The New York Festivals Advertising Awards has announced the DE&I Award winners selected by the NYF DE&I Advisory Board. The Advisory Board ensured that all entries were judged fairly and thoughtfully using the 4R Framework created by P&G. The New York Festivals DE&I Awards honour work, individuals and organisations that are taking meaningful steps to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society. The awards celebrate work that supports, protects, represents and uplifts historically underrepresented groups.
The 2022 New York Festivals Advertising Awards DE&I winners are:
Gold: Tough Turban by Zulu Alpha Kilo for Pfaff Harley-Davidson
Alpha Zulu Kilo’s Tough Turban used innovative thinking to solve a unique problem, by developing an alternative to a motorcycle helmet. With ground-breaking use of material science and empathy towards the wearer’s freedom of cultural expression, Tough Turban made sure that Sikh motorcyclists no longer had to choose between their beliefs and their safety.
Silver: Degree Inclusive by Wunderman Thompson Argentina for Unilever
Wunderman Thompson Argentina’s Degree Inclusive campaign launched Unilever’s first adaptive deodorant – the deodorant designed to include everyone, however they are able to move. The product was co-created with the disabled community to design a deodorant that’s easier to handle, easier to identify, easier to open and close, and easier to apply.
Bronze: Micropedia of Microaggressions by Zulu Alpha Kilo for Black Business and Professional Association, et al.
Alpha Zulu Kilo’s Micropedia of Microaggressions is a judgment-free online tool providing easy-to-digest information where people can unlearn their unconscious bias and make immediate changes in their daily interactions with others.
VMLY&R earned the title of DE&I Agency of the Year for its commitment to celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion in both its hiring and promotion practices and its creative campaigns.
Archana Mahadevan, VP, strategy director for DDB Chicago with the 2022 DE&I Person of the Year Award. Archana Mahadevan’s 15-year career has spanned 2 continents, India, and the US. The award-winning strategist has worked with prominent brands such as Google, State Farm, La Quinta, and the US Army. As a passionate advocate for DE&I initiatives, Mahadevan believes in leading with empathy and making deep connections with people. Within her work, she strives to bring the underrepresented “immigrant gaze” and POV to the world to create more awareness about immigrants in advertising and their unique plight and challenges.
