Duck Dynasty Nabs Best Overall License and Best Film, TV or Entertainment Program; Hot Topic Takes the Retailer Prize for Doctor Who; Junk Food Wins in Three Categories

The most successful and creative licensed properties and products of the past year have been recognized with Licensing Excellence Awards from the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) at LIMA’s annual Awards Ceremony, held this evening at Licensing Expo 2014. The winners were culled from a record 360 total entries, which were pared down to 118 nominees and then voted on by LIMA members. The winners included Duck Dynasty from A+E Networks/Brandgenuity for both Overall Best Licensed Program of the Year and Best Film, Television or Entertainment Program; and Retailer of the Year went to Hot Topic for the BBC blockbuster hit TV series, Doctor Who. Other big winners included Junk Food Clothing, which accepted three awards, including its third straight win for Best Sports Licensee; and LEGO, for Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee in Hard Goods for the second year in a row.

In addition, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collected two prizes, for Film, Television or Entertainment Licensee in both the Hard and Soft Goods categories; Angry Birds from Rovio, received the prize in the new Digital/New Media category and UK based Thomas Pink Limited (for The Beatles Shirt Collection) won Best Celebrity Licensee of the Year in the Celebrity category.

“It was truly a spectacular night, and a banner year, for our Awards program. We’re proud to celebrate all of our Licensing Excellence Awards winners, which represent the best work from companies around the globe,” said LIMA President Charles Riotto. “This year, we received more entries from more countries than ever before, which was very gratifying and made voting especially challenging.”

Kelvyn Gardner LIMA UK MD added “Great to see an iconic UK brand like Thomas Pink win through by their association with an even bigger British brand, The Beatles, and all through boutique agency Caroline Mickler. Small can be beautiful in the LIMA awards! It’s also great to see Doctor Who making headway internationally, mirroring the success of the TV series.”

The LIMA Licensing Excellence Awards honor the top licensed properties, products and campaigns in 11 distinct categories, including two new awards categories, Location-based or Experiential and Digital/New Media. This year’s 20 total winners are (listed by category):

ART OR DESIGN
• Best Art or Design Program of the Year
  • Dena (Dena Designs, Inc.)
• Best Art or Design Licensee of the Year
  • Junk Food Clothing (for Jean-Michel Basquiat Apparel Collection)

CELEBRITY
• Best Property of the Year
  • Cake Boss – Buddy Valastro (Discovery Communications)
• Best Celebrity Licensee of the Year
  • Thomas Pink Limited (for The Beatles Shirt Collection)

CHARACTER OR TOY BRAND
• Best Property of the Year
  • Monster High (Mattel)
• Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee of the Year – Hard Goods
  • LEGO (LEGO Star Wars)
• Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods
  • Junk Food Clothing (for DC Comics Apparel Collection)

CORPORATE BRAND
• Best Property of the Year
  • Girls Scouts of the USA (Girls Scouts of the USA/The Wildflower Group, LLC)
• Best Corporate Brand Licensee of the Year
  • Bassett Furniture (HGTV HOME Design Studio Only at Bassett)

DIGITAL/NEW MEDIA
• Best Property of the Year
  • Angry Birds Star Wars (Rovio Entertainment Ltd & Lucasfilm Ltd)
• Best Licensee of the Year
  • Jazwares (Minecraft Toy Line)

FILM, TELEVISION, OR ENTERTAINMENT
• Best Film, Television, or Entertainment Program of the Year
  • Duck Dynasty (A+E Networks/Brandgenuity)
• Best Film, Television, or Entertainment Licensee of the Year – Hard Goods
  • Playmates Toys, Inc. (for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Toy Line)
• Best Film, Television, or Entertainment Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods
  • Accessory Innovations (for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3D Special FX Backpack)

SPORTS OR SPORTS-THEMED ENTERTAINMENT
• Best Sports Property of the Year
  • WWE (WWE)
• Best Sports Licensee of the Year
  • Junk Food Clothing Co. (for Vintage NFL Collection)

LICENSED PROMOTION
• Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – Durango (Paramount Pictures)

LOCATION-BASED OR EXPERIENTIAL
• The Walking Dead: Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studio (AMC/Striker Entertainment)

RETAILER
• Best Retailer of the Year:
  • Hot Topic (for Doctor Who)

OVERALL BEST LICENSED PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
• Duck Dynasty (A+E Networks/Brandgenuity)

Nominations were solicited from the worldwide licensing industry.

For a complete list of the 2014 Awards nominees, please visit the LIMA website, www.licensing.org.