GLOBAL – NEW YORK, USA, MARCH 2011 – New York Festivals International Advertising Awards will honor legendary advertising executive Keith Reinhard, Chairman Emeritus of DDB Worldwide, with the prestigious NYF Lifetime Achievement Award on May 5 in New York City
The NYF Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes prominent industry leaders whose accomplishments and contributions have advanced the field of advertising and made a lasting impression on the creative community.
"I’m very honored by this recognition, especially because it comes from a festival that bears the name of the city I believe to be the world’s center of culture and creativity—a city I’m proud to call home," said Reinhard.
During his days as a working creative, Reinhard was responsible for McDonald’s “You Deserve a Break Today” and for the Big Mac tongue twister, “Two-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions—on a sesame seed bun,” as well as State Farm’s long running theme, “Just Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There.”
In 1986, Reinhard was one of the architects of the advertising industry’s first and only three-way merger, creating Omnicom, which today ranks as one of the world’s largest advertising and marketing services holding company.
Concurrent with the creation of Omnicom, Reinhard accomplished the merger of Doyle Dane Bernbach and Needham Harper Worldwide to create the present network, DDB Worldwide, which ranks among the world’s largest and most creative advertising agency networks, with 200 offices in 90 countries. Under his fifteen-year tenure as chairman and CEO, DDB produced award-winning work for a long list of blue-chip clients, including Anheuser-Busch, Volkswagen, McDonald’s, Diesel, Philips Electronics, and many more.
Reinhard is member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, and Advertising Age has referred to him as the advertising industry’s “soft-spoken visionary.” In 1999, he was named by Advertising Age as one of the top 100 industry influentials in advertising history.
“Keith Reinhard is the reason I joined DDB. He is the personification of the magic that made DDB so special and so different throughout the last decades,” said Amir Kassaei, DDB Worldwide chief creative officer. “But he is more than that. He is the best proof that you can be a charismatic and visionary leader by being a great human being who lives every day the principles of humanity and creativity.”
The NYF International Advertising Awards takes place in New York City on May 4 and 5. The festival will feature keynote speakers, including a presentation entitled “Creativity Whatever!” by Keith Reinhard. In addition, there will be creative panel discussions, screenings, and gallery exhibits, as well as the presentation of the NYF Lifetime Achievement Award and 2011 NYF Advertising Awards winners.
For more information, visit www.newyorkfestivals.com.
Keith Reinhard image by Chris Casaburi
