NEW YORK – New York Festivals® announced the five Torch Awards Finalist Teams selected to compete in the April 30th Pitch Challenge in New York City. The teams, comprised of 18-25 year olds, will convene April 30th and polish their pitches guided by mentors recruited from NYF’s Executive Jury. Teams will compete in a pitch challenge, presenting their campaign before a panel of prominent judges and representatives from Road Recovery Foundation. The Grand Winning team will be announced live at the New York Show™ gala on May 1st. Torch Awards Finalist Teams: • Jardin & Tessa Tessa Midgley, Copywriter and Jardin Anderson, Art Director—Rapp Melbourne, Australia • Witty Committee Melanie Leonard, Art Direction Student and Edward Miller, Copywriting Student—Miami Ad School, USA • Hot Nuggets Jessie Wilks, Copywriter and Gerardo Agbuya, Art Director—Juniper Park Toronto, Canada • DDB Beijing Xing Yu Qiu, Copywriter—Tribal Worldwide Beijing DDB China; Shi Chuan Tang, Account Executive—DDB Guaon DDB China Group; and Run Dong Liu, Designer—DDB Guaon DDB China Group • Team Ketchum Jordan Drake, Senior Media Specialist, Samantha Emrich, Account Executive, and Macaela Mackenzie, Creative Assistant—Ketchum New York, USA The Torch Awards was launched this year to champion young creative talent and invite them to compete in a creative challenge, the art of the pitch. Young creatives, age 18-25, were encouraged to enter and review a brief outlining a marketing opportunity to assist Road Recovery and a chance to see their campaign selected to go live. New York Festivals has partnered with Road Recovery, a non-profit organization “dedicated to helping young people battle addiction and other adversities by harnessing the influence of entertainment industry professionals who have confronted similar crises and now wish to share their experience, knowledge, and resources.” To view the Torch Award Mentors and Judges click HERE. For more information on the Torch Awards visit: www.newyorkfestivals.com/torchawards. For more information on Road Recovery please visit: www.roadrecovery.org.
