Winners Of The 9th Clifford Hicks International Debate Competition
Students from seven schools competed in the finals of the 9th Clifford Hicks International Debate Competition, a five-day event hosted by the Calcutta Boys‘ School Literary Society.
The topic for the debate was “The house believes that the use of psychological and persuasive techniques in advertising is morally wrong and unacceptable”.
The tournament was presented in two categories: Category I for Classes XI and XII and Category II for Classes IX and X. It was started in 2015 to honor former principal Clifford Hicks. Over 300 students from local, out-of-town, and foreign areas participated in the preliminary round on Tuesday and Wednesday and the semi-finals on Thursday, with over 80 participating schools.
Seven schools advanced to the finals in Category I, and seven schools from Category II qualified for the finals.
On Saturday, two contestants from each of the seven institutions showcased their rhetorical prowess and wit. During the debate, they brought up Nike’s “Run Your Run” campaign, the mass production and sales of cigarettes, Heineken’s positive campaign, disparaging fairness cream campaigns, careless alcohol promotion through surrogate advertising, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Coco Cola incident, and press freedom.
Thought-provoking subjects were covered at the event, such as identifying deceptive advertisements while acknowledging that not all advertisements are misleading, the psychological impact of successful advertising, and how items come with a warning.
La Martiniere for Girls, Kolkata took the winner trophy in Category I finals, while The Bishops Co-ed School, Undri and Calcutta Boys’ School were the first and second runners-up respectively.
The Bishops Co-ed School, Undri took the winner trophy in Category II finals, while La Martiniere for Girls, Kolkata were the runners-up.
Principal and secretary of Calcutta Boys’ School, Mr. Raja McGee, said, “The event is more than simply a debate; it’s a festival and a forum for approving, agreeing, and disagreeing as well as for building connections”.
Congratulations!!
Priyanka Dutta