2021 Licensing International Excellence Award Winners Revealed

Source: Licensing International

Today at Licensing Expo Virtual, the winners of the 2021 Licensing International Excellence Awards were revealed.

A total of 22 award winners from seven countries — China, Finland, France, Japan, Singapore, the UK and the U.S. — were chosen from a field of 152 nominees from around the world. The annual awards program is designed to honor innovation and creativity in how brands use licensing to further their goals.

“In our 36th year of honoring 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,” says Maura Regan, president, Licensing International. “The achievements that we honor today are a testament to the power of brands and the power of licensing as a business to create products and programs with lasting appeal.”

Toyetic highlights from the awards include:

BEST LICENSED PRODUCTS

TOYS / GAMES / NOVELTIES FOR AGES 0-8: PlayMonster for Peppa Pig Grow & Play Peppa Pots
APPS / SOFTWARE / VIDEO GAMES: Top Golf for Angry Birds Interactive Golf Game
PUBLISHING / BACK-TO-SCHOOL: Chronicle Books for LEGO Note Brick
TOYS / GAMES / NOVELTIES FOR AGES 8+: The LEGO Group for Andy Warhol LEGO Art Edition

BEST LICENSED BRANDS

ART / DESIGN / CELEBRITY / FASHION BRAND – The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Studio
DIGITAL / APP / VIDEO GAME BRAND – Super Mario by Nintendo
ENTERTAINMENT / CHARACTER BRAND: ANIMATED – Peppa Pig by Hasbro & Hasbro China
ENTERTAINMENT / CHARACTER BRAND: LIVE-ACTION – Harry Potter by Warner Bros. France

OTHER AWARDS

BEST LICENSED PROMOTION – Direct Line & Born Licensing for “We’re On It” with Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and RoboCop
BEST LICENSED COLLABORATION – Crayola x Adidas x Donovan Mitchell
BEST RETAILER FOR A CHARACTER / ENTERTAINMENT INITIATIVE – BoxLunch for Marvel Eat the Universe
THE PANDEMIC PIVOT AWARD – Peanuts At-Home-Offerings by Peanuts Worldwide

See the full list of award winners in all categories at licensing.org.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.