August 7, 2025 (UTICA, NY) – Oneida County Tourism (OCT) announced that its Heart of NY Beverage Trail commercial, produced by its advertising agency C&D Advertising, has been named Best Travel & Tourism in Locally Aired Television Commercial in the 46th Annual Telly Awards. OCT earned a Silver Winner designation in the Travel & Tourism – Local TV category, alongside a commercial featuring the popular children’s show Bluey.
The Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens and are judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks, and production companies. In addition to OCT, this year’s winners include Pixar Animation Studios, Hearst Media, ESPN, LinkedIn, NATO, MTV Entertainment Studios, NASA, the LA Clippers (NBA), Telemundo and more. This year’s award categories centered on stories and collaborations that are actively evolving within the video and television industry. With over 13,000 entries from across the globe and top video and television content producers, winners were chosen by The Telly Awards Judging Council, a group of marketing and media professionals from a variety of respected organizations. The full list of the 46th Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at www.tellyawards.com/winners/.
“Our team is incredibly proud to receive this national recognition for the Heart of NY Beverage Trail commercial,” said Jennifer Brilliante, owner of C&D Advertising. “Winning a Telly Award is a true honor—especially for a piece that showcases the amazing partners of Oneida County, a place so many of our team members live, work, and love. This project, in partnership with Oneida County Tourism, reflects our shared passion for telling authentic stories that celebrate our community. It means even more knowing we were up against top-tier creative from across the country and came out on top with a story rooted right here at home.”
“The Heart of NY Beverage Trail is the backbone for the small beer and wine producers in the Rome and Utica area. Their team takes care of expert marketing, networking and creativity that small business owners tend to neglect as we are manufacturing and selling our product as well as operating the business. Much of our success comes from the relevancy the Heart of NY Beverage Trail has built for us.” Danny Frieden, co-owner Copper City Brewing and OCT board member.
“Receiving this Telly Award reinforces the strength of our marketing strategy and the value of telling Oneida County’s story through compelling video,” said Sarah Foster Calero, President of Oneida County Tourism. “We’re proud to partner with our trusted advertising agency C&D Advertising who put this video together, and we’re proud to be recognized alongside global names. Most especially, we’re thrilled to shine a light on our local beverage trail partners while highlighting our robust agriculture industry, which are so relevant in local tourism and our region.”
About Oneida County Tourism
Oneida County Tourism is the official tourism promotion agency for Oneida County, representing Utica, Rome, Verona, and Sylvan Beach. Through strategic marketing and public relations, the organization attracts visitors across sectors, including leisure, meetings, sports, travel trade, and film/TV production. Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, Oneida County Tourism is dedicated to showcasing the region’s rich heritage, vibrant culture, and natural beauty.
About the Telly Awards
The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring video and television across all screens. Established in 1979, The Telly Awards receives over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. Entrants are judged by The Telly Awards Judging Council—an industry body of over 200 leading experts including advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks, reflective of the multi-screen industry The Telly Awards celebrates. Partners of The Telly Awards include NAB, RunwayML AIFF, ReelAbilities Film Festival, Film Fatales, FWD-Doc, Stash, Production Hub, Ghetto Film School, Future of Film, We Are Parable, Video Consortium, SeriesFest and Green The Bid. More information can be found at the Telly Awards Press Center: https://tlly.co/press
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