LatinoLandia USA wins at 2007 Orange County ADDY Awards.

LatinoLandia USA grabbed the attention of the Southern California advertising community here this past Saturday evening, scoring major wins in a number of categories, in the most crowded field of entries ever for the Orange County Advertising Club’s 2007 ADDY Awards competition.

Based in Irvine, CA, the upstart agency walked away with two Gold Awards, three Silver Awards, and numerous Merit Awards for work in Radio, Direct Marketing, Interactive, Sales Promotions and Packaging. Finishing among the top honorees, the four-year old shop rivaled large agencies in the scope of recognition among hundreds of exceptional entries.

“We are grateful for the ratification of our work by our peers,” said Rafael Ramirez, EVP/Creative Director at LatinoLandia USA. “It forcefully demonstrates that excellence in strategy and quality in creative are not limited to large and long-established agencies,” he added.

Among the work honored were both radio and direct marketing for Lake Forest-based Del Taco, LLC., the nation’s second-largest Mexican fast service restaurant chain. The agency was also cited for package design and website development for Villa Rica Foods, a division of Wisconsin-based Sturm Foods, Inc.

“Our team has deep experience at the largest national and international agencies, but we offer that expertise to our clients without the layers of bureaucracy and high overhead they may face at large shops,” explained Alan Torreano, VP/Associate Creative Director and a principal in the firm.