ADCOLOR, the organisation dedicated to celebrating and promoting professionals of colour and diversity in the creative industries, has revealed the nominees and honourees for its 15th annual awards, scheduled to take place on 8 October 2021.
Since 2007, the ADCOLOR Awards have highlighted and honoured the achievements of diverse communities in the creative industries. The awards recognise those who go above and beyond to make a difference and who embody the organisation’s mission of “Rise Up, Reach Back.”
ADCOLOR said it received a record number of submissions this year for its 10 categories accepting nominations, which included two new categories; a Music Award and TikTok Creator Award, as reported. All nominations were carefully reviewed by more than 60 elected judges who represented a diverse range of industries, titles, levels and backgrounds.
“After all we endured this past year and seeing how our community responded with meaningful work and action, we knew we would have an incredible list of talent to choose from for this year’s awards,” commented ADCOLOR Founder and President, Tiffany R Warren. “Our judges worked diligently to refine the record number of submissions into a highly-competitive list of nominees and honourees. We were so excited to unveil that list at ADCOLOR Live! and look forward to celebrating all the honourees and winners at our annual award show in October.”
HONOURING EXTRAORDINARY DE&I COMMITMENT
This year actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim will be honoured with the 2021 Beacon Award, by ADCOLOR, in partnership with Adweek. The award honours individuals of note who use their considerable platform to change the status quo in the quest for diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Adweek is thrilled to honour Daniel Dae Kim for his extraordinary commitment to advocacy on behalf of the AAPI community, particularly in the past year as prejudice towards Asian Americans increased at an alarming rate,” said Lisa Granatstein, Chief Content Officer of Adweek. “We celebrate Daniel for all his community efforts, especially for standing up when it mattered most by testifying at a Congressional hearing on anti-Asian violence.”
2021 ADCOLOR NOMINEES
The list of this year’s nominees include:
Ad of the Year
- Campaign: “A Word”
Client: Asiancy
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy - Campaign: “Bedtime Stories”
Client: Coda
Agency: Google Brand Studio - Campaign: “Give Life Back”
Client: Reform Alliance
Agency: Droga5 - Campaign: “The Show Must Go On”
Client: Amazon
Agency: Lucky Generals - Campaign: “You Love Me”
Client: Beats
Agency: Translation
ADCOLOR in Music (Leadership)
- Heather Lowery, President & CEO, Femme it Forward
- Jeff S. Harleston, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs, Universal Music Group
- Phylicia Fant, Head of Urban Music, Columbia Records
ADCOLOR in Tech
- Brandon Roots, Strategic Media Planner, Facebook
- Jewel Burks Solomon, Head of Google for Startups, Google
- Stephanie Geno, Chief Marketing Officer, Innovid
ADCOLOR | TikTok Creator
- Carlynn Greene, Journalist Intern, ABC News Live; Content Creator, Scholarship Guru
- Joel Bervell, Doctor, Medical Student
- Jonta Harris, Influencer, Content Creator, OHT Studios
Change Agent
- Aubrie Lee, Brand Manager, Naming, Google
- Christine Maggiore-Escribano, SVP, Head of One Platform Marketing, NBCUniversal
- Kevin Brady, Executive Creative Director, Droga5
Innovator
- Florian Koenigsberger, Image Equity Lead, Google
- Kristen Marston, Culture & Entertainment Advocacy Director, Color of Change
- Oyinda Elias, Multicultural Lead, TBWA\Chiat\Day\LA
Most Valuable Partnership
- Edelman & Boris L Henson Foundation
- The One Club for Creativity
- WhatsApp & Vote.org
Rising Star
- Brandon Heard, Senior Strategist, R/GA
- Briana Patrick, Senior Brand Strategist, Goodby Silverstein & Partners
- Jazmin Burrell, Creative Strategist, Snap Inc
Rockstar
- Dani Jackson, VP, Influencer & Multicultural Marketing, Edelman
- Sabrina Lynch, Senior Vice President, Taylor Strategy
- Zain Masri, Head of Brand & Reputation, MENA, Google
2021 ADCOLOR HONOUREES
The list of this year’s honourees include:
AAFCA | ADCOLOR Breakout Creative of the Year
- Michaela Coel, Actress, Screenwriter, Director, Producer and Singer
AAFCA | ADCOLOR Icon
- Viola Davis, Actress, Producer
ADCOLOR | Adweek Beacon
- Daniel Dae Kim, Actor, Producer
ADCOLOR in Music (Artist)
- H.E.R., Grammy Award-Winning Artist
ADCOLOR | One Club Creatives
- Courtney Richardson, Creative Director, Droga5
- Juan Carlos Pagan, Founding Partner & Executive Creative Director, Sunday Afternoon
Advocate
- Robyn Streisand-Luppino, Founder and CEO, The Mixx
Catalyst
- Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, Procter & Gamble
Legends
- Carla Hassan, Chief Marketing Officer, JP Morgan Chase
- Daisy Auger-Dominguez, Chief People Officer, Vice Media Group
- Michelle Lee, Global VP of Editorial and Publishing, Netflix
- Nancy Reyes, Chief Executive Officer, TBWA\Chiat\Day\NY
Lifetime Achievement
- Antonio Lucio, Principal and Founder, 5S Diversity; Executive Fellow, Yale School of Management
- Constance Cannon Frazier, Principal, Cardinal Change Consulting
- Sylvia Rhone, Chairman and CEO, Epic Records
Mr ADCOLOR
- Julian Soto, Copywriter, Kettle
Ms. ADCOLOR
- Nicole Dei, Partner Programs- Global Media Accounts, Facebook
CELEBRATING THE WINNERS
Awards including AAFCA|ADCOLOR Breakout Creative of the Year, AAFCA|ADCOLOR Icon, Advocate, ADCOLOR|Adweek Beacon, Catalyst, Legend, Lifetime Achievement and Mr/Ms/Mx ADCOLOR, honourees were chosen by ADCOLOR’s Board of Directors and respective partners.
The 2021 honourees and winners will be celebrated at the 15th Annual Award Show on 8 October in New York City. The show will close the organisation’s annual event, ADCOLOR Everywhere 2021 (from 5-8 October).
Check out last year’s winners here.
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