Winner of the Ssquared Answer Ad Contest

Back on April 11, BMX News reported on a unique contest Advantage Bike Corp was running. The parent company of household name brands like Ssquared, Answer and Clayborn put out the challenge to the brand faithful to come up with an ad concept that would star as a full-page insertion in the July issue of Pull Magazine.

The winner is Alex Ingham, a 5x from Loveland, OH, with the headline “When You’re Riding the Best, You’re Always Smiling.”

Here’s the winning ad, with Alex’s winning smile

News reached out to Alex’s dad, Tony, for some backstory on heir submission. Here’s what he said:

Tell us about the ad you produced for the contest. Who shot the photo, and any other details?

The Photo was shot by Shayne Ross at Dayton Indoor over the winter. Dayton Indoor is Alex’s second home during the winter and is run by Bob Bruns. Shayne Ross is out of Columbus Ohio and takes the pictures at the track and always is able to get great shots like the one we used in the ad.

When Answer/SSquared put the contest out for anyone riding one of their bike I knew that the picture Shayne took would be a great one for the contest because of how he was able to capture how happy he is when he is riding his bike. I downloaded some software and tried my best to make an ad for them that they would like with the picture. 

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What was it like around the house to find out you won the contest?

When Marissa contacted me to tell me that we had won the contest his mom and I were super excited but had to wait most of the day to tell Alex since he was in school.

When Alex go home we told him and at first I am not sure he understood what that meant so I went and got last months copy of the magazine and showed him the ad with Brandon Crain and then he understood what it meant.

Being 5, I think his mother and I were more excited than he was but that is also why his nickname is “Iceman;” he takes everything in stride and doesn’t really get worked up by anything. I have pictures of him in staging at a national and I think he is trying to sleep. 

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What kind of things were in the prize package?

We have not got the prize package yet because Marissa is waiting until the magazine comes out, but I believe it is going to have a shirt and other Answer swag and 5 copies of the magazine. 

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Any final thoughts you’d like to share about your experience in the contest?

I think that the idea of using a rider for a magazine ad to promote the Answer/Ssquared brand is a fun way to make a little kids dream of being in Pull magazine come true.

Every time Pull magazine comes out, the first thing Alex does is go through it to see if he has made any of the race pictures or if he is mentioned in the race reports. So far he has not made it but now he has an ad in the magazine which is way-more exciting for a little kid to see.

Thank you to all the people at Answer/Ssquared for choosing Alex as the contest winner. It’s awesome to help promote such great brands, backed by even greater people. 

What a great story. Even for those who didn’t win, we’re sure it was a ton of fun to get creative and post-up some promo that advanced the cause of BMX Racing among their respective networks.

Big props to John Sawyer, Marissa Caprara, Blake Sawyer and Michelle Senger at ABC for always thinking outside the normal lines.

—Mike Carruth

Make it Big With Answer / Ssquared Ad Contest

We all keep our eyes on the fast factory flyers featured in our monthly Pull Magazine–especially in the ads. It’s cool to look close and check out what everyone is running, parts-wise…or that trick new colorway that isn’t coming out til Grands, or maybe some proto-ala-moto parts that won’t hit the market til next season.

Between now and April 26, Answer BMX, Ssquared and Clayborn Bicycles are giving you the opportunity to be one of those featured flyers, with a contest for designing the coolest ad for a future issue of Pull.

Here’s what they told us, in a release:

Do you ride an SsquaredBicycles with Answerbmx components? How about a ClaybornBMX bike with AnswerBMX components?

If so this contest is for YOU!!

Design a worthy magazine AD including your bike and you may be the next USA BMX Pull Magazine superstar!

The Winning ad will be featured in the magazine, and will receive a fully-loaded goodie bag including five copies of the magazine for your fans. Winner will be chosen by our awesome All Star Pro lineup.

Submit your design on either Instagram or Facebook with the
#AnswerbmxAD. Make sure your profile is visible and if your using a photo from a photographer, make sure you have permission

Submission deadline is 4.26.18

WE ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR RIDERS, WHETHER YOUR ON A TEAM OF OURS OR JUST A FAN TO ENTER.

That is going to be some serious fun! So shine up your scoot, get out to the track with a proper photog, and get some shots to use in your submission.

BMX News always wants to give our readers the best possible chance at things like this, so here are some pro-tips:

- Download logos below (we have made them transparent-background)

- Create your submission to Pull Magazine specs (8.5″ x 11.125″). Make any images run off the edge of the page (called “bleed” in print production jargon).

- Be sure that you have the hi-res version of the photo(s) you use in your submission. This will not matter for the contest submission; you can use 72ppi images there, but you will need a hi-res 300ppi image for the actual ad that will run in Pull.

- If you need product images, go to answerbmx.com, ssquaredbicycles.com and/or claybornbicycles.com and use right-click, “save image” to download them.

- Buddy up with someone who has Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and/or Photoshop. It will be much easier to do this with those production tools. Some public libraries have them, and many schools as well. You might even be able to get exra credit for an art class by doing this “assignment.”

Best of luck! If you hashtag #BMXNEWS in your submission, and you win, we will send you a goodie bag of News swag on top of what you win from Answer/Ssquared/Clayborn.

Links

Answer BMX Logos

Ssquared Logos

Clayborn Bicycles Logos

Factory Spots for Posey and Palmer

The team news train takes us ever-forward toward the 12-pages of a new calendar. Today, we’re pleased to report that Justin Posey and James Palmer will join John Sawyer’s Advantage Bicycle Corporation (ABC) group as factory flyers for the Ssquared and Clayborn brands, respectively.

Posey is fresh off a long ride with Dan’s Comp (where, perhaps not-coincidentally, he rode an Ssquared), and we remember Palmer well from his long-stint on Factory Yess.

Here’s what John told News about the pickups, via a release:

Over the past few years we have been striving to build an image that is second to none.

Always seeking the best brand representatives on and off the track, it was a no-brainer to add Justin Posey and James Palmer to the arsenal of ABC riders.

Posey has been co-sponsored by Ssquared and Answer since 2012 through his Dan’s Comp sponsorship so it was a natural fit to add him to the Ssquared roster and we wouldn’t see it any other way.

With Palmer being new to the ABC family, we’re pumped for him to spearhead the Factory Clayborn team to help bring the brand back to the top.

Bring on 2018!

Justin and James join factory Answer BMX anchor-pro, Tory Nyhaug to form a powerhouse trio of household-name stars, representing ABC brands around the world, and here at home (North America, being “home” to all of us).

All the best for a successful 2018 to all our ABC friends, both long-standing, and new.

—Mike Carruth

John Sawyer Acquires Clayborn Bicycles

John Sawyer makes some big waves in the BMX pond. Whether it’s starting Ssquared Bicycles back in 2009, or saving Answer BMX from the clutches of the Grim Reaper a couple years later, or working to bring a world-class dual-hill track to his Oldsmar BMX facility, JS is always doing stuff us headline hunters like to hear.

Clayborn Bicycles is a respected brand, with roots going back before I made my reentry to the sport, but one of the things I remember most about my return to the sport was the Barry Nobles, Brooke Crain and Jordan Miranda Clayborn team, led by another Alabama gent famous for BMX, Richard Bunt.

It was in the air the past couple of months that something might be afoot with a Sawyer/Buntster brand mashup, and today–on the eve of the all-important Interbike Trade Show, the official news came in to the BMX News Global Command Center on the “Breaking News” sideband.

John Sawyer, President and CEO of Answer BMX Products and Ssquared Bicycles, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Clayborn Bicycles to add to the company’s portfolio of BMX race component and frame offerings.

“The purchase of Clayborn Bicycles will give our customers another option when it comes to high end BMX race specific frames. We realize not every racer out there wants an Ssquared and by having another quality frame choice, we hope to capture that new segment of the market. And hopefully whether it’s an Ssquared or Clayborn frame, we hope the racer will outfit those bikes with Answer BMX parts,” stated Ryan Birk Vice President of Answer BMX and Ssquared Bicycles.

Terms of the purchase were not disclosed, but former Clayborn owner Richard Bunt is excited about the new direction and growth potential for Clayborn with the resources and infrastructure Answer BMX and Ssquared Bicycles has in place. Bunt will also remain on board as the Clayborn Factory Team manager and oversee those race operations.

Immediate plans for the new brand will include a new website and advertising efforts. Product design changes are under consideration while not wanting to stray too far away from the traditional characteristics that make Clayborn frames what they are today and have been known for since their beginning.

Production schedules will be ramped up and the frames will soon become available through the same sales channels that Answer BMX and Ssquared products are available.

This announcement comes at the onset of the 2015 Interbike Trade Show in Las Vegas later this week and a Clayborn frame will be on display in the Answer BMX and Ssquared Booth (#4171) where representatives will be promoting the brand and fielding questions about the new venture.

That is some solid scoop to open the show, and we will bring you more on this story from the show floor on Wednesday.

—Mike Carruth