Vidalia Onions Savors Sweet Awards

Vidalia onions continues to “bring home the hardware,” earning both MAX and ADDY Awards in the last two weeks. The marketing and advertising awards are in recognition of last year’s industry-shaking Shrek “Ogres & Onions” promotion.

The MAX Awards (Marketing Awards for Excellence), given each year to only three Georgia-based companies, are based on innovation, marketing and successful results. These awards, which have been in existence since 1992, have recognized companies such as Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific and WebMD in the past.

Wendy Brannen, executive director of the Vidalia Onion Committee (VOC), and Steve Langston, president of Langston Communications, Inc., received the MAX Award for the “Ogres & Onions” campaign at a ceremony held Feb. 25 at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, attended by 500 marketing professionals.

“It was a shock to win," said Brannen, "but the campaign was a huge success in terms of sales, publicity and brand-building, so we did earn our place. To be recognized alongside outstanding Georgia companies whose brands I’ve respected my entire life is quite an honor,” added Brannen.

VOC was also honored March 5 in Savannah, Ga., with three ADDY (American Advertising Federation) Awards, including two gold ADDYs and one silver ADDY.

“The ADDY Awards are based solely on advertising materials and not program results, so these awards make me so proud to work with our Vidalia creative and graphics team," explained Brannen, In addition to the VOC, Heidi McIntyre of McIntyre Marketing, Steve Langston of Langston Communications, Rick Kilby of Kilby Creative, and Anthony Wilkes of Giro Pack were recognized in the ADDY Awards.

The Vidalia Onion Committee won Gold ADDY Awards for two categories, “Sales Promotion (Overall Campaign)” and “Online Games,” while it won a Silver ADDY Award for “Consumer Materials (Overall Campaign),”the highest award given in that category. In the two Gold ADDY Award categories, the Vidalia Onion Committee will now move on to a regional U.S. ADDY competition.