New York Festivals® International Advertising Awards will honor director Bob Giraldi of bicoastal Giraldi with one of the first ever NYF Living Legend Awards. The filmmaker, whose work spans commercials, music videos, shorts, and features, is scheduled to receive the honor on Thursday, May 5, at the 2011 International Advertising Awards “The New York Show.” Earlier that day he will present a keynote speech, “MY LIFE IN TWENTY–A Lifetime Making TV Commercials & Teaching Others How to Do it Better.”
The NYF Living Legend Award recognizes prominent industry luminaries whose personal excellence and extraordinary contributions have advanced the field of advertising, made a lasting impression on the creative community, and who continue to influence the profession in a significant way.
Giraldi made his first industry mark on the agency side of the business. One of the original Mad Men, he served as a creative director at Young & Rubicam, New York. During his tenure he won numerous awards, and in the middle of the early advertising creative revolution he earned the distinction of being named as one of “101 Stars Behind 100 Years of Advertising.” He made a smooth transition to the director’s chair and has directed more than 4,000 commercials thus far in his career. Giraldi’s advertising campaigns include the Pepsi-Cola campaign with Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie, as well as commercials for the Miller Brewing company featuring celebrities such as Dick Butkus, Bob Uecker, John Madden, and Rodney Dangerfield.
Giraldi’s unique visual and musical storytelling abilities set the tone in the early days of MTV music videos. His video for Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” won numerous awards including that year’s coveted American Music Award, the Billboard Music Award and the People’s Choice Award. Giraldi has worked with such music legends as Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ricky Martin, Hall & Oates and Will Smith.
Giraldi’s feature film, Dinner Rush, with Danny Aiello, John Corbett and Sandra Bernhard, appeared on a number of 2001’s Top 10 lists such as Newsweek and was selected for the prestigious New Directors/New Films Series at MoMa. Among all the awards it was also listed by Roger Ebert as “One of the Best 100 Films in the Last 10 Years.” Giraldi also is the director of Jon Cryer’s Hiding Out.
On the short film front, Giraldi’s The Routine, premiered at Sundance and won Best Drama at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. His My Hometown is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame’s permanent collection, and two short films; Dream Begins, and A Peculiar City, both integral parts of New York’s national Olympic bid, are now in MoMA’s permanent collection. The director’s latest short, The Grey Coat, is a N.Y. story of a hardworking immigrant Korean family being extorted by two dirty cops and the emergence of an unlikely hero.
Of being selected to receive Living Legend Award, Giraldi related, “I’m humbled, I’m honored, and I’m happy to be recognized — It gets better all the time, just like a 1991 Brunello di Montalcino.”
AD&Co. Launches Studio A; Davida Hall To Head New Venture As Sr. Director of Creative Content
Female-founded and led creative marketing agency AD&Co. has opened Studio A. The new venture will serve as AD&Co.’s in-house social brand content division, focused on developing and producing digital programming for advertising, social media, and influencer marketing campaigns designed to reach today’s audiences on the most popular and pivotal platforms. Davida Hall has been named to head Studio A as sr. director of creative content. She shifts over from AD&Co. where she held the same title since December 2023. Hall’s affiliations prior to AD&Co. include PopSugar and Studio71.
Amy Demas, founder and chief creative officer of AD&Co., said, “We understand content is king-—or queen—and that our clients need to engage their customer communities where they live. That inspired the logical expansion of AD&Co with Studio A, which is committed to producing only the most engaging and authentic brand stories.”
Studio A will harness both AD&Co’s and Hall’s deep expertise in the lifestyle sector, as content creators and avid consumers. Specializing in reaching audiences where they spend their time, the studio is immersed in social media, pop culture, and current trends, expertly crafting visuals, language, and storytelling to reinforce client brand identities and cut through the noise.
Studio A debuts with the “This Is Me” campaign for Love + Craft + Beauty, a brand dedicated to embracing and promoting diversity within the beauty space. “This Is Me” highlights Gen Z’s affinity for radical self-expression that allows individuals to tell their own stories, free from labels, using beauty and fashion as tools of authenticity. The campaign showcases models celebrating their unique qualities to present... Read More