Chicago shops score at the Telly Awards

Spirit Juice's "Jevries"

Spirit Juice’s “Jevries”

AbelsonTaylor,
Daily Planet, Delack,
KemperLesnik,
Mimi, rEvolution,
Richter Studios,
Spirit Juice, Strange Loop
among 2019 winners

The Telly Awards announced this year’s winners on May 21. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019, the awards represent the world’s largest honor for video and television content across all screens.

Entries were judged by jury members from creative powerhouse Droga5, next generation motion picture studio Ryot, Condé Nast, Framestore, Vimeo, Vice, A&E Networks and more.

The long list of Chicago shops receiving 2019 Telly Awards includes AbelsonTaylor, Kemperlesnick, Mimi Productions, rEvolution, Richter Studios, and Strange Loop represented The City That Works with recognition in a number of categories.

GOLD WINNER: NON-BROADCAST
HEIFER EAST AFRICA DAIRY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT | ABELSONTAYLOR
 AbelsonTaylor’s East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) program is designed to boost the milk yields and incomes of small-scale farmers in Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) so they can lift their communities out of hunger and poverty.
 

BRONZE WINNER: TELEVISION CRAFT | REGIONAL TV | TELEVISION GENERAL
COOLIEF: VISIBLY PAINFUL | ABELSONTAYLOR
AbelsonTaylor’s Visibly Painful campaign for Coolief, a treatment for knee discomfort, “portrays a patient’s condition by showing an arrow in the knee,” according to PM360.
 

BRONZE WINNER: NON-BROADCAST GENERAL
STORY | DELACK MEDIA GROUP

Delack Media Group’s Story is a branding film that shows how stories can be told through voice, shared in text, paintings and even video. But what happens when you’re told a story that you’ll never forget?
 

SILVER WINNER: ONLINE COMMERCIALS GENERAL SPORTS
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS HIT THE ICE 2018-2019 | DAILY PLANET
Daily Planet’s Chicago Blackhawks Hit the Ice plays for millions of Hawks fans at the Madhouse on Madison.
 

SILVER WINNER: NON-BROADCAST GENERAL
LIKE YOU | STREETWISE | DAILY PLANET

Daily Planet’s Like You is a mini-doc that celebrates a community built on hard work, dedication, and hope.
 

BRONZE WINNER: ONLINE COMMERCIALS CRAFT
DISCONNECT | LO REZ BREWERY | DAILY PLANET

Daily Planet’s Diconnect for Lo Rez Brewery is a short that uses a slapstick amount of destruction to prove that having a delicious beer with friends is a truly cherished moment.
 

BRONZE WINNER: SOCIAL VIDEO CRAFT
LAVER CUP PLAYER WELCOME CEREMONY | KEMPERLESNIK

KemperLesnik’s Laver Cup Player Welcome Ceremony documents how professional tennis came to Chicago for the first time in more than 25 years with a match headlined by superstars Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic along with team captains Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
 

BRONZE WINNER: NON-BROADCAST GENERAL
UCHICAGO MEDICINE EVS HIGH PROFILE CLEANING PROCESS
MIMI PRODUCTIONS

Mimi Productions’ Medicine Eyes is a statement of work and process and training film for UChicago Medicine EVS’ High Profile Cleaning Process of Patient Rooms. It plays 24/7 in the EVS department, boosting morale and patient safety.
 

SILVER WINNER: CAMPAIGN — BRANDED CONTENT
CELEBRATING SOCCER | USWNT’S ALEX MORGAN | rEvolution

rEvolution’s Celebrating Soccer is a component in a content series with Continental Tire. The video features United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) star Alex Morgan using her platform to inspire her young fans to pursue their biggest dreams.
 

GOLD WINNER: ONLINE COMMERCIALS CRAFT
PRIESTER AVIATION: BRAND STORY | RICHTER STUDIOS

Richter Studios’ Priester Aviation: Brand Story explores the history of a 70-year-old global private aviation company specializoing in aircraft management and private travel solutions.
 

GOLD WINNER: NON-BROADCAST GENERAL
JEVRIES SCALE LOWRIDERS SHORT FILM | SPIRIT JUICE STUDIOS

Spirit Juice’s Jevries is a short film about Jeroen de Vries — also known as “Jevries” — an artist from Holland whose creative mastery in building functioning scale lowrider model cars has inspired people around the world.
 

SILVER WINNER: NON-BROADCAST GENERAL
SOME CALL IT A CONSPIRACY: A MALCOM LONDON STORY | STRANGE LOOP

Strange Loop’s Conspiracy follows Chicago-local rapper / poet / activist Malcolm London on a journey through the sights, sounds and deepest thoughts of his family, friends, and mentors (including appearances by Chance The Rapper and Kevin Coval).
 

 
Other awards
In addition all the Chicago achievements, honors were bestowed upon dozens of companies in dozens of categories. Among them:

Passion Pictures and CNN’s animated environmentally-conscious standout, There’s a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom; DC Entertainment’s live streaming favorite. DC Daily Live with Kevin Smith; Netflix’s drag show music video of Dolly Parton’s legendary “Jolene”; CBS Interactive’s viral juggernaut for The Late Late Show with James Corden; and The Biggest Baby Shark Ever, starring a crooning Josh Groban and Sophie Turner.

To view all of the winners of the 40th Annual Telly Awards winners click on this.

 
CBS Interactive, Company of the Year
The Telly Awards honored CBS Interactive as the first ever Company of the Year, recongizing years of achievement across platforms with video content from its many properties like Chowhound, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and CNET, creator of the widely shared video, Mark Zuckerberg explains the internet to old people.

“We spend a lot of time listening to the creative community and our industry to better understand where the opportunities are for storytelling, and Social and Branded Content rose head and shoulders above the rest,” said Telly’s managing director Sabrina Dridje. “CBS Interactive especially should be commended for its approach to social and online video. These are areas that take a specific set of skills to produce great work, and as an organization honoring video and television content, spotlighting their efforts is fundamental to our mission.”

THE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN
THE BIGGEST BABY SHARK EVER

 

 
Expanding the horizons
Besides a resurgence of documentary filmmaking — which prompted top honors for ESPN, AETN, A J+, HBO Latin America, and PBS — this year’s winners embraced scripted and episodic pieces, branded content, and new platforms like VR and Social Streaming.

40TH ANNUAL TELLY AWARDS 2019 WINNER REEL

 

 
Virtual reality
Indicative of their renewed multi-screen focus is the VR category, which recognized Google’s Back to the Moon and BBDO DUBLIN’s Consequences.

Back to the Moon is an animated fairytale adventure that celebrates the life and art of French illusionist and film director Georges Méliès. Consequences shows the tragic results of a night of drinking and driving.

 
Emerging creators
Meanwhile, newer studios and networks also found success with Stept Studios, Blue Chalk Media, and SoulPancake picking up awards in various categories.

In Online and Social Video, publishers made their mark with Wired, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Bon Appétit all being recognized. Additionally, Verizon Media earned 4 golds for their in-depth online video profiles This Tattoo Artist Has Been Inking for 46 Years, Anthony Mancinelli: The World’s Oldest Barber, and webseries Real Life Love.

 
The jury
In addition to a reshaping its mission and unveiling a fresh rebrand, the 2019 Tellys featured a new roster of judges comprising the most diverse and elite group of television and video industry leaders in the award’s history.

Tribeca and New York Film Festival favorite “Fire Escape also won VR gold for its gripping story centered on solving a murder mystery.

Entries were evaluated by jury members from creative powerhouse Droga5, next generation motion picture studio Ryot, Condé Nast, Framestore, Vimeo, Vice, A&E Networks and more.

 
About The Telly Awards
The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring video and television across all screens. Established in 1979, The Telly Awards receives over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. Entrants are judged by The Telly Awards Judging Council—an industry body of over 200 leading experts including advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks, reflective of the multi-screen industry The Telly Awards celebrates. Partners of The Telly Awards include NAB, StudioDaily, Stash Magazine, Storyhunter, ProductionHub, VR/AR Association, The Wrap and Digiday.

 
Send your awards news to Reel Chicago Editor Dan Patton, dan@reelchicago.com.