The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) announced last week it had received a 2006 Silver Telly Award-the highest honor of its kind-for its television commercial entitled "Captain," which promoted NMMA boat shows and ran in several markets across the country, including San Diego, Atlanta, Atlantic City, New York and New Orleans.
"Captain" was among more than 12,000 entries submitted from all 50 United States and several foreign countries to the 27th annual Telly Awards program. The commercial was selected by a panel of judges to receive the Silver Telly statuette, the equivalent of first-place recognition.
Founded in 1978, the Telly Awards is the premiere awards program honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions.
"Being recognized with the Silver Telly is truly a major accomplishment," says Carl Blackwell, NMMA vice president of marketing and communications. "The `Captain' ad was not a typical boat show ad, and this most recent honor is proof-positive our out-of-the-box thinking resonated with consumers. Attendance figures were boosted at nearly all of our fall and winter boat shows in markets where the "Captain" spot aired this past year, with shows experiencing double-digit increases in more than one instance."
In addition to the Silver Telly, NMMA's "Captain" was also honored earlier this year as a recipient of two 2006 Hugo Awards for Television Excellence. Cinema Chicago, which presents the annual Chicago International Film Festival, announced winners of the 2006 Hugo Awards in March. The awards recognize the best television advertising spots, and are presented on a yearly basis. Winning entries are evaluated by a panel of judges and by the public, who voted for the audience choice award after watching finalists in WTTW-TV/Channel 11's "Image Union" in Chicago. NMMA's "Captain" came in second overall in the audience choice portion. In addition, "Captain" received the Silver Hugo Award for the Entertainment Category, the highest honor possible, as voted on by the selected judges' panel.
The concept for the "Captain" spot was developed by The Ungar Group/Chicago, which also produced the commercial. Based upon the idea "it's good to be the one with the boat," The Ungar Group came up with a unique and humorous concept: an old, portly man in a Speedo bathing suit and captain's hat surrounded on the beach by a group of young, attractive, bikini-clad women and a boat in the background.
"Captain" was aired for the first time in September 2005 to promote NMMA's 30th Norwalk International In-Water Boat Show in Norwalk, Connecticut. The spot will be used again in 2006 to promote all fall NMMA boat shows.
