Among the 2021 winners, PlayMonster’s Peppa Pig Grow & Play Peppa Pots was lauded in the Toys/Games and Novelties category.
The winners of the 2021 Licensing International Excellence Awards have been announced in a virtual gathering that brought together nearly 1000 industry executives from around the world during Licensing Expo Virtual.
The 22 award winners from seven countries – China, Finland, France, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom and the US – were selected from among 152 nominees from around the world who made the final ballot. More than 650 entries were received, and an elite global judging panel narrowed those entries down to the final ballot, which was voted on by members of the licensing industry. The winners were announced from locations around the world by executives from the event sponsors, which included ViacomCBS Consumer Products and Wildbrain CPLG.
The awards honour innovation and creativity in the way brands use licensing to further their goals; how licensees develop and bring to market products using those licences, and how retailers creatively spotlight licences on their shelves.
Among the 2021 Licensing International Excellence Awards winners for Best Licensed Products, PlayMonster triumphed in the Toys/Games and Novelties for Ages 0-8 years category, for Peppa Pig Grow & Play Peppa Pots. In the same category for Ages 8+, Lego was the winner for its Andy Warhol Lego Art Edition.
Winners under Best Licensed Brands included Super Mario by Nintendo for Digital/App/Video Game brand, Peppa Pig by Hasbro & Hasbro China for best Animated Entertainment/Character Brand and Harry Potter by Warner Bros. France for best Live Action Entertainment/Character Brand.
One special award added this year was the Pandemic Pivot, recognizing companies’ efforts to use licensing to react to the effects of the global pandemic. Peanuts Worldwide took home that honour for its work in developing and making available for free in-home educational materials and lesson plans.
“In our 36th year of honouring the best of the global licensing industry, it’s inspiring to see the quality of the work produced by people and companies even as they were adapting to new ways of creating and collaborating amid the effects of the pandemic,” commented Maura Regan, president of Licensing International. “The achievements that we honour today are testament to the power of brands, and the power of licensing as a business to create products and programmes with lasting appeal.”
In addition to honouring the work of the nominees and winners, the ceremony included the announcement that Kathy Ireland, CEO and Chief Designer at Kathy Ireland Worldwide; and Salvatore LaRocca, President, Global Partnerships of the National Basketball Association, are the latest inductees into the Licensing Hall of Fame, to be formally celebrated at an event in late October.
Six international Rising Stars were also acknowledged, including Rachel Hak of Crayola and Carolina Verdugo of Beanstalk.
The full list of 2021 Licensing International Excellence Awards winners can be viewed on the Licensing International website here.
