The New York Festivals Advertising Hall of Fame Award is presented to those who have had a profound impact on the advertising industry. It is dedicated to those who have gone beyond the expectations of their peers, to those who have inspired others, and most likely made others sit back in their chairs and wish they had come up with their ideas. The NYF Hall of Fame selects prominent industry luminaries whose personal excellence, leadership and extraordinary contributions have made a lasting impression on the advertising creative community and who have influenced the profession in a significant way. It is our honor to pay tribute to them.
 Tom Burrell 2012 Inductee Tom Burrell 2012 Inductee
Tom Burrell, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Burrell Communications, is a legend and trailblazer in both the advertising world, and now, as an acclaimed author and activist. His mark is indelibly imprinted on our collective memory and consciousness, as he was the chief visionary and pioneer of some of the most memorable moments in advertising and media history. And now, with the advent of his stunning new book, BRAINWASHED: Challenging The Myth of Black Inferiority, Burrell lends his expertise and media savvy to the conversation on race.
In 1971, Mr. Burrell established Burrell Communications, a ground-breaking advertising agency that was one of the first in the world to recognize the unique qualities of the African American market. Burrell famously coined the phrase, "Black people are not dark-skinned white people," and succeeded in creating some of the most famous campaigns in advertising history, including campaigns for McDonald's and Coca Cola products. A reel of Burrell's advertisements for Coca-Cola is currently archived at the Library of Congress for its historical significance. Burrell Communications continues to be a marquis name in the advertising world. Mr. Burrell has garnered numerous prestigious awards and accolades, including: Advertising Person of the Year, the coveted Albert Lasker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Advertising, DuSable Museum's HistoryMaker Award, and the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. Advertising Age named Mr. Burrell one of "50 Who Made A Difference" in its special issue, "50 Years of TV Advertising." In "The Advertising Century," issue, the publication designated him among the "Top 100 Advertising People" who have shaped the course of advertising history. In 2004, he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame. Mr. Burrell, who is legally blind, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication and work with the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. He is recognized as an inspiration and role model within the differently-abled community. Mr. Burrell retired from the advertising industry in 2004 to pursue his career as an author and activist. His highly acclaimed first book, BRAINWASHED: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority has sparked a lively and international conversation on race and the role of advertising and media in the perpetuation of racism and race-based self-esteem issues. BRAINWASHED was named one of the "65 Greatest Books" in Ebony Magazine's 65th anniversary issue, Jet Magazine's Editorial Pick, and has received rave reviews by Newsweek's Ellis Cose, Black Enterprise Magazine, Essence Magazine's Susan Taylor, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Dr. Cornel West, and many more. Most recently, Burrell was awarded the Revolutionary Award by ImageNation for his work with his non-profit, The Resolution Project, an organization that combats negative images of blacks in the media with education, awareness and positive new media. Tom Burrell speaks to audiences all over the world on the subjects of Diversity, African American issues, Advertising and Media, and Achieving Success Against All Odds.  Bob Carr 2011 Inductee Bob Carr 2011 Inductee
BobCarrhasbeencuttingthingstogetherforaslongashecanremember. Stringingscenessometimessequentially--juxtaposingwordsandpicturesin amannerthatmovesastoryforwardinasmartandinterestingwayistheman's stockandtrade. DoitrightlikeBobCarrdoesitandtheaccoladespourin: 3goldclios,agoldlion,hugos--aboatloadofindustryawards. OnefamousandcantankerousChicagocreativedirectorsumsupBobthisway: "IloveCarr.Healwayscutsaspotthewayheseesit.Then,whenyou'refoolish enoughtoaskhimtorecutitinadifferentway--namely,you'reway,he'lldothattoo. Bobisgreattoworkwith."
Thoughanavidsportsfanandformercoach,Carrisawell-knownworkaholic. HehasservedontheBoardofDirectorsfortheChicagoChapterofA.I.C.E.and waspresidentofthatorganizationfrom1997to2001. Bobboaststwosonsandadaughterandisespeciallyproudofhistwo-year-oldgranddaughterwhosenameisLily. Theyaretight.  Bob Giraldi 2011 Inductee Bob Giraldi 2011 Inductee
Bob Giraldi brings an independent hand to everything he touches. Whether it's music videos, films, commercials, education or restaurants, his distinctive influence is immediately felt in all his projects.
One of the original "Mad Men", Giraldi was a creative director at the famous Y&R Ad Agency, winning numerous awards and in the middle of the early advertising creative revolution, earning him the distinction of being named as one of "101 Stars Behind 100 Years of Advertising". He has gone on to direct over 4,000 commercials. Giraldi set the tone for music videos in the early MTV days. His unique visual and musical storytelling abilities were first seen in Michael Jackson's "Beat It". The video swept the country and won numerous awards including that year's coveted American Music Award, the Billboard Music Award and the People's Choice Award. Working with music luminaries such as Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ricky Martin, Hall & Oates and Will Smith, he continued to win, acclaim and define the future of the medium with videos like "Say, Say, Say," "Love is a Battlefield," "Running with the Night," "Don't Drive Drunk," "Hello," and "Just The Two of Us". His short film, "The Routine", premiered at Sundance and won Best Drama at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. Another short, "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, is now in MoMA's permanent collection. His latest short, "The Grey Coat," is a NY story of a hardworking immigrant Korean family being extorted by two dirty cops and the emergence of an unlikely hero. The film is currently making the festival circuit, and was recently chosen to screen at the Hampton's International Film Festival and the San Diego Asian American Film Festival. "Second Guessing Grandma", 2008, examines the coming out of a twenty-something to his 83 year-old grandmother. At the 27th Annual Chicago International Film Festival, "Second Guessing Grandma" received the Jury Award for Short Narrative. In addition, it won the Audience Award for Best Short at the Fresno Reel Pride Festival, one of the largest gay and lesbian film festivals in the United States. The short film was also hand-selected to be in the new Google YouTube Screening Room, after it was the #3 most viewed video of the 2008 holiday season. Bob 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. This film clearly has had an influence on several present day reality restaurant series. 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." Giraldi's independent films have also garnered numerous awards and have found their way into collections as diverse as the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Museum of Modern Art. He has been Inductee into the NY Art Director's Hall of Fame, one of the few film directors to be honored. In 1995, Giraldi and his executive producer, Patti Greaney, created the original website; StarChefs.com, featuring celebrity chefs and cookbook authors. StarChefs.com continues to be the foremost website used by professionals and food aficionados. His new media division has created the Out of Hand Festival, an International contest and partnership with the School of Visual Arts for content created by students around the world devoted to the art and technology of mobile phones. Students from 80 countries responded to the call. It's most recent project is a new mobile phone app; Rush Hour Meals and Cocktail Dog. Always hungry for something new, Giraldi, threw his hat into the New York restaurant ring, by opening Jo-Jo with Jean Georges Vongerichten in the early ‘90′s. Giraldi then helped start the Jean-Georges 4-star namesake restaurant as well as Vong and its London and Hong Kong outposts. Giraldi was also co-owner in Patria and Mercer Kitchen, both of which received 3 stars from The New York Times. His Tuscan fare eatery BREADTribeca has earned 2 Stars from The New York Times and his Diablo Royale has become a popular taqueria among young people in the West Village. Both Gigino Trattoria and Gigino at Wagner Park remain Italian favorites in Tribeca for over 10 years. Mr. Giraldi has been on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts for over thirty years. He is currently the Chair of SVA's newly formed MPS Live Action Short Film Program. The graduate program celebrates the truly independent art of filmmaking, honoring first-time filmmakers, instructing them about the history of short film, and outfitting them with the creative, technical, and critical tools needed to impart their artistic visions. Mr. Giraldi lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter.  Keith Reinhardt 2011 Inductee Keith Reinhardt 2011 Inductee
Keith Reinhard is Chairman Emeritus of DDB Worldwide, which ranks among the world's largest and most creative advertising agency networks with 206 offices in 96 countries. DDB has won more Grand Prix in the 50-year history of the International Advertising Festival in Cannes than any other agency. As a working creative man, Keith was responsible for McDonald's "You Deserve a Break Today" and for the Big Mac tongue twister, "Two-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions--on a sesame seed bun." He also penned State Farm's long running theme, "Just Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There."
In 1986 Keith was one of the architects of the advertising industry's first and only three-way merger, creating Omnicom, which today ranks as the world's largest advertising and marketing services holding company. Concurrent with the creation of Omnicom, Keith accomplished the merger of Doyle Dane Bernbach and Needham Harper Worldwide, first known as DDB Needham Worldwide and now DDB Worldwide. A member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, Advertising Age has referred to Keith Reinhard as the advertising industry's "soft-spoken visionary" and in 1999 named him one of the top 100 industry influentials in advertising history. Many of the media and compensation concepts first enunciated by Keith are now common practices in the industry. In 2004 Keith founded Business for Diplomatic Action, Inc., a not-for-profit private sector effort to enlist the U.S. business community in actions aimed at improving the standing of America in the world. As president of this organization, Keith has testified to the U.S. Congress and has been broadly featured in the media, from the BBC to The Daily Show, Fox News, CNN, CNBC, and in publications such as The Economist, Fast Company, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the International Herald Tribune and The Financial Times, among others. Keith has contributed generously of his time and talents to a broad range of initiatives. He chairs the marketing committee of Sesame Workshop and co-chairs the marketing committee for Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is a past chairman of Union Theological Seminary in New York and past chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Keith is on the faculty and board of advisors of the Berlin School of Creative Leadership in Berlin, Germany. He is a member of the steering committee of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY) and serves on the advisory boards of Duke University's Center on Leadership and Ethics, the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California and the Johns Hopkins Prostate Cancer Center. Keith is the father of seven children. He and his wife, Rose-Lee, live in Manhattan.  Akira Kagami 2010 Inductee Akira Kagami 2010 Inductee
Known to many as ‘the big guy from Dentsu', Akira Kagami is a landmark in the creative crowd.
Being employed for over 30 years by a varied agency like Dentsu gave Akira the opportunity to work on almost every category imaginable. One could say this depth of experience led him to his most recent mission and role: to go beyond his responsibilities as a specialist in creative and to create a catalytic scheme for global communication design. Through all his work at Dentsu, he has picked up numerous prizes, including at Cannes, Clio, and One Show, as well as the Grand Prix for three times at ADFEST. He has served on the jury at Cannes, Clio, One Show, D&AD, New York Festivals Executive Jury, Media Spikes, and many other international awards. He has also chaired the judging panel at ADFEST, Outdoor Lions at Cannes, and Craft Jury at Spikes. Many will already know Akira as a regular presenter of the ‘Asian Diversity' seminar presented annually by Dentsu at Cannes Lions. He has spoken at numerous international award shows and seminars about Asian advertising, aiming to attract global attention to its diversity and dynamism. In his spare time, he is an acclaimed author and translator of science-fiction books.  Joe Sedelmaier 2010 Inductee Joe Sedelmaier 2010 Inductee
Born May 31, 1933 in Orrville, Ohio, Sedelmaier attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago.
He began his career as an Art Director for the advertising agencies of Young & Rubicam and J. Walter Thomson in Chicago. During these years Sedelmaier produced and directed the short films "Mrofnoc" and "Because, That's Why" that won numerous awards and honors, including the London Film Festival (top award for outstanding short subject), the San Francisco Film Festivals (Golden Gate Award, and the Mannheim Film Festivals (Golden Ducat).
Starting his own production company in 1967, Sedelmaier built an international reputation for his highly prixed direction of humorous television commercials for such clients as Federal Express (including the "Fast Talking Man"), Alaska Airlines, Mr. Coffee, Aamco, Avis (Great Britain), Tang (France), and the creation of the famous "Where's the Beef" commercial for Wendy's. Sedelmaier's commercial work has garnered countless Clio Awards, Gold Lions, and numerous awards for the One Show, Chicago Film Festival (Golden Hugo), the New York Festivals, Communication Arts, Britain's D&AD, the Hollywood MBS--and in 200 he Inductee into The New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. More recently his film "OpenMinds" was an official selection in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.  Neil French 2009 Inductee Neil French 2009 Inductee  Graham Warsop 2009 Inductee Graham Warsop 2009 Inductee
Graham, an Englishman, entered advertising via a legal background - he's a qualified barrister with a Master's degree in law from Cambridge University.
After two years in the advertising business (as a copywriter in a South African agency), he founded The Jupiter Drawing Room, a beyond-the-line advertising agency with a strong emphasis on creativity and craftsmanship. In the years that followed, The Jupiter Drawing Room would become one of the world's most awarded independent agencies. Today, The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa) has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town and is consistently ranked as one of South Africa's most creative agency groups. In 2010 it became the first independent to be voted Agency of the Decade by SA's Finweek AdReview. Graham has been Inductee into the Creative Circle Hall of Fame and measured by SA Creative Circle points, he is the most awarded Creative Director in SA advertising history. In recent years Graham has been voted the most influential figure in SA advertising by both the Financial Mail and FinWeek business publications. He has judged several international shows including Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, The World Press Awards and has chaired the Clio's Print jury as well as the Advertising and Design juries at The London International Advertising Awards (LIAA). At the LIAA 20th Anniversary Retrospective Graham received a trophy as the most awarded creative director in the 20 years of the festival. In 2010 Graham was presented with a Lifetime Achievement award by The New York Festivals. He is honored to have been invited to sit on the executive jury of The New York Festivals in 2011 and looks forward to re-acquainting himself with industry colleagues he has judged/partied with previously on various award shows. |
