'Angry Birds' Flies Away With Top Honors at Licensing Expo

The wildly successful mobile game Angry Birds, which also has become a runaway hit in the world of branding and merchandising, flew away with three International Licensing Excellence Awards, presented during the just-wrapped 2012 Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

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Angry Birds, from Sweden's Rovio Entertainment, took the most honors of any product. It was awarded Overall Best Licensed Program of the Year and Best Character/Toy Brand Program of the Year. It also won as Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee of the Year in Hard Goods for Commonwealth Toy & Novelty Co., the U.S. company that has the license for plush stuffed animals and other products.

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Introduced in 2009, Angry Birds is a strategy puzzle video game. More than 12 million copies have been sold, initially as an app for Apple’s IOS and other systems. There are also other versions for touch screens and smartphones using the Android operating system and HP products.

In the category of Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment, the big winner was Peppa Pig, a British-made animated children's television show that airs in the U.K. and on Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. in the U.S. The five-minute episodes revolve around a female pig, her family and friends.

Peppa Pig’s wins for distributor Entertainment One included Best Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment Program of the Year and an award for Redan Publishing for Peppa Pig/Fun to Learn and Bag-O-Fun magazines.

The award for Best Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment Licensee of the Year in the category of Soft Goods went to Jay Franco and Sons, for Star Wars/home collection.  

Another notable winner of the night was the national retailer Walgreens, which won for the first time as Best Retailer of the Year for The Biggest Loser.

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Presented by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association, the International Licensing Excellence Awards recognize the most successful licensed products each year.

“This year’s award recipients provide a telling look at what helped drive the sale of licensed properties during the past year,” said LIMA president Charles Riotto.

There were 17 winners from a list of 85 nominees, which included products such as Monster High from Mattel, brands such as Nike and Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2 and big names like Justin Bieber.

The announcement of this year’s winners came at the end of the 2012 Licensing Expo, a three-day event that brings retailers, manufacturers and brand owners together to present the latest trends and licensing deals for the upcoming year.

A full list of winners from this year’s LIMA Awards is below.

ART OR DESIGN

Best Art or Design Program of the Year: The Victoria and Albert Museum (by The Victoria and Albert Museum/V&A Enterprises)

Best Art or Design Licensee of the Year: Navigate Ltd. (for Very Hungry Caterpillar/children’s gardening products)

CHARACTER OR TOY BRAND

Best Character or Toy Brand Program of the Year: Angry Birds (by Rovio Entertainment Ltd.)

Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee of the Year – Hard Goods: Commonwealth Toy & Novelty Co. (for Angry Birds toy & novelty products)

Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods: SGFootwear (for Pillow Pets/slipper collection)

CORPORATE BRAND

Best Corporate Brand Program of the Year: Jelly Belly (by Jelly Belly Candy Company/The Licensing Company North America, Inc.)

Best Corporate Brand Licensee of the Year – Hard Goods: Thermos L.L.C. (for Under Armour/hydration bottles)

Best Corporate Brand Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods: SGI Apparel (for Harley-Davidson/children’s apparel & accessories)

FILM, TELEVISION, CELEBRITY, OR ENTERTAINMENT

Best Film, Television, Celebrity, or Entertainment Program of the Year: Peppa Pig (by Entertainment One)

Best Film, Television, Celebrity, or Entertainment Licensee of the Year – Hard Goods: Redan Publishing Ltd. (for Peppa Pig/Fun to Learn and Bag-O-Fun magazines

Best Film, Television, Celebrity, or Entertainment Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods: Jay Franco and Sons, Inc. (for Star Wars/home collection)

SPORTS

Best Sports Program of the Year: NBA (by National Basketball Association)

Best Sports Licensee of the Year – Hard Goods: Topps International (for Indian Premier League Cricket Attax/trading card game)

Best Sports Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods:  Junk Food Clothing (for NFL/Junk Food Vintage NFL)

PROMOTION

Best Licensed Promotion of the Year (tie): Hello Kitty Beauty at Sephora (by Sanrio, Inc.) and M•A•C Wonder Woman Collection (by DC Comics/Warner Bros. Consumer Products)

RETAILER

Best Retailer of the Year: Walgreens (for The Biggest Loser)

OVERALL BEST LICENSED PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

Angry Birds (by Rovio Entertainment Ltd.)