As long as you guys had fun, this was not a failure.
The shiny icon means little anyway.
You should be glad you got a chance to discuss things, compare ideas and produce an entry in the first place, as in a way you guys all learned new things by doing so.
To me, these contests represent new ways of finding out cool stuff, finding new friends and acquiring new enemies (hey, it happens also). But nevertheless i feel like each one adds up to your personality in a way and you find out more about the people you worked with/against which again can be quite interesting.
That being said, this was not a failure. I had fun from testing your entries for example, thus you guys made at least one guy have fun for some time. If nothing consider that a worthy success.
I hope my post brings a new perspective to you guys and how this was in fact a successful contest.
Regards.