Mr Trafalgar has won this year’s Brand Licensing Europe License This! competition for new creative contests.

April 6, 2018

2 Min Read

Mr. Trafalgar, a rodent character presented in black-and-white silhouette, has won this year’s Brand Licensing Europe License This! competition for new creative contests.

Mr Trafalgar is the creation of Newcastle artist and illustrator, Jamie Patterson. The dapper and mysterious rat is executed in flowing lines and was first drawn riding a Penny Farthing. The character is one of many humanized animal characters that inhabit a rich, imagined world.

Mr Trafalgar was selected live by a panel of judges Thursday at BLE, and will receive a fully furnished stand to bring the brand to market at next year’s show.

David Riley, managing director of Egmont Publishing Group chaired this year’s judging panel and said more than once that the decision was a difficult one, commenting that all four finalists have great potential. Ultimately, Mr Trafalgar was selected as the winner because of its uniqueness and originality.

“License This! 2013 produced a very high-calibre of entrants, and the panel was confident that any one of the short-listed brands could make it commercially," says Riley. "However, there could only ever be one winner, and we were delighted to award the prize to Mr Trafalgar, developed by Jamie Patterson and Bella Binus. Original, quirky, amusing, distinctive, Mr Trafalgar has huge appeal for both adults and children across a range of categories. Well done!”

Riley was joined on the panel by Darran Garnham, chief business development officer at Mind Candy; Aysha Kidwai, managing director of Indigo Lens; and Bettina Koeckler, senior vice president EMEA at Fox Consumer Products.

The three runners-up in the contest were:

  • The Fantastical Adventures of Elle presented by Sarah Lawrence. Follows the stories of a small girl and her elephant.

  • Princess Pirates presented by Naomi Collet. Based on the story of five princesses who stumble upon a treasure chest.

  • Railway of Life presented by Sarah Watts. Inspired by a 1926 Christmas card, this brand aims to evoke the magic of a past era.??

“Winning License This! has given us an enormous confidence boost to develop the property further," says Mr Trafalgar’s Bella Binus. "We are delighted to receive so much recognition and support from the panel, audience and organisers. We are excited at all the challenges the next 12 months might bring and look forward to coming back with Mr. Trafalgar to BLE 2014.”

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