Somerset — The Commonwealth Journal has again won Kentucky Press Association's coveted first place 2012 General Excellence Award for Advertising.

In addition to General Excellence, the CJ swept almost all classes of the competition with a total of 35 other awards which helped it capture the Kentucky Press Association's (KPA) highest advertising honor.

"I am proud, pleased and gratified with the effort of our advertising staff during the year," said Commonwealth Journal Publisher Rob McCullough who noted that due to the Commonwealth Journal's high circulation, it competes in KPA's Daily Class 1 Division against some of the commonwealth's larger newspapers including the Ashland Independent and the Murray Ledger & Times,

McCullough's sentiments were echoed by CJ Advertising Director Mike Hornback who lead his department to victory.

"Winning KPA’s General Excellence Award is a testimony to the professionalism of our dedicated staff. I congratulate all of our staff members for their contributions during the past year, and look forward to another successful year at he end of 2012.”

Following are awards won and the judges' comments:



Advertising Excellence - Daily Class 1, First Place



Automotive, First Place, Tori Gooch, and Mary Ann Flynn

Honorable Mention Eric Dishon and  Craig Wesley

Leaving off the outside left and right columns of cars would have allowed more of the signs and carried the theme more completely.



Hardware/Appliances, Third Place : Eric Dishon, Mike McCollom

Hard to make it creative with sooooo much copy, been there done that. Good job



Professional Services, First Place : Tori Gooch

This if a first-rate ad. Good use of color graphics and organization of the ad. The color makes it both eye-catching and holds the attention of the reader. There were some excellent entries in this category, but this one was the clear winner. Great job!

Honorable Mention: Tori Gooch and Kate Smith

This ad is appealing in a creepy context. The mixing of graduation with crematory services was an unusual stretch, but it's also what set this ad apart and earned it some mention. Congratulations on pulling this off.



Food and Alcohol, Second Place : Eric Dishon and Mike McCollom

Nice use of contrast.

Third Place: Shirley Randall and Mike Hornback



Furniture, Second Place: Tori Gooch and Mary Ann Flynn

Third Place: Shirley Randall and Craig Wesley



Clothing Store, Third Place:  Eric Dishon and Kate Smith



Signature Page, First Place: Debbie Gossett

There were some excellent entries in this category, but this one kept rising back to the top on subsequent perusals. The feature offers a good variety of businesses as the sponsors of the Easter coloring contest, and a great opportunity for interactivity with readers, especially young readers. Congratulations! Great job!



Second Place ; Debbie Gossett

This was an excellent ad feature with a nice grouping of sponsorship ads wrapped around the Halloween coloring contest. I like the offer of interactivity with readers, especially young readers, but the graphic as a coloring piece was certainly less than challenging. Still, this was good work and certainly earns one of the top spots in this division.



Honorable Mention : Debbie Gossett

This is a novel variation of a coloring contest. I like incorporating the ring design and I'm curious just how effective the contest was in generating entries. I applaud the opportunity for interactivity with readers, especially young readers in creating the ring designs for mom. Only a couple of other excellent entries in the category kept this one from scoring higher.



Healthcare/Medical, Third Place: Shirley Randall and Kate Smith

Honorable Mention: Tori Gooch and Janie Gumm-Wright



Political, Certificate of Merit: Eric Dishon and Kathy Lee



Agriculture/Lawn and Garden, First Place : Eric Dishon and Janie Gumm-Wright

Great use of color images set this ad apart from the rest. Minimal copy lets the images tell the story and the message comes through loud and clear. This makes me want to go down and buy some plants and flowers, which is what this sort of ad should do. Great job!



Second Place: Shirley Randall and Mike Hornback

This ad uses just enough color to attract the reader and enough text to hold the interest. If a reader is in the market for a mower or garden tiller, this ad would be very well received. The ad is nicely organized and was likely very effective. It certainly earns it spot near the top of entries in this category.



Honorable Mention; Shirley Randall and Janie Gumm-Wright

This was a nice ad utilizing sufficient color to draw the eye to a very pleasing package. It was likely effective for the advertiser, but it just didn't rate among the top in this category. Still, it earned some mention.



Classified Section, First Place; Staff

Second Place: Debbie Gossett

Third Place: Debbie Gossett



Pre-prints/Special Publications, First Place: Staff

"Go Cats!" Simple yet effective.



Third Place: Staff

"Pulaski Chamber of Commerce. It's hard to make what is essentially a list of names look nice, but this is very well done.



Honorable Mention

"Cumberland Lake Shell Civil War Anniversary" This is very nicely done, and infinitely fascinating to read. Would have ranked higher had the body copy font not been so very, very small.



Best Ad Series, First Place: Eric Dishon and Craig Wesley

Second Place: Shirley Randall and Mike Hornback

Third Place: Shirley Randall and Mike Hornback

Honorable Mention: Shirley Randall and Mike Hornback



Holiday Ads, Second Place: Shirley Randall and Mary Ann Flynn



Special Events, Second Place: Shirley Randall, Mike Hornback

I really like this ad and I suspect most readers and the advertising client did, too. It's use of color and eye-catching graphics set this ad apart from others in the category. It was a tough call between first and second here. Good job!

Third Place: Eric Dishon and Janie Gumm-Wright

The excellent use of color and graphics in this ad design placed it near the top in this category. I suspect it was effective in drawing the readers eye, especially the young readers and parents of young readers who might send their children to Vacation Bible School. As these sort of ads go, this one is a good one but had the misfortune of going up against some excellent entries.



Creative Use of Newspapers, First Place: Tori Gooch

Catchy and effective.

Second Place: Tori Gooch

Third Place: Tori Gooch