceremony to celebrate the inspiring work of the island’s students.’

A special post-event supplement will be published in the Manx Independent newspaper on Thursday 10 July, featuring photos from the awards and all the students with their winning advert designs.

Campaign Partners are also invited to use the winning advertisement designs in their own marketing, including newspaper ads, social media, promotions and newsletters.

If you are a parent or guardian of a winning student and do not wish their photograph to be published for safeguarding reasons, please contact [email protected].