CHICAGO, Feb 12, 2007 / --- Wal-Mart won top honors at last night’s RACie Awards gala for a 2006 holiday television advertisement. The RACie Awards, distributed by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) are given each year to honor the very best campaigns in the retail industry.

The ceremony was held at the Hilton Chicago during RAMA’s Retail Advertising Conference (RAC).

For the first time, audience members at the gala were allowed to choose the “Best of the Best” in retail advertising through live voting. By a narrow margin, audience members chose Wal-Mart’s Holiday 2006 “The 12 Minutes of Christmas” advertisement to receive the year’s top honor over advertisements from OfficeMax and Build-A-Bear.

The television spot, produced by Bernstein-Rein Advertising, featured an unprepared guest at a Secret Santa party who begins a sing-along to “The 12 Days of Christmas” in order to rush out and purchase several gifts from a nearby Wal-Mart. Of course, he makes it back to the party with several CDs in a gift bag just as the final verse is ending.

“Today’s retail campaigns need to be buzz-worthy to attract a different type of consumer,” said RAMA Executive Director Mike Gatti. “We are excited to honor those whose passion exudes from their work and whose creativity inspires others to reach higher.”

The following companies received the Gold Award for excellence in advertising and marketing in these categories:

Recipient	Category	Campaign
Target	4th Quarter multi-media	Holiday ’06: Bright Lights in Union Square Park
Target	4th Quarter single media	Holiday 2006 press kit
OfficeMax	4th Qu. innovation/new media	World’s Largest Rubberband Ball
Mervyns	Ad That Never Ran	Back to School Advertorial
Target	Creative Award	Target Branding Intensification
Bootlegger	International	Bootlegger Generation B Campaign
OfficeMax	Large multi-media	Back to School Campaign: Schooled
Target	Gift Cards	Cars
Half Price Books	In-Store	Love, Cherish & Let Go
Target	Insert	Minneapolis Institute of Arts Pop-Up
Best Buy/Geek Squad	Magazine	Bookmark
Best Buy/Geek Squad	Online Ad	Dancing Agent
Minnesota Twins	Outdoor Ad	Torri Poster “What Goes Up”
Canadian Tire	ROP	Mountain
Half Price Books	Website	DeleteCensorship.org
OfficeMax	Small multi-media	Ink Refill Tattoo Campaign

In addition to choosing the “Best of the Best,” more than 600 retail marketing and advertising professionals at the gala voted for winners of six awards. The following companies were selected by the audience in their respective categories:

Recipient	Category	Campaign
Build-A-Bear Workshop	Single media	Unscripted Campaign
Canadian Tire	Innovation/New media	Hydro Pole (E-Bike)
NTRA	Radio	Water Park
JCPenney	Television single spot	Crazy Beautiful
Wal-Mart	4th Quarter single media	Be Bright Holiday Campaign
Wal-Mart	4th Quarter television	The 12 Minutes of Christmas

Additionally, JCPenney received the Peter Glen Award for its “JCPenney Jam: Concert for America’s Kids” event. The concert and a CD/DVD twinpack have raised more than $2,000,000 for the company’s Afterschool Fund, a non-profit organization committed to providing safe and enriching after school programs for America’s youth.

At the event, RAMA also welcomed Minda Gralnek and Eric Erickson, both Vice Presidents and Creative Directors for Target, into the Retail Advertising Hall of Fame. RAMA’s Hall of Fame has remained a cornerstone of the association for over 50 years and continues to set the standard for the brightest and most creative visionaries in the retail marketing and advertising industry.