“Electrician, 36, lost spark”

An adulterous electrician has beaten two journalists and one copywriter to win second place in a writing competition organised by IllicitEncounters.com. The extra-marital dating site, which creates a platform for married people to have affairs, challenged its members to write tongue-in-cheek personal ads related to their vocation, to feature as part of a new advertising campaign.

John, an electrician from Stoke-on-Trent, together with the other winners, will have his personal ad used in an online campaign launching next year. The competition was judged by site owner Steven Forbes-Wilson, who picked out five stand-out slogans:

• "Electrician, 36, lost spark"
• "Plumber, north Yorkshire, needs to plug gap"
• "Banker, 40, looking for risk-free investment"
• "Journalist, London, wants something off the record"
• "Sportsman, 35, looking to play away"

The five winning members were awarded three months free membership to the site, which has previously experienced difficultly booking advertising, due to its controversial nature. “Censorship often prevents us from getting our message across to the public”, says Sara Hartley, site representative. “We hope this new campaign will succeed in increasing the visibiliy of our company whilst bypassing the issues we have had with the ASA in the past.

“Although the ads are humourous, we recognise that being in a stale or unhappy marriage is not. We hope these advertisements will help us reach out to the people that need us the most.”