Carnival Cruise Line and its agency partners MBooth and Mouton Media have received the “Award of Excellence” from the New Orleans chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for a “Lip Sync Battle” event featuring New Orleans Saints players and benefiting local charities.  The event was held aboard Carnival Dream while it docked at the Port of New Orleans.  The annual award recognizes memorable PR activations that generate superior media coverage while raising brand awareness and making an impact on the local community.

At the event, Saints players Cameron Jordan and Mark Ingram squared off in an all-out “Lip Sync Battle” that mirrored Carnival’s authentic shipboard recreation of SpikeTV’s pop culture phenomenon that is currently being rolled out across the fleet.

Ingram performed the 1980s rock anthem “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake with iconic costumes and props inspired by the hair bands of that era, while Jordan offered his unique interpretation of Usher’s “Yeah!” decked out in a metallic silver jacket backed by talented dancers from the ship’s Playlist Productions show.  In the end, Jordan was deemed the winner, earning a $10,000 donation for United Way while Ingram was the runner up, collecting $5,000 for the Mark Ingram Foundation.

The event was one of the most well-received PR activations ever organized by Carnival garnering strong local and national media coverage across all channels, including print, broadcast and online and encompassing travel, sports and lifestyle outlets.  All told, the Lip Sync Battle for charity generated nearly 250 million total impressions while reaching upwards of 100 million people on social media.

The event underscored Carnival’s role as a longtime supporter of the New Orleans community.  Carnival is the Official Cruise Line of the New Orleans Saints and the port’s largest cruise operator with two year-round ships carrying more than 450,000 passengers annually – the most of any cruise line.