Licensing International Announces 2024 Excellence Awards Finalists

Licensing International announces the full list of finalists for the prestigious Excellence Awards, dedicated to recognizing outstanding achievements and innovation in the global brand licensing industry.

This year’s Excellence Awards feature 197 finalists in 32 [PH1] categories. More than 800 submissions were reviewed by a panel that includes 200 judges from 20 countries.

A new category was introduced this year for Best Advertising Campaign Featuring a Brand, which honors print, radio, TV, cinema, and outdoor media advertisements where a property is used to elevate and promote another brand. Also, for the first time, each individual member of Licensing International had the chance to vote for The Members’ Choice Award, which celebrates licensed offerings that extend a brand in unexpected and innovative ways.

“The finalists for this year’s Licensing International Excellence Awards represent the remarkably innovative nature of the industry as whole,” said Maura Regan, President of Licensing International. “From established brands with a rich history to emerging properties breaking new ground, we applaud the finalists’ dedication to storytelling, brand building, and engagement, and look forward to honoring their achievements.”

The winners will be announced during the Licensing International Excellence Awards ahead of Licensing Expo. The ceremony will take place on Monday, May 20th at 5:30pm PDT at the HyperX Arena Las Vegas at the Luxor. Licensing Expo will take place from May 21– 23 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

More information about the finalists is available online. Finalists were presented by sponsors Alifish, Jazwares, SEGA, Spirit Halloween, and Stumble Guys.

The full list of nominees includes:

Best Advertising Campaign Featuring a Licensed Brand

• Coca-Cola’s Global “Masterpiece” Campaign – The Coca-Cola Company
• CoComelon Toys at Smyths superstores – Smyths Toys Superstores
• Comcast/Xfinity Gig Internet -“Red Flags” – Comcast/Xfinity
• Discover Imagination – tonies
• Golf’s Happy Place – PGA TOUR Superstore (Born Licensing)
• It’s OK I’m with The AA – The AA (Born Licensing)

Best Brand: Animated 

• Bluey – Ludo Studio & BBC Studios
• Gabby’s Dollhouse – Universal Products & Experiences
• Naruto – Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Studio Pierrot
• Peanuts – Peanuts Worldwide LLC
• Peppa Pig – Hasbro
• South Park – Paramount Global

Best Brand: Art, Design, or Museum

• Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (Jewel Branding & Licensing)
• Keith Haring (Artestar)
• Natural History Museum, London
• New York Botanical Garden (Jewel Branding & Licensing)
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Beanstalk)
• V&A

Best Brand: Corporate

• Dr. Scholl’s – Scholl’s Wellness Company (Brandgenuity)
• Girl Scouts of the USA (Earthbound)
• Hershey’s – The Hershey Company
• Kodak – Eastman Kodak Company
• Scotts, Miracle-Gro – The Scotts Company (Seltzer Licensing Group)
• United States Postal Service (Global Icons)

Best Brand: Food, Beverage, Restaurant

• Cinnabon (Global Channels)
• Coca-Cola – The Coca-Cola Company
• Entenmann’s – Bimbo Bakeries USA (Brand Central)
• M&M’S – Mars Wrigley (Brand Central)
• PEEPS – Just Born Quality Confections (Brand Activation Consulting)
• Stranger Things Scoops Ahoy – Netflix

Best Brand: Interactive or Digital Brand

• Bored of Directors – NFIP Holdings (Brand Central)
• Chefclub
• emoji – The Iconic Brand – emoji company GmbH (Retail Monster)
• Five Nights At Freddy’s – Scott Games (Striker Entertainment)
• Minecraft – Microsoft (CAA Brand Management & Merchantwise)
• Sonic the Hedgehog – SEGA

Best Brand: Live Action 

• Disney The Little Mermaid – The Walt Disney Company
• Monster Jam! – Feld Entertainment
• Ted Lasso – Warner Bros. Discovery
• Teletubbies – WildBrain
• Yellowstone – Paramount Global

Best Brand: Music Artist, Celebrity, or Fashion 

• Drew & Jonathan – Scott Brothers Global
• Gloria Vanderbilt – One Jeanswear Group (The Brand Liaison)
• Grateful Dead – Warner Music Experience
• Laura Ashley – Gordon Brothers
• MARTHA STEWART – MARQUEE BRANDS

Best Brand: Publishing, Stationery, or Social Expression

• Afro Unicorn – April Showers (Retail Monster)
• Black Paper Party (Brand Central)
• Crayola
• Dr. Seuss – Dr. Seuss Enterprises
• Moomin – Moomin Characters Oy Ltd (Rights & Brands)
• Strawberry Shortcake – WildBrain
• World of Eric Carle/Very Hungry Caterpillar – Penguin Random House (The Joester Loria Group)

Best Brand: Sports, eSports, or Collegiate

• 24H LE MANS – Automobile Club de l’Ouest (IMG)
• Formula 1
• NASCAR
• NFLPA
• U.S. Polo Assn. – USPA Global
• Yale University (ASPIRE by WildBrain CPLG)

Best Brand: Toy 

• Barbie – Mattel
• NERF – Hasbro
• Squishmallows – Jazwares
• TRANSFORMERS – Hasbro

Best Collaboration: Hardlines or Packaged Goods

• Caran d’Ache x Keith Haring – (Artestar/CAA Brand Management)
• Krispy Kreme x Elf
• LEGO x PAC-MAN
• Montblanc x Van Gogh Museum (TBR The Brand Residence GmbH)
• Pringles x The Caviar Co. (Beanstalk)
• Rubik’s Cube x Stranger Things
• Ted Lasso x Jeni’s Ice Cream

Best Collaboration: Softlines

• Frank Lloyd Wright x New Balance x Kith (Jewel Branding & Licensing)
• Kenneth Cole x Sesame Street
• Marvel x Christian Louboutin
• Squishmallows x H&M
• Swatch x Jean-Michel Basquiat (Artestar)
• The Met x Todd Snyder (Beanstalk)
• Tommy Jeans x Keith Haring (Artestar)

Best Experiential or Location-Based Initiative

• Hasbro Gaming at Changi Airport – Q’s Advertising Pte Ltd (Pacific Licensing Studio Pte Ltd)
• KISS New York City Takeover – Pop Up Mob; Modern English; Tactical Manoeuvre; Alex Coletti Productions (Bravado)
• Paris by Emily – Dharma
• Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum
• Shrek x Airbnb
• Snoopy x Mega Adventure – First Asia Realty Development Company (WildBrain CPLG)
• Squid Game: The Trials – Superfly
• The Friends Experience: The One in Melbourne (Original X Productions)

Best Licensed Promotion

• 7-Eleven x Brown & Minions – CP ALL PUBLIC COMPANY (7-ELEVEN) (Pacific Licensing Studio Pte Ltd)
• Lviv Croissants x MAVKA – Lviv Croissants (Nerd Agency)
• Paddington at Langham Hotels – Langham Hospitality Group (CAA Brand Management)
• Peanuts x Kellogg’s – Kellogg’s
• Squishmallows x McDonald’s Happy Meal Program – Jazwares, McDonald’s

Best Product: Apparel, Footwear, or Accessories for Corporate Brands

• Eastpak – Van Gogh Museum
• FILA Golf – McLAREN (CAA Brand Management)
• Loungefly – McDonald’s (The Joester Loria Group)
• Modern Works – Kodak
• Nowhere Co., Ltd. – Coca-Cola (itochu fashion system)
• Over The Pitch – Coca-Cola (CAA Brand Management)
• PacSun – The Met (Beanstalk)
• Uniqlo – MoMA, PAC-MAN, Katamari Damacy, SimCity 2000, Space Invaders, TETRIS

Best Product: Apparel, Footwear, or Accessories for Entertainment Brands  

• Adidas – The Simpsons
• AKILA – The Beatles (Bravado)
• Anya Hindmarch – Mr. Potato Head
• Crocs – Shrek
• Eton Shirts – The Beatles (Rights & Brands)
• GUCCI – Gremlins
• Pandora A/S – Game of Thrones (Nordic Licensing Company A/S)

Best Product: Appliances, Housewares, or Electronics for Corporate Brands 

• Aristocrat Gaming – NFLPA
• ByTech – Bugatti (IMG)
• Car Off Shore S.r.l. – FIAT 500 (IMG)
• Cloth & Company – Bendolph, Bennett, Pettway & Wilson (Artists Rights Society)
• Custom Accessories – Dr. Scholl’s (Brandgenuity)
• Muli – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Alfilo Brands)
• Samsung – The Met, The V&A, and Van Gogh Museum

Best Product: Appliance, Housewares, or Electronic Product for Entertainment Brands 

• Dalstrong – Batman
• Davolink – Minions
• Dragon Glassware – Barbie (Ann McNeill)
• Stern Pinball, Inc. – JAWS
• Thai Honda Co.,Ltd. – Minions (Pacific Licensing Studio Pte Ltd)
• Xiaomi Communications Co., Ltd. – Harry Potter
• Zara – Peanuts (WildBrain CPLG)

Best Product: Food or Beverage for Corporate Brands  

• B&G Foods – Buffalo Trace, Fireball, Southern Comfort (Brandgenuity)
• Ferrero/The Coca-Cola Company – Sprite (CAA Brand Management)
• Frankford Candy LLC – Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oscar Mayer, Lunchables, Claussen, Bagel Bites (Brand Central)
• GS Retail – Netflix
• Namyang – Mentos (Infiniss)

Best Product: Food or Beverage for Entertainment Brands

• Athletic Brewing – The Witcher
• Brach’s – Friends
• Brewdog – Elf
• FoodStory Brands – Yellowstone
• Treasury Wine Estates – Universal Monsters
• Witor’s – Bridgerton
• Witor’s – Harry Potter

Best Product: Health & Beauty

• Hismile – Wonka
• Kmed – Sex Education
• Mad Beauty – Disney100
• Premier Brands of America, Inc. – Arm and Hammer
• Viking Brand – Route 66 (Ispartner)

Best Product: Home Decor

• Crown Baccara – Bridgerton (CAA Brand Management)
• Eichholtz – The Met (Beanstalk)
• Mrs. Bloom’s – Crayola Flowers
• Paladone Products – Barbie
• Select Blinds USA – V&A
• ZeWood – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Best Product: Interactive or Digital Product  

• Actionary: The Conqueror – Scooby Doo
• Apple – Peanuts
• Borderleap – Van Gogh Museum (Licensing Link, UK)
• Faurecia Aptoide, Mercedes-Benz – Angry Birds (IMG)
• Tafi/Coinbase – Coca-Cola

Best Product: Publishing, Social Expression, or Back-to-School   

• Compactor – Mentos (Destra)
• Insight Editions – The Beatles (Bravado)
• Moleskine – Van Gogh Museum (Art Studio 3, Italy)
• MONTEGRAPPA – Warner Bros Discovery
• Random House – Bridgerton
• Scholastic – Harry Potter

Best Product: Toys, Games, Novelties, or Role Play (ages 0-8)  

• Clementoni S.p.A. – Disney Baby, Disney Classics
• Fashion Angels – Me and The Bees (The Brand Liaison)
• Fun.com – Disney Pixar
• Melissa & Doug – National Park Foundation
• WowWee – MONOPOLY

Best Product: Toys, Games, Novelties, or Role Play (ages 8+) 

• Big Potato Games – U.S. Postal Inspection Service (Global Icons)
• Hasbro – Barbie
• Hot Toys – John Wick (IMG)
• Märklin – Van Gogh Museum (TBR The Brand Residence GmbH)
• Ruz – Peanuts
• The LEGO Group – Disney

Best Retailer: Corporate, Lifestyle, Fashion, or Sports Brands

• AEROPOSTALE – Coca-Cola
• Allkinds – Chupa Chups (Asembl Brands)
• Kohl’s – Crayola (Retail Monster)
• Peter Alexander – Moulin Rouge (Asembl Brands)
• Primark – Dr. Seuss Enterprises
• Ripley – Bored of Directors (Brand Central & The Business Hub)

Best Retailer: Entertainment Brands

• Bloomingdale’s – Wonka
• Hamleys – Wizarding World
• Miniso Development Hong Kong Ltd./ Miniso (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. – Peanuts (WildBrain CPLG)
• Miniso Group Holding Limited – Sanrio Characters (Alifish)
• Rinascente: Roma tritone – Pokémon
• The Natural History Museum, London – Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary
• Walmart – Kids Apparel Spinners
• Williams Sonoma – Bridgerton

Best Sustainability Initiative

• Delipap – Moomin (Rights & Brands)
• GROUNDTRUTH – Ed Stafford (Brandgenuity)
• Minions x Bottled Water
• Narwhal Ocean Research Center – ERDOS (Alfilo Brands)
• Recycle to Read x Tesco
• The Landmark Project – National Wildlife Federation (Jewel Branding & Licensing)

Members’ Choice Award  

• Barbie x Zara
• BISSELL – Eggo
• Lick x Heinz
• LiQ – Malibu (ASPIRE by WildBrain CPLG)
• oVertone x Franzia
• Peaky Blinders Live Performances – Immersive Everywhere, Rambert Ballet Company
• Seda & Princess Tiana – Seda
• The Ice Cream Project by Anya Hindmarch

Most Impactful Service Provider

• Dependable Solutions
• Fabacus
• MyMediabox
• Octane5
• Pottick Law / Protect for Success

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Elizabeth, please note – this does not account for the Members’ Choice Award. If this should be included – then this metric should be increased to 32. [PH1]