New York Festivals® announces five prominent international chief creative officers slated to participate as mentors in the first annual Torch Awards. The Torch Awards invites young creative talent from the ages of 18-25 to compete in a creative challenge: this year’s challenge is the art of the pitch. The newly launched competition encourages the next generation of creative talent to enter and review a brief outlining a marketing opportunity to assist Road Recovery, a non-profit organization. Entrants in the Pitch Challenge will compete for the chance to see their campaign selected to go live.
For the first Torch Awards creative challenge, New York Festivals has partnered with Road Recovery, a non-profit organization “dedicated to helping young people battle addiction and other adversities by harnessing the influence of entertainment industry professionals who have confronted similar crises and now wish to share their experience, knowledge, and resources.”
The mentors were recruited from the World’s Best Advertising™ Executive Jury of worldwide chief creative officers and executive creative directors. They will advocate for NYF’s commitment to the development of the next generation of creative talent by leading each of the five selected Finalist Teams in an intensive mentoring session to help them polish and perfect their pitch for a creative campaign to promote the Road Recovery mission.
The 2014 Torch Award Mentors:
Bridget Jung, Chief Creative Officer Paris & Regional Creative Director for Europe West DigitasLBi Paris, France
Chris Kyme, Chief Executive Officer, Kymechow Communications, Hong Kong
Gaston Legorburu, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, SapientNitro, USA
KV Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer, India Sub Continent Leo Burnett, India
Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer, VML, USA
The Torch Awards submission deadline is March 18th. There is no entry fee. The five Finalist Teams will be announced Monday, March 31st. Finalist Teams will convene in New York City on April 30th to present their pitch, and the Grand Winning team will be announced live at the New York Show™ gala on May 1st.
For more information on the Torch Awards and to access the 2014 brief please visit: www.newyorkfestivals.com/torchawards. For more information on Road Recovery please visit: www.roadrecovery.org.
The New York Show™ events will take place on May 1st and feature creative panel discussions, keynote speakers, networking events, the awards ceremony, and an after-party to honor the winners. All New York Show events, and the 2014 awards ceremony, will be held at the New York Public Library’s Beaux-Arts landmark Stephen A. Schwarzman building located at 455 Fifth Avenue in New York City.
NYF’s International Advertising Awards® competition is recognized worldwide as a touchstone for global creative excellence in advertising and marketing communications. Since 1957, New York Festivals has received entries from over 100 countries in all media in the following competitions: Avant-Garde, Branded Entertainment, Collateral & Direct, Creative Effectiveness, Design, Digital, Film & Film Craft, Integrated, Outdoor, Print, Public Relations, Public Service, Radio, and Student.
The 2014 competition extended Entry Deadline extension is March 12th. For more information on the 2014 competitions go to: Rules & Regulations; to enter go to Log In.
About New York Festivals®
New York Festivals organizes advertising and programming competitions for the following brands:
AME Awards World's Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness™
The Global Awards World's Best Healthcare & Wellness Advertising™
Midas Awards World's Best Financial Advertising™
New York Festivals World's Best Advertising™
New York Festivals World's Best Radio Programs™
New York Festivals World's Best TV & Films™
Entries to each of the competitions are judged around the world by panels of peers in their respective industries. For more information, go to www.newyorkfestivals.com.