Magners Pub Comedy Awards

Watch the highlights video further down this page.From Newcastle to Northamptonshire, Manchester to Minehead they came… to help put a smile on the...

Watch the highlights video further down this page.

From Newcastle to Northamptonshire, Manchester to Minehead they came… to help put a smile on the face of pubs.

The Magners Pub Comedy Awards, brought to you by The Publican in London last week, were the culmination of night after night of stand-up comedy heats held at pubs around the UK this year. The event was hosted by comedy stalwart Rudi Lickwood and featured a set from Ricky Grover.

Pubs had nominated their local comedy stars after running their own events - and after a thorough judging process a select band of finalists were invited to battle it out at Jongleurs in Camden for the ultimate accolade in pub comedy.

Carl Hutchinson, representing the Dog and Parrot in Newcastle, was crowned the pub comedian of the year on the night, with a five-minute routine which culminated in his own final of The X Factor.

Rachel Anderson, representing the Castle in Walthamstow, East London, was a close runner-up.

The overall pub winner was the self-same Castle, in recognition of the success of its regular comedy nights and the commitment of the pub to making them work. But every pub represented on the night was a winner after maximising the benefits of using comedy to pull in new customers.

The judges, including one of London's most respected comedy bookers, Julia Chamberlain of Jongleurs, Chris Hancox, vice-president, marketing and creative services at the Paramount Comedy TV channel, and Jules Macken, on-trade brand manager for Magners, as well as The Publican's managing editor Daniel Pearce, were impressed with the ways in which all the entrants had used comedy to boost their businesses during 2008.

Jules from Magners says: "The comedians really did a fantastic job of representing their locals, but for me the real highlight of the evening was the standard of the pub entries.

"Many of the outlets really went to great lengths to bring comedy to life in their pubs and saw significant uplifts in both footfall and overall profitability."

The key message from the Magners Pub Comedy Awards, brought to you by The Publican, has been to get more pubs thinking about comedy - and how they can harness the value of humour to win new business in this most challenging year for the industry.

Jules says: "For Magners, the Pub Comedy Awards are a fantastic way to support the trade in what are arguably the most difficult trading conditions many will ever have faced.

"Pubs regularly have live music or pub quizzes, this provides publicans with a new way to drive footfall on a Monday or Tuesday when, traditionally, trade might be slower." 

The Magners Pub Comedy Awards are yet another example of how the brand is supporting comedy on a national scale - Magners also sponsors the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival, the Magners Paramount Comedy Festival Brighton, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and all stand-up on broadcast channel Paramount Comedy.

"Working with The Publican on this initiative allowed us to bring this expertise to life in pubs throughout Great Britain, supporting the trade in promoting their outlet and driving wet sales," she adds.

You've got to laugh haven't you!

- See more photos from the event on the Flickr slideshow below.

- For more information on the Magners Pub Comedy Awards, visit www.thepublicanpubcomedyawards.com

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