Here Are the Winners of the 2023 Adcolor Awards

But along with saluting the cream of the crop in creative fields, the 17th annual event also spotlighted the harsh realities facing people of color and marginalized communities in the workplace—and, more broadly, in a divisive American environment.

“In a world where the striking down of affirmative action casts a heavy shadow over us, we are reminded of the persistent barriers that hinder true inclusivity,” Tiffany R. Warren, Adcolor founder and president, said from the stage at the J.W. Marriott LA Live. “At a time when apathy toward diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives is on the rise, we must not only acknowledge but actively counter this indifference.”

A number of the night’s honorees used their acceptance speeches to draw attention to hot button issues of the day. Jerri DeVard, founder of the Black Executive CMO Alliance, said this year’s Adcolor conference and awards tagline of “Double Down and Double Up” is vitally important as “individuals and companies who believe in the power of true diversity are under attack.”

“We’re in the fight of our lives,” said DeVard, a Lifetime Achievement honoree. “But we’re in familiar territory.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, an honoree in the Advocate category, called 2023 a “devastating year for the LGBTQ community,” noting there have been “over 500 anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures across the country, hundreds of acts of violence. And next year is on track to be even worse—not just for queer people but for all marginalized people.”

“Extremists and unchecked social media voices” are filling information gaps with hate, Ellis said, imploring the brands and executives in the room to speak out in favor of equal rights.

“The next generation of consumers and employees expect you to take a stand on the right side of history,” Ellis said.

In a message directed at his fellow marketing leaders, Steven Wolfe Pereira referenced the lip service that has left previous diversity pledges largely abandoned. He called out “all the bullshit that’s happening around this industry, where people who say they’re going to commit to diversity and then they turn a blind eye.”

“Now is the time for us to be loud, to be proud, to represent,” said Pereira, an honoree in the Legend category.

Among the attendees of the black-tie ceremony were four of the five Adweek Beacon Award winners—agency presidents at AKQA, Ogilvy, Widen+Kennedy New York and Portland—rapper, producer, DJ and philanthropist D-Nice and reps from McDonald’s, Mastercard, Google, Netflix and Intuit Mailchimp.

Winners, chosen by more than 50 elected judges, included LinkedIn, WhatsApp, The General Insurance. Honorees in non-competitive categories, picked by the Adcolor board of directors and partner companies, included music supervisor and producer Bernard Drayton and advocacy movements such as Asians in Advertising and CultureCon.

While the evening was heavy on high-profile star power from the marketing and advertising space, an educator from a small Southern town left an indelible impression in accepting the award for Adcolor Influencer.

Claudine James, who has an eye-popping 5.8 million global followers on TikTok, reminded the crowd that “teachers make all other professions possible.” She dedicated the honor to her grandchildren, her grandfather—who was not formally educated but pushed her to pursue her career—and “to all people around the world, young and old, who realize that we never stop learning.”

The Next Chapter of DEI: Shifting the Focus Back to Inclusion

Check out the full list of winners and honorees below.

2023 Adcolor Winners

AD OF THE YEAR

“The Black Elevation Map” for Black & Abroad from agency Performance Art

ADCOLOR IN TECH

Ty Heath: Director, The B2B Institute, LinkedIn

ADCOLOR INFLUENCER

Claudine James: Social Media Content Creator – TikTok

CHANGE AGENT

Charity Pourhabib: Brand Manager, Wieden+Kennedy

DEI EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

Adrianne C. Smith: SVP and Senior Partner – Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, FleishmanHillard

INNOVATOR

Tray Edwards: Creative, Wieden+Kennedy

MOST VALUABLE PARTNERSHIP (MVP)

Translation & WhatsApp

RISING STAR

Aarian Forman: Integrated Partnerships & Public Relations Strategist, The General Insurance

ROCKSTAR

Kelli Richardson Lawson: CEO, House of JOY and The SonRise Project

2023 ADCOLOR HONOREES

ADCOLOR IN MUSIC

D-Nice: DJ, rapper, producer, photographer, and philanthropist

Joi Brown: Founder, CEO, Culture Creators

ADCOLOR | ADWEEK BEACON

Tesa Aragones: President, North America, AKQA 

Jiah Choi: President, Wieden+Kennedy New York 

Jordan Muse: President, MullenLowe East

Darla Price: President, Ogilvy New York

Jason White: President, Wieden+Kennedy Portland 

ADCOLOR | ONE CLUB CREATIVES

Adam Tillman-Young: Founder, Chief Creative Officer, PASSERINE

Todd Triplett: SVP, Global Executive Creative Director, Known

ADVOCATE

Sarah Kate Ellis: President & CEO, GLAAD

Shawn Finnie: Entertainment Executive

Raquel Willis: Author, Activist, Media Strategist

CATALYST

Tariq Hassan: SVP, Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer, McDonald’s USA

Steven Wolfe Pereira: Chief Business Officer, 3Pas Studios

Talitha Watkins: President and Head, ColorCreative Management & Productions

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Jerri DeVard: Founder, Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA)

Bernard Drayton: Music Supervision & Production, Last Minute Entertainment

Helen Zia: Author and Activist, Vincent Chin Institute

MR. & MS. ADCOLOR

Mr. ADCOLOR: Carlin Dixon: Associate Director, DEI Strategy, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York

Ms. ADCOLOR: So A Ryu: Associate Design Director, Energy BBDO