Tourism Ireland's innovative use of the damage Storm Gertrude caused to one of Game of Thrones' most iconic locations has earned it a brace of gongs at the "Oscars" of the advertising industry.
Its 'Doors of Thrones' campaign picked up a gold and silver award at the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Monday night.
The campaign has now racked up over 30 awards and accolades across Europe and the United States.
After a number of trees lining The Dark Hedges in County Antrim were levelled due to harsh weather conditions in January 2016, Tourism Ireland spent 10 weeks using the fallen wood to craft 10 doors, each depicting an episode from season six of the HBO show.
Those doors, designed by Kieran McKay, are now 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 (€12.83m).
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said:
"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.
"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.”
Tourism Ireland is gearing up to join forces with HBO once again to promote Northern Ireland around the world as season seven of the fantasy series hits screens in mid-July.
