NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, beloved icons in the advertising world, Allstate’s “Mayhem” and the Coca Cola Polar Bears , along with fan favorite slogans “What Happens Here, Stays Here” from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau and “What’s In Your Wallet” from Capital One, have been named the 2011 winners of the annual Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame public vote. Additionally, the Kia Hamsters were named the Walk of Fame’s first ever “Rookie of the Year,” celebrating the newcomers’ quick rise into the hearts of consumers.
Both the icon and slogan winners will hold permanent positions on Madison Avenue Walk of Fame, the advertising industry's version of Hollywood and Vine.
“As always, this year’s vote was an extremely close race and we’d like to recognize all of our nominees for their great work,” said Matt Scheckner, executive director of Advertising Week. “Advertising has become such a huge part of American culture and consumers really identify with these icons and taglines. It’s truly amazing the creativity and intelligence that goes into the creation of these icons and slogans that become the face of their respective brands.”
This year’s winners join the 2010 inductees including The Michelin Man and the Vlasic Stork, whose banners will be unveiled today on Madison Avenue. The Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame (located between 42nd and 50th streets) was created by Advertising Week, the largest gathering of advertising, media and marketing professionals in North America. The Grand Central Partnership and Advertising Week organizers have brought the Walk of Fame to life with a combination of bronze plaques and permanent lamppost street banners on Madison Avenue.
Voting for the 2011 winners kicked off on September 9th, and ran through September 30th.Since the annual Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame public vote began in 2004, nearly 4 million votes have been cast.
The 2011 Walk of Fame winners join past years inductees: The AOL Running Man, The Budweiser Clydesdales, The Geico Caveman, Serta Sheep, Juan Valdez, the AFLAC Duck, Mr. Peanut, Tony the Tiger, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, M&M's, the Geico Gecko, Colonel Sanders, Orville Redenbacher, Chick-fil-A Cows, and the Kool-Aid Man.
Previous slogan winners include: “If You See Something, Say Something” (New York Metropolitan Transit Authority), “The Best a Man Can Get” (Gillette), “Virgina is For Lover” (The Virginia Bureau of Tourism), “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There” (State Farm), “What Can Brown Do For You?” (UPS), “We Deliver for You” (The United States Postal Service),"Melts In Your Mouth, Not In Your Hand" (M&M's), "Can you hear me now?" (Verizon), "When It Absolutely, Positively, Has to Be There Overnight" (FedEx), "Imagination at Work" (General Electric), "Don't Mess With Texas" (State of Texas Department of Transportation), "Where's the Beef?" (Wendy's) "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" (United Negro College Fund) and "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't" (Almond Joy/Mounds).
2011 Icon Nominees:
Energizer Bunny, Mayhem, Coca Cola Polar Bears, Snap, Crackle and Pop, McGruff the Crime Dog, Smokey the Bear, Sparky the Fire Dog, Jared from Subway, The California Raisins, Jolly Green Giant, The Most Interesting Man in the World, E-Trade Babies, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, Crash Test Dummies, Mr. Mucas, Flo, Mr. Clean, French’s Mustard Man, Kia Hamsters, Keebler Elves.
2011 Slogan Nominees:
“What’s In Your Wallet” (Capital One), “I Heart NY” (NY Department of Economic Development), “Just Do It” (Nike), “Be All That You Can Be” (US Army), “Don’t Leave Home Without It” (American Express), “A Diamond is Forever” (DeBeers), “Made From the Best Stuff on Earth” (Snapple), “What Happens Here, Stays Here” (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau), “Is It In You?” (Gatorade), “Hungry? Grab a Snickers” (Snickers), “Ideas For Life” (Panasonic), “We Move People” (Bombardier), “Think Outside the Bun” (Taco Bell), “I Live for This” (Major League Baseball), “What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?” (Klondike), “The Best Part of Waking Up Is Folger’s In Your Cup” (Folger’s), “Maybe She’s Born With It, Maybe It’s Maybelline” (Maybelline), “I Want My MTV” (MTV), “It’s Not TV, It’s HBO” (HBO), “Got Milk?” (The National Milk Processor Board).
About Advertising Week:
Since its creation in 2004, Advertising Week has drawn thousands of participants from around the world to New York City for a week long think-tank comprised of over 200 different events, panels and discussions that focus on the power of advertising and its neighboring industries. Above and beyond celebration, the mission of the Week is to inspire young people to join the craft; focus the industry and public at-large on the social impacts of advertising; address the most important issues facing the industry and shine a bright light on the business and economic influence of the advertising, media and marketing.