Pittsburgh, PA - VisitPITTSBURGH, along with our production partner, Apple Box Studios, won a Silver Telly Award for their video titled "Barney Goes to the 'Burgh." The animated presentation took top honors in the tourism marketing category. With nearly 12,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, this is truly a prestigious award.
"Barney Goes to the 'Burgh" video was originally created for VisitPITTSBURGH's 2013 Annual Meeting to illustrate the economic impact that the convention and tourism industry has on the local economy. Since then, the video has been used to tell the story to key community stakeholders and partners.
"The making of this video was a team effort and I couldn't be happier for our organization and Apple Box Studios," says Craig Davis, president and CEO of VisitPITTSBURGH. "This video helps to demonstrate the economic impact of visitors in a creative and fun way that people can relate to," explains Davis.
"While I'm extremely proud of the creativity that went into the project, I really believe the award is a reflection of this remarkable story of a city reinvented—a story that VisitPITTSBURGH is telling so well around the world," says Michael Wertz, owner and creative director of Apple Box Studios.
The Telly Awards was founded in 1979 and is the premier award honoring outstanding commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films. Winners represent the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments in the world.
A prestigious judging panel of over 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition. The Silver Council evaluated entries to recognize distinction in creative work – entries do not compete against each other – rather, entries are judged against a high standard of merit. Less than 10 percent of entries are chosen as winners of the Silver Telly, the highest honor.
"The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video," said Linda Day, executive director of the Telly Awards. "VisitPITTSBURGH's accomplishment illustrates their creativity, skill and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great film and video production."
Apple Box Studios is a boutique advertising agency and creative management firm that designs and develops communication tools, programs and advertising campaigns.
As the official tourism promotion agency for Allegheny County, VisitPittsburgh is dedicated to generating convention, trade show and leisure travel business for the Pittsburgh region.