Sharks Ireland Review 2024

A Shoal of Wins

It is now 63 years ago since the Sharks started life as the International Awards Festival of Ireland. For the first couple of years, the Awards were held in Cork City, in a room above a local fish shop – yeah a fish shop! (so maybe that fact had something to do with the re-brand when it evolved to become the Sharks some years later).

Soon after its beginnings, it moved to the enchanting town of Kinsale where, still to this day, delegates gather every September to meet, network and take a well deserved break from the rigours of an ever demanding creative and craft industry.

The Shark Awards has over the years adapted to the changing landscape of the Advertising industry, adding new relevant sections and categories as it evolved to form part of the toolbox required to compete at an international level. Always recognising its legacy, integrity and tradition from its early roots in Ireland, it continues to host judging in Kinsale for the Advertising, Digital and Social Media categories. It is here that 38 judges assembled from around the world to lend their expertise and experience in awarding the iconic Shark Trophy to deserving winners.

It is fitting that from the numerous entries from Ireland, a shoal of trophies were awarded to Irish companies for work completed in 2024. Ireland won a total of 8 Gold Sharks, 6 Silver Sharks and 24 Bronze Sharks with 38 other entries achieving a Shortlist status. With so many to acknowledge here, you can see all the winners, those Shortlisted and their work in the Search Engine on the Shark Awards website.

It is worth noting that Publicis Dublin took 2 Gold Shark Awards for their work on Heineken “Pub Museum”, having entered in the International Category – a brave move against a global market that highlighted the calibre of work that is being created in Ireland.

Cormac O'Connor & Briain Wright from Publicis Dublin

“We are absolutely over the moon. It’s very rare an Irish Agency enters the International Category and to take home the Gold is something we are incredibly proud of. But it’s not just a win for our agency and our clients; it’s a win for creativity in Ireland. As the old saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. We have some amazing talent here and hopefully this win will inspire other Irish agencies and clients to commit to this type of work”. Peter Dobbyn – PUBLICIS DUBLIN.

The Grand Prix for Branded Content went to a film by Dublin production company BigStyle Media for The National Basketball Association entitled 'Lecanvey Lakers', created by Rob De Boer & Ben McDonald. A wonderful piece of film that truly displays the heart and soul of rural Ireland.

"It means the absolute world to us to win the Grand Prix. When we started this project we had no idea how close it would make us to our community in Mayo and how much it would mean to everyone involved. We are delighted that the film is resonating with audiences at home and abroad. As a small Production Company, to win not only a gold award on our first entry to The Sharks, but the Grand Prix, is really an honour. It is really rewarding to have our work validated in such a prestigious way". Rob, Ben & Emilie BIGSTYLE Media.

Other Irish Gold winners in Branded Content include Designbank for client 'Wren Urban Nest' and Circle Content for client 'Liath Restaurant'.

The Shark Best New Talent Awards is an annual event that recognises the outstanding work of young, up-and-coming film industry professionals who specialise in advertising. This year, our winner was Hannah Lambert from TBWA whose award was presented to her at Kinsale.

Hannah: "Winning Best New Producer at the Sharks was a huge honour for me. I started out in the industry just 3 years prior with no advertising experience whatsoever, but with the help and encouragement of the incredible producers and creatives around me, I progressed quickly and winning felt like a huge acknowledgement of my hard work over the years. I think I’m still on a high from the win!"

Other notable Advertising & Design winners include; Connelly Partners, TBWA Dublin, Motherland, Folk VML, BBH Dublin, The Brill Building, Droga5, Showrunner, Folding Waves, Together We Create, Denis, Banjoman, Screen Scene, Core Creative, Scimitar Sound, Genesis & Butter.

In the world of Music Videos again there was a strong showing from Ireland with wins for Declan McKenna (best music video), Peadar Ó Goill (best editing) and once again Albert Hooi (best cinematography) who all picked up the cool Black Shark.

There were other Gold wins too in Short Film for Curate Content, Sugarloaf Film & TV and also The National Film School/IADT Dún Laoghaire.

To all entrants who compete in the Shark Awards, we say thank you for your support and your determination to showcase your work at the highest level. To all winners we say congratulations, knowing that your work was truly outstanding and deserving of acknowledgement from the very best in our creative and craft industries.

Kevin Leahy, Hannah Lambert, Rob Boyle & Matthieu Chardon at TBWA

Having completed the judging of Shark Short Films in Los Angeles we expect to congratulate more Irish winners and present them with their iconic Shark trophies.

In the coming weeks, the Shark Awards will be open for entries in 2025, if you think you have work that is a cut above the best, take advantage of the Early Bird offers – details will be on the Shark Awards website soon.

Oh and give yourself a break this September, hang out with the best in the business, make new friends and have some fun while you are at it. Dates for your diary for September 2025 are Wednesday 24th (open for registration) and the Festival finishes one minute past midnight on Saturday 27th.

See you in Kinsale!

Sláinte

Remember, BRANDS, AGENCIES, LABELS, PRODUCTION COMPANIES & REPS are now using our Sharks Search Tool to seek out award-winning talent for their next projects.

Enter The Sharks - awards lead to rewards.

GET RECOGNISED, GET LISTED, GET REWARDED.

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