American Advertising Federation Honors Mālama Hawai‘i Visitor Education Series with 2022 Best of Show Award

For Immediate Release: June 2, 2022
HTA Release (22-12)

22-12 HTA_HTUSA_AAF Hawaii Awards_NR 060222.pdf

HONOLULU — Mālama Hawai‘i, the multi-media visitor education series created by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) and its contractor Hawai‘i Tourism USA (HTUSA), was honored with a Best of Show and 10 Gold awards by the American Advertising Federation Hawaiʻi (AAF Hawaiʻi) on May 21 at its annual awards gala held at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Ho‘okupu Center in Honolulu.

Featuring the voices, stories and work of community members from across Hawaiʻi, the series was inspired by HTA’s guiding vision of Mālama Ku‘u Home (Caring for Our Beloved Home), and its efforts to balance the impacts of tourism in Hawai‘i’s communities through the principles of regenerative tourism.

“We acknowledge the critical role and responsibility we carry in sharing the stories of Hawai‘i and our people respectfully as part of our branding of the Hawaiian Islands,” said John De Fries, HTA President and CEO. “We are humbled that the Mālama Hawai‘i message resonated with the national judges who recognized the intent and execution of this important initiative to educate visitors about how to travel mindfully within our home. We also extend our gratitude to HTUSA and its creative agency MVNP for their excellent work in bringing this work to life.”

The AAF Hawaiʻi’s awards program is the most coveted event celebrating the excellence in advertising and design created in Hawai‘i, and Best of Show is the highest award bestowed by the organization.
 
“The Mālama Hawai‘i series is reaching visitors during the pre- and post-arrival stages of their travel journey, inspiring them to visit the Hawaiian Islands with a sense of kuleana (responsibility),” said Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā, HTA Chief Brand Officer. “Our invitation to visitors to join us in caring for Hawaiʻi is an important part of our brand, and exemplifies HTA’s pivot toward visitor education and destination management. We hope this recognition of the Mālama Hawaiʻi series will continue to elevate the importance of its message here in Hawaiʻi and around the world.”
 
A total of 4 videos touched on themes related to the organization’s Mālama Hawai‘i initiative, which is focused on advising visitors on respectfully engaging with Hawai‘i residents and places while traveling within the Islands and becoming stewards of nature, preserving and restoring the beauty and bounty of the land, ocean and culturally significant places for future generations.

AAF Hawaiʻi’s awards have honored the best work produced by Hawai‘i’s advertising and design community for more than 40 years. Hawai‘i winners in all national categories are sent to the American Advertising Awards competition for judging, followed by a gala award-presentation ceremony, set for June 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

In addition to AAF Hawaiʻi’s Best of Show award for the Mālama Hawai‘i TV Campaign series, HTUSA, MVNP, and Shooters Film Production were awarded Gold awards in the following categories:

• Local Campaign Advertising — Television Advertising — Regional/National, for “Mālama: Sustainable Farming TV Spot,” “Mālama: Habitat Stewardship TV Spot,” “Mālama: Aquaculture TV Spot” and “Mālama TV Campaign”
• Branded Content and Entertainment — Branded Content — Non-Broadcast Campaign for “Mālama Long-Format Video Campaign”
• Online Film, Video and Sound — Branded Content for Film, Video and Sound, for “Mālama: Aquaculture Long-Format Video,” “Mālama: Habitat Stewardship Long-Format Video” and “Mālama: Reforestation Long-Format Video”
• Film and Video — Cinematography, for “Aquaculture — Mālama Hawai‘i” and “Reforestation — Mālama Hawai‘i”

To view the Mālama Hawaiʻi video series, visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3vu-S1EiKs_PKzoOatkHknhgCcCtyaJN  
 
To view the AAF Hawai‘i announcement, visit: https://vimeo.com/711883980/3868d92d45