The CLIO Awards, one of the world’s most recognized international advertising and design competitions, has witnessed much advertising history since its inception in 1959. To celebrate its monumental 50th Anniversary, the 3-day CLIO festival will not only feature 5 new, decade-themed award shows, but offer attendees exclusive networking opportunities with hundreds of the world’s most influential creatives, the chance to meet Honorary CLIO Award celebrity recipients Barry Manilow, Mark Cuban and Matthew Weiner, as well as the opportunity to pose on the red carpet with memorable brand icons during the Ad Icon Walk of Fame. The 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards will take place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, May 12 – 14.
“The celebration of the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards marks a very special moment in the history of the advertising industry,” said Karl Vontz, director of events. “And this year’s event is unlike any other – we have created an engaging, educational and interactive festival that will honor the best advertising of today, tomorrow and the past 50 years.”
For the first time ever, CLIO will present Honorary Awards live to Barry Manilow (singer/songwriter), Mark Cuban (entrepreneur and chairman of HDNet) and Matthew Weiner (creator & executive producer of AMC’s MAD MEN) for their distinguished contributions to the industry.
Attendees will also have the chance to meet their favorite advertising icons such as: Nestle’s “Nesquik Bunny,” StarKist’s “Charlie the Tuna Fish,” 9Lives’ “Morris the Cat,” Kraft’s “Kool-Aid Man,” and the “Michelin Man,” who will grace the CLIO Ad Icon Walk of Fame red carpet and tell the story of their legendary brand icons.
The new concept and design for this year’s festival will showcase advertising from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, exemplifying each decade of CLIO’s history. To complement the decade-themed nights, award shows will feature interactive elements including: video commentaries from the 2009 CLIO International Jury about work in all categories/mediums; musical performances by Barry Manilow and Spencer Day; a dance performance by Internet sensation Judson Laipply (whose “Evolution of Dance” video on YouTube has been viewed by 116 million people); and an aerial acrobatic tribute to CLIO.
Featured also will be keynote addresses from some of the most creative minds in advertising, including: Tony Granger, Global Chief Creative Director, Young & Rubicam; Russ Klein, President, Global Marketing, Strategy and Innovation, Burger King Brands, Inc.; Rob Reilly, Partner/Co-Executive Creative Director, Crispin Porter + Bogusky; and Nick Law, EVP, Chief Creative Officer, North America, R/GA.
In addition to providing prime networking opportunities for industry professionals, this year’s educational conference sessions feature timely and significant topics, such as: the cultural differences in global advertising; how to own your ideas; brand fusion in unexpected places; digitizing your agency in a new media environment; branded utility versus brand advertising; President Obama’s advertising campaign; innovation in social media strategies; and exploring the refined relationship between music artists and ad agencies.
And bringing all these elements to fruition is Emmy® Award-Winning Television Producer, Brad Hurtado, executive producer of this year’s CLIO festival. Hurtado, who has more than 25 years in the business has conceptualized and produced projects for Lifetime, VH1, Sony, Billboard, Telemundo and Food Network, among many others.
“To honor the 50th Anniversary, we’ve reached deep into the CLIO archives for groundbreaking work from each decade that has ultimately changed the face of advertising and upped the ante for creatives all over the world,” said Brad Hurtado, executive producer of the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards. “Our cameras were on site to capture the voice of the CLIO International Jury and what they had to say about this year’s work. We believe it will enliven and enrich the experience of winning a coveted CLIO award.”
In addition to conference sessions, networking opportunities and nightly after-parties, festival highlights include:
TUESDAY, MAY 12: COMMUNICATION AWARDS
— Communications Awards Reception and Awards Show: recognizing Print, Radio, Direct Mail, Poster, Billboard and for the first time ever, Strategic Communications/Public Relations categories, with a tribute to advertising in the ’60s
— Matthew Weiner Honorary CLIO: Emmy Award-Winning Creator & Executive Producer of AMC’s MAD MEN will be recognized as one of the most powerful storytellers to ever tackle the rise of advertising in America through a critically acclaimed original television series
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13: LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS/EMERGING MEDIA AWARDS
— Lifetime Achievement Reception & Awards Luncheon: Dan Wieden, co-founder & chief executive officer of Wieden+Kennedy will receive the CLIO Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished contributors to the advertising industry
Emerging Media Awards Reception & Awards Show: recognizing Content & Contact, Innovative Media, Interactive, and Integrated categories with a tribute to 1990s & 2000s, when the internet became a powerful form of emerging media
— Mark Cuban Honorary CLIO: Entrepreneur and Chairman of HDNet will be recognized as a digital media thought leader who helped pave the way for the industry by launching and investing in many successful online ventures and cutting-edge technologies
THURSDAY, MAY 14: DESIGN AWARDS/MOVING IMAGE AWARDS
— Design Awards Reception & Awards Luncheon: for the first time, the design medium will be recognized in a separate ceremony
— Moving Image Awards Reception & Awards Show: recognizing Television/Cinema/Digital & Television/Cinema/Digital Technique mediums with a tribute to television advertisements made popular in the ’70s and ’80s
— Barry Manilow Honorary CLIO: Manilow has produced some of the most famous advertising jingles of all time for companies such as State Farm, Band-Aid, Tab and Stridex and was the recipient of two CLIO Awards for his well-known television and radio commercial jingles in the ’70s Ad Icon Walk of Fame: memorable brand “celebrities” including Nestle’s “Nesquik Bunny,” StarKist’s “Charlie the Tuna Fish,” 9Lives’ “Morris the Cat,” Kraft’s “Kool-Aid Man,” and the “Michelin Man,” will be on hand during the CLIO Festival to walk the red carpet and take photos with fans during the reception prior to the Moving Image Awards
Room Rates Reduced & Flight Partner Discount – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas recently reduced its nightly room rates to $99 for weeknights and $132 for weekends (plus 9 percent tax and $7 resort fee per day). Flights that are booked through Jet Blue between April 9 and May 12, 2009 can enter the special promo code “CLIO50” to receive a 5 percent discount on their trip.
Online registration information and the 2009 conference schedule is available online at www.clioawards.com. Check out and share our interactive microsite, www.clio50.com. Also, find us on our page on Facebook and on our group on LinkedIn.
For Hard Rock Hotel reservations in the U.S., please call: 1-800-693-7625
International Callers: 001.702.693.5544
About The CLIO Awards
The CLIO Awards is one of the world’s most recognized awards competition for advertising, design and interactive. Celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2009, the CLIO Awards has maintained its original commitment to celebrate and reward creative excellence, honoring a powerful form of communication and its impact on modern culture. At the same time, the CLIO Awards remains focused on evolving with the industry in order to acknowledge the most current, breakthrough work. To this day, CLIO’s iconic statue is the most widely recognized and coveted symbol of the industry’s creative accomplishments. The CLIO Awards are produced by Nielsen Business Media, a part of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com.
