See the Clio Awards' Salute to the Industry: 'Creativity Unmasked'

The challenges and victories of the past year, plus Grand winners, honoraries and more

It's no secret that the past year posed enormous challenges for almost every business in every industry. But it also led to remarkable problem solving from marketers well versed in using creativity to light the way in difficult times.

On Wednesday, the Clio Awards held a virtual event, "Creativity Unmasked," to celebrate the ad industry's resilience during the pandemic, its evolution on diversity, and the people and work that are setting the gold standard in the business. A dozen segments, ranging from poignant to insightful to lighthearted, captured the moment in time when advertisers learned anew how to help, and how to heal, in times of crisis.

See below to watch all the segments, including the reveal of the Grand Clio winners of 2020-2021, and our esteemed honorary award winners for this year as well.


Creativity Unmasked

Click the links to see individual segments

1. Empty Spaces
2. The Zoom Shoot
3. Creativity That United Us
4. The Met Unframed AR Experience
5. Clio and Burger King Student Award Winner
6. Equity
7. Storytelling Award: Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York
8. Connection With a Purpose
9. Grand Clio Award Winners Reveal
10. Behind the Muse ... by Clio
11. Clio Awards "Of The Year" Winners Reveal


Empty Spaces

In this visual love song to the advertising industry, a contemporary dance fairy unleashes into the empty offices of the country's biggest ad agencies and, in a powerful performance, adapts and transforms herself as the ad world has adapted and transformed in 2020.

CREDITS

Directed by Alex Gorosh
Production Company: Hungry Man
Executive Producer/Managing Partner - Mino Jarjoura
Executive Producer - Caleb Dewart
Line Producer - Lauren Lukacsko 
Dancer/Choreographer: Bri Butler
Editor - RJ Buckley
Music - Beacon Street Studios
Post Producer - Franchesca McDowell

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The Zoom Shoot

In this sketch comedy short, a young PA struggles to guide talent through a commercial shoot as he's directed by the client, agency, director and several other crew members over a nightmare Zoom call.

CREDITS

Written, Directed and Produced by Ghost + Cow
Production Company: Greenpoint Pictures
Line Produced by Amalia Bradstreet
DP: Daniel Wills
1st AC: Anthony Marotta
Swing: Ben Scofield 
Art Director: Tommy Dobrzynski
Sound mixer: Turner Curran
Covid Compliance Officer: Melisa Breiner-Sanders
PA: Will Ramos
Edited by Geordie Anderson
VFX and Graphics by Tim Mearini
Mix House: Sonic Union
Mix Producer: Carolyn Mandlavitz 
Sound Design + Mix: Owen Shearer
Executive Creative Producer, Sonic Union: Halle Petro
Music track provided by Asche & Spencer
Music Supervisor: Matt Locher

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Creativity That United Us

When the world closed in 2020 the ad industry kept the dialogue open—disrupting gender stereotypes, challenging racial norms, connecting an isolated world, and compelling people to let their voices be heard. Through a living collage of platform-specific ads—playing on the screens of an infinitely diverse audience—we'll create a tribute to pushing the conversation forward and finding light in dark times.

CREDITS

Made by Greencard New York
Directed by Andrew Zuchero 
Executive Producer - Emily Wiedemann 
Executive Producer - Chazz Carfora
Executive Producer - Dani Zeitlin
Produced by - Chazz Carfora
Edited & VFX by Andrew Zuchero 
Music Composition by Joshua P Jacober 
Audio Mix by Joshua P Jacober 

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The Met Unframed AR Experience

From the initial idea through execution, we explore exactly how "The Met Unframed" provided their audience the opportunity to experience art in such innovative new ways, re-envisioning what it means to visit a museum, even when you can't physically step inside. The Met partnered with 140-Verizon's in-house creative agency to create this innovative experience during a time when people needed inspiration the most.

CREDITS

Made by Greencard New York
Directed by Aaron Wesner
Executive Producer - Emily Wiedemann 
Executive Producer - Chazz Carfora
Executive Producer - Dani Zeitlin
Produced by - Chazz Carfora
Edited by - Todd Thoenig 
VFX by Tony Borden
Post Audio - Pomann Sound, NYC
Sound Mixer - Justin Kaupp

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Clio and Burger King Student Award Winner

As part of the 2020-2021 Clio Awards competition cycle, Burger King created a specialty Student Innovation medium with a creative brief that challenged entrants to develop an execution that authentically spoke to the gaming community.  We revealed the winning team that earned a Gold Clio and a trip to Miami to work as Honorary members of the Burger King creative team to further develop the next gaming activation.

CREDITS

Director: JERA
Agency: DAVID Miami
Global CCO & Partner: Pancho Cassis
Global COO: Sylvia Panico
Managing Director: Ricardo Honegger
Group Creative Director: Fernando Pellizzaro, Jean Zamprogno
Jr. Art Director: Sera Takata
Jr. Copywriter: Jared Schermer
Interns:  Ben Jackson, Evan Solomon, Chris Bishop and John Bennett
Head of Account: Luiza Prata Carvalho
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Paula Vampre
Executive Producer: Carlos Torres
Associate Producer: Margarita Castro
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Barbara Karalis
Business Affairs Manager: Elizabeth Torriente
CLIENT: BURGER KING 
Cosmo Street Editorial (Editorial & Finishing):
Editor: Alexandra Jimenez
Producer: Tina Evanow
Head of Production: Marie Mangahas
EP/ Managing Partner: Yvette Cobarrubias 
Music Company: BMG Production Music 
Director, Creative & Business Development: Alyssa Goto
Senior Coordinator, Creative & Music Services: Corina Kim

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Equity

In the style of a visual essay, iconic moments, imagery, and quotes from the past year address the heightened attention around diversity and inclusion. Ultimately, we explore how advertising responded to 2020 regarding issues of equity, both onscreen and behind the scenes. Advertising has the power and the reach to take responsibility for shifting the culture. This piece outlines how mass communication is the tool that we can use to change perceptions in a conversation that is just starting.

CREDITS

Directed by Shahana Khan
Managing Director: Geno Imbriale
Head of Sales: Jack Strachan
Executive Producer: Kate Aspell
Producer: Maya Tanaka
Editors: Catrin Hedstrom, Giga Shane
Gfx: Fredy Delgado
Narrated by: Asha Etchison
With the voices of: Danny Robinson, Cam Kirk, Pamala Buzick, Thiago Cruz, Cathy Chan Butler, and Katie Longmyer
Voice Over Casting: SonicUnion
Sound Mix: Paul Vītoliņš,Bang Studios 
Researcher: Tim Anderson
Writer and Additional Research: Michael Perkins

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Storytelling Award:
Brandon Stanton, Humans of New York

Storytelling is a part of the human fabric. And there are stories all around us – ones that entertain, delight, sadden, and anger. But perhaps the best kind of stories are those that inspire, and ultimately are powerful enough to change the world. This piece is a celebration of the masterful storytelling that Brandon Stanton brought to us through Humans of New York, one of his most viral stories being that of Ms. Stephanie aka Tanqueray, a 76-year-old former stripper. Suddenly unable to approach subjects on the street due to the 2020 pandemic, Brandon had to readjust the way that he connected with people. In a time when we only had our screens, Brandon created intimacy for his audience over the internet. The result was a unifying tapestry of uplifting stories in a time we needed them the most. 

CREDITS

Directed by Shahana Khan
Managing Director: Geno Imbriale
Head of Sales: Jack Strachan
Executive Producer: Kate Aspell
Editors: Scott Hanson, Giga Shane
Gfx: Fredy Delgado
With the voices of: Brandon Stanton, Ms. Stephanie aka Tanqueray, Nilo Tabrizy, Walter Thompson-Hernandez, and Jasper Lo

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Connection With a Purpose

Told through the eyes of middle school students, this piece explores the significant impact of Verizon's Innovative Learning (VIL) program in bridging the digital divide ubiquitous to America's most under-resourced communities. By providing the necessary technology and digital literacy to our most important demographic: kids, VIL has spent the last decade empowering our future generations to excel in a digitally connected world The VIL program partnered with 140-Verizon's in-house creative agency.

CREDITS

Directed by Aubrey Smyth
Executive Producer: Lauren Wohl
Producer: Emily Bennett

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Grand Clio Award Winners Reveal

The Clio Awards celebrate the most creative advertising from around the globe. A jury of the industry's most influential minds have determined the recipients of the 2020/2021 awards and the winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Clio statues were announced on April 21, but we saved the reveal of our highest honor for this moment in the show. Viewers of this segment learned which pieces of Gold-winning work has been deemed by the jury to be "head and shoulders above the rest" and elevated to Grand Clio status.

CREDITS

Production Company: Phoenix Media Group

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Behind the Muse ... by Clio

For all the changes in advertising over the past few decades, one thing has remained constant—the central, inimitable power of creativity to drive business. That idea was the driving force behind the creation of Muse by Clio, a content platform devoted solely to creativity.  A platform for creatives, by creatives.  In this piece, we explore exactly how Muse delivers on their brand's promise to "dig deeper" into creative through stories/series that explore and celebrate the work, the people and the process of creativity at the highest level.

CREDITS 

Made by Greencard New York
Directed by Chell Stephen
Executive Producer - Emily Wiedemann 
Executive Producer - Chazz Carfora
Executive Producer - Dani Zeitlin
Produced by - Chazz Carfora
Edited by Chell Stephen 
VFX by Darius Turbak
Post Audio - Pomann Sound, NYC
Sound Mixer - Diana David
Behind The Muse (live interview shoot)
Made by Greencard New York
Directed by Chell Stephen
Executive Producer - Emily Wiedemann 
Executive Producer - Chazz Carfora
Executive Producer - Dani Zeitlin
Produced by - Chazz Carfora
Director of Photography - Jason Chau

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Clio Awards 'Of The Year' Winners Reveal

We closed out the show with the announcement of this cycle's biggest winners, the Clio Awards' Advertiser, Agency, Independent Agency, Network and Production Company Of the Year. This video highlights the award-winning work created by the dominant forces that have risen above all others in credited 2020/2021 Clio Award wins.

CREDITS

Production Company: Phoenix Media Group

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Profile picture for user Tim Nudd
Tim Nudd
Tim Nudd was editor in chief of the Clio Awards and editor of Muse by Clio from 2018 to 2023.

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