Got a joke? Get cracking... | Deadline looms for Gold's Christmas contest

Got a joke? Get cracking...

Deadline looms for Gold's Christmas contest

The closing date for the annual competition to find the best modern Christmas cracker jokes run by UKTV channel Gold is approaching fast.

Original jokes must be submitted via Twitter by the end of next Tuesday to be eligible.

It's the third year of the contest, following last year's winner: 'What will be missing from Take That's Christmas stocking this year? An Orange', written by Lynne Newton.

And in 2013, the winning entry was: 'What does Miley Cyrus have at Christmas? Twerky

Britons will pull 300 million crackers this Christmas and Gold aims to move away from the old groaners in favour of festive jokes with a topical agenda.

New and original jokes should be tweeted including the hashtag #GoldCrackers by 11:59pm on Tuesday October 27. The winner will receive holiday vouchers worth £1,500, and will have their joke made into their own personalised crackers.

A spokesman for Gold said: 'Looking back at the events of 2015, there is plenty of opportunity for topical, fun and original content to be showcased by witty writers.'

But one stipulation is that jokes should be kept clean; which might exclude the most talked-about story of recent weeks.

HOW TO ENTER

• Open to all UK residents aged 18 and over
• Tweet a Christmas-themed joke via your personal Twitter account including the hashtag #GoldCrackers
• The joke must be original content and suitable for a family audience. Gold is looking for modern festive jokes that put a comedy twist on the current news agenda or pop culture phenomenon
• The joke entry must not be more than 140 characters, including the hashtag #GoldCrackers
• Multiple entries are allowed
• Follow @GoldTVChannel (so we can notify the winners) - but the @GoldTVChannel twitter handle does not need to be included in the joke entry

For further information on the terms and conditions, please visit the Gold website. The competition opens on Tuesday October 6, 2015 at 9am and will close on Tuesday October 27, 2015 at 11:59pm.

The best jokes will be shortlisted by a comedy panel led by Bruce Dessau, comedy critic at the Evening Standard and editor of comedy website, beyondthejoke.co.uk, and then put to a public vote – with the top ten winning jokes being announced in December.

Dessau said: 'Legend has it that Napoleon once said we are a nation of shopkeepers, but if he was alive today, I think he would definitely say we are a nation of jokers - it really does feel as if everyone is a comedian! My Twitter feed is always being swamped with quick-fire gags to brighten my day. I'm looking forward to seeing what zingers people come up with this year for Gold's latest Christmas Crackers competition. From politics to showbiz there is certainly no shortage of inspiration out there. So keep it funny, keep it snappy and please keep it clean!'

Steve North, general manager of Gold, said: 'Last year's jokes were certainly crackers, and we're looking forward to seeing what festive puns are entered this year. Looking back at the headlines of 2015, there are already plenty of big moments or funny fails that could lend themselves perfectly to the Christmas cracker joke treatment.'

The entrants who supply the top ten jokes will get their own set of bespoke Gold crackers featuring a selection of the winning jokes. The writer of the top joke will win £1,500 worth of holiday vouchers and a box of bespoke Gold Christmas crackers with their winning joke included. The nine runners-up will each receive a festive hamper of assorted food and drinks, and a box of bespoke Gold Christmas crackers, which include the top six winning jokes.

For full T&Cs: http://gold.uktv.co.uk/article/crackers-competition-terms/

Published: 20 Oct 2015

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