ADCOLOR, the organisation dedicated to celebrating and promoting professionals of colour and diversity in the creative industries, has unveiled the winners of its 14th Annual Awards. The first-ever ADCOLOR virtual ceremony was hosted by comedian, actress and writer Aida Rodriguez yesterday (September 10).
“Rodriguez honoured the Co-Creators of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, as well as prominent figures and many other industry titans,” said the organiser. As a special addition to the night, the virtual celebration included performances by Grammy Award-winning artist Anthony Hamilton and Grammy-nominated artist MAJOR.
“ADCOLOR Award Nominees and Honorees are carefully selected from a large population of diverse influencers across the creative industries,” added the organiser. “They are those who go above and beyond to make a difference and embody the organisation’s call to ‘Rise Up, Reach Back’ [as reported]. Those honoured not only excel in their own careers, but also give back to the community and support their peers.”
2020 ADCOLOR AWARD WINNERS
This year’s list of this honorees and winners are as follows:
BEACON AWARD
The Beacon Award, presented by Adweek, honours individuals of note who use their considerable platform to change the status quo in the quest for diversity, equity and inclusion.
- HONOREE: Alicia Garza, Co-Creator, Black Lives Matter Global Network; Principal, Black Futures Lab
- HONOREE: Opal Tometi, Co-Creator, Black Lives Matter Global Network
- HONOREE: Patrisse Cullors, Co-Creator, Black Lives Matter Global Network
CATALYST AWARD
The ADCOLOR Catalyst Award is presented to an individual (or organisation) of note who uses his or her platform to serve as the voice of a cause or community – educating and inspiring current and future generations of advertising, marketing, media, PR and entertainment professionals.
- HONOREE: Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, The Recording Academy
- HONOREE: ColorComm, Inc., Women of Color in Communications
ADVOCATE AWARD
The Advocate Award recipient is an LGBTQ advertising, marketing or media professional who increases awareness of LGBTQ advertising, marketing and/or causes within and outside of the creative industries.
- HONOREE: Damon Jones, Chief Communications Officer, Proctor & Gamble
- HONOREE: Don Lemon, Anchor, CNN
LEGEND AWARD
The ADCOLOR Legend Award is presented to a seasoned industry veteran. He/she is a trailblazer who pushed the boundaries and created positive change, setting the stage for other generations to take the opportunities made by this legend even further.
- HONOREE: Alvin Bowles, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions & Partnerships, Facebook
- HONOREE: Soon Mee Kim, EVP, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader, Porter Novelli
- HONOREE: Tiffany Smith-Anoa’I, EVP Entertainment Diversity & Inclusion, West Coast, ViacomCBS
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to inductees into the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement. Their inspiring stories of professional and personal success exemplify Rising Up and Reaching Back.
- HONOREE: Renetta McCann, Chief Inclusion Experience Officer, Publicis Groupe
- HONOREE: Warrington Hudlin, Founding President, Black Filmmaker Foundation
AAFCA ADCOLOR CREATIVE TO WATCH AWARD
The AAFCA ADCOLOR Breakout Creative of the Year Award honors a creative of color whose career in its early stages demonstrates a vision and commitment to diverse and inclusive stories that reset and disrupt the industry across multiple platforms.
- HONOREE: Janet Mock, Writer, Author, Producer, Director, Activist
ADCOLOR | ONE CLUB CREATIVE AWARD
The One Club | ADCOLOR Creative Award recipients are creative professionals of multicultural background who have demonstrated noteworthy talent and achievement within the media, creative, digital and traditional advertising disciplines.
- HONOREE: Ivellisse Morales, CEO & Founder, bombilla
- HONOREE: Soham Chatterjee, Global Creative/ACD WhatsApp – Creative X at Facebook
THE AD OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Ad of the Year is a campaign or single execution that is truly brilliant. That pushes boundaries, promotes conversation and highlights the lives of multicultural, LGBT and/or other under-represented Americans in the mass media.
- WINNER: “True Name” McCann and Mastercard
ADCOLOR IN TECH
The ADCOLOR in Tech Award recipient is a champion of diversity & inclusion in the tech industries, who has pushed the boundaries and created positive change, setting the stage for other generations to take the opportunities made by this change agent, even further.
- WINNER: Andrea Belalcazar, Programme Manager, Infra Diversity & Inclusion, Facebook
CHANGE AGENT AWARD
A Change Agent is the individual within a company who is using his/her talents and position to enhance the corporate culture and create a more inclusive environment – calling attention to the talents of all types of people. This can be part of or beyond the scope of that persons’ primary role.
- WINNER: Chanel Cathey, Founder and CEO, CJC Insights LLC
INNOVATOR AWARD
An Innovator is an employee who embodies progress and imagination. He/she stands out among peers as an inclusion game changer and brilliant pioneer in their role, creating breakthrough developments and/or improvements, whether tangible or intangible.
- WINNER: Kudzi Chikumbu, Director, Creator Community, TikTok
ROCKSTAR AWARD
A Rockstar is someone who, whether through their primary role or extracurricular activities, shows brilliance as a leader and visionary in the industry. He/she has a positive track record and the potential to accomplish so much more. Falling in between the Rising Star and the Legend, this individual is creating his or her own path and encouraging others to shine.
- WINNER: Supriya Venkatesan, Content Strategy Director, Critical Mass
RISING STAR AWARD
A Rising Star is an up-and-coming young gun with less than seven years of experience. He/she stands out among his/her peers as someone who is brilliant, whose personality shines and whose differences only make him/her and those around them stronger as they move forward in their career.
- WINNER: Nayantara Dutta, Senior Content Strategist, McCann Worldgroup; Founder, Unapologetically Muslim
MOST VALUABLE PARTNERSHIP AWARD
The Most Valuable Partners (MVP) are two people/companies that work together to provide exceptional and highly effective diversity solutions within their organizations and industries. They may be an agency, marketer, media company or diverse supplier with NMSDC or WBENC certification that teams up for a short or long-term project that furthers diversity and inclusion.
- WINNER: AT&T and THE 360 AGENCY
Check out the ADCOLOR website for more information on the honorees and winners.
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