Marquee Awards: HUL, Pro Kabaddi League, Honda Motorcycle, Paytm among winners

Mumbai: Hindustan Unilever (HUL) won the Green Marketer Award, which honors brands that have strived and conquered, by keeping a close focus on environment sustainability at the first-ever Marquee Awards that recognizes brands for their excellence in marketing, building sustainable and path breaking brands. The Special Award for “Conquering an impregnable fortress” was won by Bira 91. Pro Kabaddi League was recognized as the brand that “Traversed unchartered waters” and Paytm was recognized for “Riding on an emerging wave”. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter was awarded for “Breathing new life into a category”, Indian Accent was recognized for “Creating a Global Impact” while Oppo was recognized for “Carving out a Niche” for themselves in a highly competitive category. The Advertising Club (TAC) India hosted the inaugural edition of the “Marquee Awards” in Mumbai on Saturday. Presented by News18 India, COLORS and MTV and partnered by One India, the event was flagged off by Smriti Irani, Minister of Textiles, Information & Broadcasting, Speaking at the Marques 2017, Irani congratulated the award winners and jury for making a ‘great selection’. “It fills me with a sense of deep gratitude and privilege that I stand here today as the Minister of Information & Broadcasting. I am what I am today thanks to this industry.” [caption id=“attachment_3928107” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Raj Nayak, President, Advertising Club (l) with Smriti irani - Union Minister for Textiles; Information & Broadcasting, and Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC[/caption] She further added,  “The advertising industry inspires millions across this nation. Having been a part of this journey, I have just one appeal this evening - while we sell dreams to the nation and world, there are many amongst us who wither away with the passage of time. All I implore today to the industry stalwarts is that we now, in a systemic fashion, build a platform that takes care of those who need help, specially from the creative faction of the industry, so that the world does not accuse us selling dreams but living a lie. I hope that one day, on this stage, some of us will stand here to applaud an Indian media company that has made it at the global stage.” Speaking about the awards, Raj Nayak, President, The Advertising Club said, “Marquees 2017 has emerged as the gold standard in marketing awards.” Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India said, “The debut edition of Marquees has set a new benchmark of excellence by recognizing brands that have challenged the communication archetype in the industry, thus appealing to the evolved consumer of today. These awards through their differentiated scope, right from the jury panel to representation to categories has ensured that they are a marketer’s dream.” Speaking on the occasion, Avinash Kaul, Managing Director, A+E Networks | TV18 and President - Network18 said, “We take great pride in associating with the first edition of Marquees, and congratulate the winners. At News18 India we identify with the spirit of celebrating brands that drive positive change. News18 India as a brand has also undergone a transformation after the rebranding exercise and the results are visible in top ratings for the channel. This only re-affirms our association with Marquees which has today honored path-breaking marketing campaigns that have inspired change. News18 India remains committed to doing impactful stories aimed at empowering our viewers." In the durables category, LG Electronics was the winner, Auto – 4 Wheelers, Maruti Suzuki; Auto – 2 Wheelers, Royal Enfield; Food – Wai Wai Noodles (CG Global); Banking – HDFC Bank; Personal Care – Lifebuoy (HUL), Insurance – LIC; Telecom Services – Bharti Airtel; Home Care – Vim (HUL), E-Commerce – Amazon India; Beverages – Frooti (Parle Agro), Telecom handset – Xiaomi Smartphones. Awards were given to special categories: Breathing a new life into a category was bagged by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter; Creating a global impact – Indian Accent; Green Marketer – HUL, Riding on an emerging wave – Paytm; Carving out a nice – Oppo; Reimaging for the better – Good Earth; Traversing unchartered waters – Pro Kabaddi League; Conquering an impregnable fortress – Bira 91 (Disclosure: “Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.”)