
Congrats to Brammo for winning the Silver Medal in Best New Product – Transportation, from the Edison Awards.
2010 EDISON BEST NEW PRODUCT AWARDS SHOWCASE MINI-CAR, ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE, HOUSHOLD WIND TURBINE ELECTRIC GENERATOR, GLUTEN FREE CAKE MIX, AMONG COOL NEW STUFF
NEW YORK, April 29, 2010 — The Edison Best New Product Awards, presented by Discovery Channel, today honored a wide range of new products and product innovations at an awards gala held at The Capitale in lower Manhattan. New and innovative products in eleven categories, from high-tech gizmos including a mini-car and a high performance electric motorcycle to consumer packaged goods such as the world’s first mass market gluten-free mixes, were recognized for innovation and invention in the spirit of Thomas Alva Edison, America’s greatest inventor and innovator. Edison was father of the electric light bulb, document duplication, recorded sound, commercial electricity generation, and the motion picture, to name but a few.
“Innovation is more important now than ever,” said Sarah Miller Caldicott, great grandniece of Thomas Edison, and Chairperson of the Edison Awards Steering Committee. “The Edison Award winners are the moving parts in the engine of economic growth. They inspire people to think outside the box and their results improve the lives of people around the world.”
"My great, great uncle, Thomas Edison, mastered five different forms of innovation. Most often, we think of technological innovation as the only form of innovation, but actually there are many others. Edison knew this, and drew upon them all.”
Indeed, the Edison Awards honor a wide variety of innovative products with Gold, Silver, and Bronze prizes representing first place, second, and third in each of its 11 categories. Among the notable winners is the Honeywell Wind Turbine from Windtronics. The Wind Turbine is a compact wind-powered electric generator designed for residential use that could generate enough electricity to make power companies write checks to consumers who use it. There is the miniscule Tata Nano Automobile from Tata Motors in India; the Sole Power Roof Tile from Pennsylvania-based SRS Energy, whose solar electric panel looks like a household roof tile and blends with sunbelt architecture; and the world’s first mass-market gluten-free mixes from Betty Crocker (General Mills), which will enable some 30 million gluten-allergic Americans to enjoy dessert. Other gold award winners include Procter and Gamble, General Electric, and Motorola. The Brammo Enertia Motorcycle, a high performance motorbike capable of speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, won a silver Edison Award.
Edison Best New Product Awards are given annually. The Award was founded 23 years ago by the American Marketing Association. Information on how to enter may be found online at www.edsionawards.com.
The Edison Awards, a peer-review honor similar to the Oscars (one newspaper called them the “Oscars of Innovation”) is voted on by roughly 2,000 members of the not-for-profit Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), an association of America’s top executives and academics. The awards symbolize the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison, America’s premier inventor, inspiring America’s drive to remain in the forefront of innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy.
In addition to its 11 product categories, the 2010 Edison Awards feature two “Green Award” winners. The “Game Changer” award goes to the City of Greensburg, Kansas, which rebuilt itself in an environmentally friendly manner following a devastating tornado, and the Gold Award goes to Kohl’s Department Stores for their commitment to make their retail locations as environmentally friendly as technology permits.
Two Edison Achievement Awards are being given this year to individuals whose career accomplishments in innovation inspire others to action. One goes to recently retired Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO Mr. A.G. Lafley, who raised his company’s new product success rate five-fold, from 10 percent to 50 percent, and the other goes to Dr. Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Under Dr. Hockfield’s leadership, MIT has harnessed its pioneering academic research in the interest of applied science and strengthened its Commercial Development arm through which it licenses new technologies for practical applications.
The 2010 Edison Awards are sponsored by TV’s Discovery Channel, Google, The Nielsen Company (a leader in market research and intelligence best known for TV’s “Nielsen ratings”), and Strategyn, a global leader in innovation management. The Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, serves as a guarantor of the Edison Awards. The Edison Papers since 1979 has cataloged and analyzed the five million pages of documents left by the great inventor, and is the custodian of the criteria of The Edison Awards. The Edison Papers in concert with the Edison Awards Steering Committee evaluate all Edison Awards entries seeking innovation achievements in the spirit of Thomas Edison.
A complete list of Edison Best New Product Award winners by category and Edison Green Award finalists follows.
2010 Edison Best New Product & Green Awards Winners:
Technology
Gold – 3M MPro Mobile Projection Camera from 3M
Silver – OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Technology from OnStar
Bronze – iRa C3 Portable Video Monitoring Software from Lextech Labs
Bronze – LiveScribe Pulse SmartPen from Livescribe Inc.
Electronics & Computers
Gold – Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 With Cardioscan, from 3M and Zargis
Silver – CarMD Handheld Car Tester from CarMD
Bronze – Zeo Personal Sleep Coach from Zeo Inc.
Science & Medical – Standard
Gold – The Harmonic Blade for Endoscopic Surgery from Ethicon Endosurgery
Silver – Volusonâ E-Series Ultrasound System from GE Healthcare
Bronze – Compasâ Prosthesis Alignment System from Orthocare Innovations
Science & Medical – “Game Changers”
Gold – MicroChips Illumeä Continuous Glucose Monitoring System from MicroCHIPS
Silver – MicroJet Transdermal Drug Patch from Corium International
Bronze – Nanomaxx Handheld Ultrasound System from Sonosite Inc.
Consumer Packaged Goods – Personal Care Segment
Gold – Alwaysâ Infinity Feminine Protection from Procter & Gamble
Silver – Cover Girlâ & Olayâ Simply Ageless Foundation from Procter & Gamble
Bronze – Full Thickening Hair Cream from Living Proof
Consumer Packaged Goods – Foods Segment
Gold – Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Mixes from General Mills
Silver – Healthy Choice Fresh Mixersä from Con Agra
Consumer Packaged Goods – Household Segment
Gold – Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets from Henkel
Silver – Bounce Dryer Bar from Procter & Gamble
Bronze – Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel from S.C. Johnson
Consumer Packaged Goods – Consumer Drug Segment
Gold – Alignâ Probiotic Food Supplement from Procter & Gamble
Silver – Zyrtecâ Allergy Treatment from McNeil Consumer Healthcare
Bronze – Latisseâ Prescription Medication for Eyelash Regrowth, from Allergan
Media & Visual Communications
Gold – Kindle II Digital Reader from Amazon.com
Silver – Nook Digital Reader from Barnes & Noble
Bronze – iFood Assistant from Kraft
Industrial Design
Gold – Sole Power Roof Tile from SRS Energy
Silver – Motorola APXä 7000 First Responder Radio from Motorola
Bronze – Pilarâ Kitchen Faucet with Touch20 from Delta
Lifestyle & Social Impact
Gold – GE Hybrid Water Heater from GE Consumer & Industrial Appliances
Silver – The Edison Nation Open Innovation Network from Edison Nation
Bronze – CCA Software Suite for Non-Profit Organizations from CCA Global Partners
Energy & Sustainability – Sustainability
Gold – Prima Bottled Water Packaging from Primo Water
Silver – 100% PCR Clamshell Packaging from Earthbound Farm
Bronze – Natura 100% Zero-VOC Paint from Benjamin Moore
Energy & Sustainability – Energy
Gold – Honeywell Wind Turbine Gearless Blade Tip Power System from Windtronics
Silver – Quantum Lightä Optics from QD Vision
Bronze – OPOWER Software and Marketing Program from OPower
Living, Working & Learning Environments
Gold – Affordable Housing, from The Phoenix Commotion
Silver – Affordable Green Housing, from Builders of Hope
Bronze – WorkSpring from Steelcase
Transportation
Gold – The Tata Nano Automobile from Tata Motors
Silver – The Brammo Enertia Electric Motorcycle from Brammo, Inc.
Edison Green Award
Game-Changer Award: The City of Greensburg, Kansas
Gold – Kohl’s Department Stores
Silver – TerraCycle
Bronze – Parducci Cellars
Full details about each of the 2010 Edison Award winners are available online at www.edisonawards.com.
–30–

