Competition rules

1. Promoter

The promoter is Pitch Sourcery Ltd, registered in England and Wales (Company No. 16528237), trading as Pitch'd, registered office 65 Cameron Street, Heckington, NG34 9RP (“Pitch'd”, “we”, “us”). Contact: rebecca@pitchd.ai.

2. Acceptance

By entering, you accept these rules.

3. Who can enter

3.1 Anyone aged 18 or over at the time of entry, wherever they live, unless entering or receiving the prize is prohibited or restricted by the law of their country, or we cannot lawfully send the prize there (including countries subject to UK sanctions). The competition is void where prohibited.

3.2 Members of the judging panel cannot enter.

3.3 We may ask the winner to confirm their age before awarding the prize.

4. Dates

The competition opens at 09:00 UK time (BST) on Tuesday 6 October 2026 and closes at 17:00 UK time (GMT) on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Entries received after the closing time will not be judged.

5. How to enter

5.1 Entry is free and no purchase is necessary. Enter by completing the form at pitchd.ai/nightmares.

5.2 You may enter as many times as you like, provided each entry is a different story. Messages, emails and social media comments are not entries.

5.3 Entries made in bulk, automatically or through a third party will be disqualified. We are not responsible for entries that are lost or incomplete for reasons outside our control.

6. Your entry

6.1 Each entry must be a written story about a pitch or agency selection experience, of no more than 300 words, in English, written by you.

6.2 You may invent, change or combine details. We do not verify whether entries are true, and we will not present any entry as fact.

6.3 Entries must not name or identify any person or organisation, must not identify a particular campaign, must not contain cruelty, and must not breach any non-disclosure agreement, confidentiality obligation or law.

6.4 Entries that do not meet these requirements will be set aside and not judged.

7. Judging

7.1 This is a competition of skill. Entries are judged blind by a panel of five: Rebecca Bellairs (co-founder, Pitch'd) and four judges from the agency and procurement industries, who will be named on pitchd.ai/nightmares by Tuesday 13 October 2026.

7.2 Every eligible entry is scored from 1 to 5 by Rebecca Bellairs and one other judge against the scorecard in the Schedule. The four highest-scoring entries form the final.

7.3 All five judges then score the final four against the same scorecard. Scores are weighted as set out in the Schedule and combined to decide 1st to 4th place.

7.4 Where entries tie, the entry with the higher combined Creative flair score is placed higher. If still tied, the higher combined Originality score decides.

7.5 The panel's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

8. Prize

8.1 There is one prize, for 1st place: a custom Game Boy Color console finished in Pitch'd purple, with three games selected by Pitch'd (approximate value £170).

8.2 The prize is not transferable and there is no cash alternative. If the prize becomes unavailable for reasons outside our control, we may substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

8.3 Pitch'd will pay for tracked delivery to the winner and any import duties or taxes charged on the prize.

8.4 Game Boy Color is a trademark of Nintendo. This competition is not associated with, sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo.

9. Results and claiming the prize

9.1 Results are announced at 16:00 UK time on Friday 30 October 2026 on the Pitch'd LinkedIn page.

9.2 The winner will be contacted by email and LinkedIn message the same day and must reply within 14 days with a delivery address. If they do not, or are found ineligible, the prize will be offered to the entrant placed 2nd.

9.3 In line with the UK advertising code, we will make the winner's surname and country available on request, unless the winner objects.

10. Sharing entries

10.1 On the entry form you choose either to keep your entry private to the judging panel or to allow Pitch'd to share it in its content. If you allow sharing, you choose how you are credited.

10.2 If you allow sharing, you grant Pitch'd a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to edit your entry (including for length and anonymity) and publish it in Pitch'd content, including on LinkedIn, our website and newsletters.

10.3 If your entry is placed in the top four, Pitch'd may share it whichever option you chose. Entries marked private will be rewritten and shared anonymously, with no credit.

10.4 You keep the copyright in your entry. We are not obliged to publish any entry. You may withdraw an entry by emailing rebecca@pitchd.ai before the closing time.

11. Your data

Pitch'd is the data controller. We use your details to run the competition and contact finalists and the winner. Entries are held on the Pitch'd platform until judging is complete, then handled under our privacy policy at pitchd.ai/data_policy. Judges never see your name or contact details. We will only send you marketing if you tick the updates box on the form.

12. Liability

To the extent permitted by law, Pitch'd is not liable for any loss or damage arising from entering the competition or from the prize. Nothing in these rules limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.

13. Changes

We may amend, suspend or cancel the competition if circumstances outside our reasonable control make it necessary. Changes will be posted at pitchd.ai/nightmares.

14. LinkedIn

This competition is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, LinkedIn.

15. Law

These rules are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live outside the UK, you keep any protections your local law gives you that cannot be excluded.