Gerry Graf, founder and chief creative officer of Barton F. Graf 9000, will serve as the 2014 AICP Next Awards judging chair, and emcee at the AICP Next Awards presentation. The AICP Next Awards will be held at the NYU Kimmel Center on Tuesday, June 10. It is the kickoff event for AICP Week (6/10-12), which also includes the AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the American Commercial, and the Directors Lecture Series, both at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The call for entries for the AICP Next Awards and the AICP Show are now open at: http://www.awardcore.com/aicp/login.php.
“The AICP Next Awards represent the best collection of forward-thinking work in the marketing and communications industry,” said Graf. “They recognize ideas that are shaping the future of advertising. It is truly an honor to be a part of something so innovative and to celebrate the people behind the work.”
The AICP Next Awards honor advertising across eight categories: Integrated Campaign, Viral/Web Film, Website/Microsite, Product Integration, Experiential, Mobile, Social, and Cause Marketing. One of Graf’s duties as the AICP Next Awards Judging Chair is to select a jury president for each category, who will in turn select the judges for that discipline. Serving as AICP Next Awards jury presidents for 2014 are:
Integrated Campaign – Rob Reilly, global creative chairman, McCann
Cause Marketing – Tiffany Rolfe, partner/chief content officer, Co:Collective
Experiential – Mark Waites, co-founder, Mother
Mobile – Jeff Benjamin, chief creative officer, JWT
Product Integration – Jaime Robinson, executive creative director, Pereira & O’Dell
Social – Colleen DeCourcy, executive creative director, Wieden & Kennedy
Viral/Web Film – Jeff Kling, chief creative officer, Fallon
Website/Microsite – Chloe Gottlieb, executive creative director, R/GA
“Gerry’s enthusiasm, humor and forward-thinking mentality shine through in his work. He has shown a tremendous inventive spirit, which I think makes him the perfect fit for the Next Awards,” said AICP president/CEO Matt Miller. “As a past Next Awards judge and jury president, he brings a very strong awareness and understanding to this role. His contributions and ability to recognize outstanding work is a huge asset.”
Graf launched Barton F. Graf 9000 in 2010 and is creating work for clients such as Dish Network, Kayak, Finlandia, and Little Caesars. Graf began his career at BBDO, and after a stint at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, returned to BBDO as executive creative director. He later became chief creative officer of TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York, followed by a two-year tenure at Saatchi & Saatchi New York as chief creative officer.
At the AICP Next Awards presentation, winners of the Integrated Campaign category present cases studies exploring the creative and strategic thinking behind each winning piece. The work of the AICP Next Awards winners, along with that of the honorees of the AICP Show, The Art & Technique of the American Commercial, becomes a part of the archives of The Department of Film at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More