Tourism Ireland practically claimed the Iron Throne this week when it scooped up not one, not two, but three awards for its creative ‘Doors of Thrones’ campaign inspired by of course, HBO’s, Game of Thrones.
The tourism board beat 20 other campaigns from major brands such as Nike, Microsoft and Heineken at the ‘Oscars of the advertising and marketing world’ aka The Cannes Lions Awards.
The roots of the campaign date back to 2016 when The Dark Hedges – the iconic location which stands in for The Kingsroad Game of Thrones – was hit hard by Storm Gertrude. The storm levelled some of the trees and Tourism Ireland spent 10 weeks collecting fallen wood to make them into ten beautifully crafted doors. Each of the doors depicts an episode from Game of Thrones season 6 and are hanging in pubs and other venues across Northern Ireland, giving fans a brand new Game of Thrones trail to follow.
The ‘Doors of Thrones’ campaign reached an estimated 126 million people around the world, with the campaign’s short films being viewed 17 million times – generating coverage worth about £11.3 million.
As a result of its success, Tourism Ireland was awarded a Gold Lion ‘Outdoor – Special Build’, followed by a Silver Lion for ‘Use of Ambient Outdoor’ and finally, a Bronze Lion for ‘Best Use of Social’.
“Winning a Cannes Lion is the ultimate industry accolade, so we’re really proud that our ‘Doors of Thrones’ campaign has been singled out for not one, but two, awards at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.”
Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland Chief Executive
“The international tourism marketplace is an extremely competitive one and we are constantly looking at innovative and engaging ways to reach potential holidaymakers, so we are particularly honoured to receive these awards.
“Tourism Ireland has been working hard to build awareness of Northern Ireland around the world and we were really pleased to continue our partnership with HBO last year, to highlight the beautiful landscape of Northern Ireland – through the exciting events of Game of Thrones – on the global stage.”
Next month, Tourism Ireland will join forces once again with HBO, with a brand new Game of Thrones campaign to promote Northern Ireland around the world, timed to coincide with the season 7 (set to premiere in mid-July).
Click here to check out the ‘Doors of Thrones’ promo.