Rothco was the only Irish agency to pick up an award at the EPICA Awards which were held in Amsterdam this week. However, Tourism Ireland won the Grand Prix in the Outdoor category for “Door of Thrones” which was created by Publicis London.
The Tourism Ireland initiative involved taking trees felled in a storm on a Game of Thrones filming location, and turning them into hand-carved doors depicting scenes from the cult TV show. These were then installed in a selection of Irish pubs, becoming tourist attractions that led fans to travel across Ireland to see them.
According to Dave Monk, executive creative director at Publicis London: “Who’d have thought combining two of our favourite pastimes – pubs and Game of Thrones – would help us pick up an Epica Grand Prix? We feel hugely honoured. It also feels all the more significant because it was voted for by a jury outside our usual advertising bubble. So, a huge thanks to them. Also to our client, Tourism Ireland, and everyone involved in the campaign, as well as a respectful doff of our helmets and swords to the craftsmen and women who created and carved out the idea so brilliantly.”
In the case of Rothco, the Failte Ireland campaign, which promotes Ireland’s Ancient East, was the agency’s first piece of work for the state-owned tourism body since it won the account at the end of 2015.
Now in their 30th year, this year’s Epica Awards 3,800 entries from 66 countries, a 2% increase over 2015. The awards are judged by the global advertising trade press, which includes Irish Marketing Journal/Adworld.ie.
Network of the Year went to Leo Burnett, with 49 awards including 12 golds while Agency of the Year went to BBDO New York, with 19 awards including one gold. Independent Agency of the Year, meanwhile, went to TRY in Norway which bagged, with nine awards including four golds.
The USA topped the country rankings, winning 69 awards on the night, including 12 golds.
Apart from Publicis London/Tourism Ireland, the other Grand Prix winners included DDB Brussels which won the Design Grand Prix; J Walter Thompson Amsterdam which picked up the Digital Grand Prix for “The Next Rembrandt” for ING; Try which won the Press Grand Prix for Norwegian Airlines and Kenzo which won the Film Grand Prix.
According to Jury President Norman Pearlstine, Vice Chairman of Time Inc: “The remarkable range of entries reminded us that culture and commerce are not incompatible, and that this is a global industry where there is no monopoly on creativity or on great work.”
Meanwhile, Rothco’s winning streak shows no signs of abating and the agency also picked up a Gold in the Mashies in the Best Use of Short-Form Video category for The Jonah Lomu Machine for its client Heineken. Organised every year by Mashable.com, the Mashies is an annual awards program showcasing outstanding digital work in marketing, advertising and social.
