NYF’s Advertising Awards launches new ‘Mad For This Ad’ initiative; VMLY&R’s Debbi Vandeven chooses Colenso BBDO’s “I’m Drinking It For You”

New York Festivals International Advertising Awards has launched Mad For This Ad, a new initiative to celebrate and reward great work before it’s even entered.

Debbi Vandeven, global chief creative officer at VMLY&R, selected Colenso BBDO as the first Mad For This Ad winner for its campaign “I’m Drinking It For You,” a hilarious valentine R&B music video created for client DB Export’s low carb beer.

Says Vandeven: “Different expressions of creativity are what fuels us in this business. So, when Susan Glass Ruse and Scott Rose and the team at New York Festivals asked me to contribute to their newly launched Mad For This Ad initiative, I thought it was a wonderful chance to honor a piece of work that recently captured my attention.”

Says Susan Glass Ruse, executive director, New York Festivals Advertising Awards: “The idea came from one of our Advisory Board members, Fede Garcia, Global ECD at HUGE. NYFA is all about celebrating and rewarding great work. With Mad For This Ad we get to do more of that before the competition even closes. Seeing a preview of creative work that’s impressing industry leaders before the awards season is an exciting indicator of what’s to come. The chosen campaigns are also rewarded with a free entry into NYFA, which is icing on the cake.”

Says Garcia: “It was an incredible honor to be invited to join the NYFA Advisory Board. I’ve always felt that it’s incredibly important to highlight and celebrate the kind of work that should inspire our industry. In trying to find an idea to celebrate work throughout the year, I worked with the team at the NYFA to find a way to regularly showcase the work that holds the level of excellence we should aspire to reach every day.”

Says Vandeven: “Congratulations to the team at Colenso BBDO! I often ask our creatives around the world to put everything they are into everything they do, so it’s my honor to celebrate a team who used their unique gifts of song to do just that. Thank you for sharing your humor, your personal passions and your mastery of melody with us all.”

Says Max McKeon, creative director, Colenso BBDO: “‘I’m Drinking It For You’ is the perfect non-cocktail of insight, humour and love. So, it’s great to see international talent like Debbi Vandeven and The New York Festivals recognising the work. Beth, Thom, Levi, Wortho, Ahmad, Rob and all the James’ will be raising a relatively carb-free glass to this. Thanks to DB for seeing what it could be and The Sweet Shop for making it what it is.”

Says Scott Rose, competition management and development, New York Festivals Advertising Awards: “Because hindsight isn’t always 2020, we created this initiative to celebrate great work before it’s entered. The recommendations from these respected industry AdHunters is exciting because it’s sharing a worldview of creative work that is resonating with executive across the globe.”

Each week a handpicked globally respected executive will serve as AdHunter for NYF and choose an ad that captures their attention. NYF honors their selection with a complimentary entry into the 2020 New York Festivals Advertising Awards and showcases the great work that has earned accolades from their colleagues. To view the weekly Mad For This Ad selection please visit: HERE.

The 2020 New York Festivals Advertising Awards deadline to enter is December 16, 2019. To enter please visit HERE and for more information please visit: HERE.