Here Are the Winners of the 2023 Adcolor Awards

Industry awards shows are known for being uplifting affairs, and Adcolor’s weekend gathering in Los Angeles did not skimp on its displays of positivity, pomp and passion. 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.” Adcolor founder and president Tiffany R. Warren noted 'persistent barriers' to inclusivity. “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. Claudine James, named Adcolor Influencer, has nearly 6 million global followers for her TikTok lessons on grammar and other subjects. 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

Awards & Honors

Here Are the Winners of the 2023 Adcolor Awards

Saturday's ceremony featured pomp and positivity, along with harsh truisms about the state of DEI in the work world

T.L. Stanley

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

T.L. Stanley