• Disney has closed LucasArts, the video games business of LucasFilms, just months after completing its $4.1bn (£2.5bn) acquisition of the 'Star Wars' film maker.

Dentsu Inc. takes three Golds for Panasonic Corporation’s “Life is Electric”; New York Magazine awarded two Golds for Magazine Editorial Photography

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Advertising, Interactive, Motion, Designism and Cumulative award winners to be announced after the 92nd Annual Awards Gala on April 4

Miami Beach, FL (April 3, 2013) -- The Art Directors Club (ADC), the first global creative collective of its kind and longest standing organization championing the visual arts, tonight announced the winners of the prestigious ADC 92nd Annual Awards for the design, advertising print, illustration and photography categories. The awards were distributed during the ADC Design Night Celebration hosted by Oliviero Toscani at The Wolfsonian located in Miami Beach’s Art Deco District, during the inaugural ADC 92nd Annual Awards + Festival of Art and Craft in Advertising and Design.

This year boasted amazing judges, with talented Jury Chairs including photographer Albert Watson (Photography), illustrator and author Christoph Niemann (Illustration), Creative Partner at Williams Murray Hamm Garrick Hamm (Design) and Droga5 Executive Creative Director Ted Royer (Advertising). Each was tasked with identifying the 92nd Annual Awards entries that best represent the art and craft in advertising and design.

Gold Cubes awarded at the ADC Design Night Celebration are listed below:

Design: 45 ADC Cubes (4 Gold, 10 Silver, 18 Bronze, 13 Merit)

· Brighten the Corners & Anish Kapoor for Zumtobel Group, “Zumtobel Group Annual Report 2011/12” -- Design, Corporate/Promotional, Annual Report

· Dentsu Inc. for Panasonic Corporation, “Life is Electric” -- Design, Corporate/Promotional, Self-Promotion

· KIGI co., ltd. for DNP Foundation for Cultural Promotion, “Implosion-Explosion” -- Design, Corporate/Promotional, Miscellaneous

· Taku Satoh Design Office Inc. for Issey Miyake Inc., “Pleats Please Happy Anniversary Posters” -- Design, Poster, Promotional

Print Advertising: 17 ADC Cubes (3 Silver, 7 Bronze, 7 Merit)

· Juries did not select an ADC Gold Cube winner in the Advertising category for Print

Illustration: 14 ADC Cubes (4 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze, 5 Merit)

· Magnet Reps for Feltrinelli, “Bukowski Book Covers” -- Illustration, Book Jacket

· Dentsu Inc. for Panasonic Corporation, “Life is Electric” -- Illustration, Corporate/Institutional

· Dentsu Inc. for Panasonic Corporation, “Life is Electric” -- Illustration, Poster or Billboard Advertisement

· The New York Times Magazine for The New York Times Magazine, “The Wild Life of Silent Spring” -- Illustration, Magazine Editorial, Miscellaneous

Photography: 12 ADC Cubes (3 Gold, 2 Silver, 7 Merit)

· New York Magazine for New York Magazine, “Hurricane Sandy Cover” -- Photography, Magazine Editorial, Magazine Cover

· New York Magazine for New York Magazine, “Joe Biden Opener” -- Photography, Magazine Editorial, Miscellaneous

· Henry Leutwyler Studio for Henry Leutwyler, “Ballet by Henry Leutwyler” -- Photography, General, Book (Commercially Published)

Student: 14 ADC Cubes (2 Gold, 5 Silver, 7 Bronze)

· Auckland University of Technology, “Sample Copy: An Exploration of the Role of Copying in Design” -- Design, Book Design, Text Driven Book

· Kookmin University, “With a strange story” -- Illustration, Student Thesis

The list of winners announced at the ADC Design Night Celebration can be found at http://www.adcawards.org/designnight/. A complete list of winners for all categories will be made available following the 92nd Annual Awards Gala on April 4.

The Art Directors Club gratefully acknowledges its sponsors Adobe, iStockphoto, Pantone, 4A’s, GE, The Creative Register, Martin & Co., and the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority for their support of the ADC 92nd Annual Awards + Festival of Art and Craft in Advertising and Design.

About the Art Directors Club
Founded in 1920, the Art Directors Club is the premier organization for leaders in visual communication, boasting one of the most concentrated groups of creative talent in the world. A not-for-profit membership organization, the ADC’s mission is to Connect creative professionals around the globe, while simultaneously Provoking and Elevating world-changing ideas. The ADC provides a forum for creatives of all levels in Advertising, Design, Interactive Media and Communications to explore the direction of these rapidly converging industries.

Join the first international creative collective of its kind, and follow ADC on Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo and Pinterest.

New York, NY – March 28, 2013: The Cannes Lions advertising awards announced today that they are changing their judging system after what Advertising Age described as “Last Year’s Media-Judging Scandal” with “widespread accusations of cheating.” Now Cannes Lions has copied the New York Festivals’ four-year old judging system whereby a large jury selects the shortlist and then a jury of 30 senior judges selects the trophy winners using a new scoring system.

“It’s unfortunate an organization as large and successful as the Cannes Lions cannot improve their judging system without copying our innovations and risking another scandal and lawsuit. We created the two-tier judging system four years ago and now have a patent pending on our revolutionary matrix scoring system to protect our intellectual property from being copied by others. Both of our systems are widely heralded by the international advertising community as being revolutionary and the best judging system in the industry.” said Jim Smyth, CEO of the International Awards Group, LLC (“IAG”), which owns the New York Festivals International Advertising Awards, for the World’s Best Advertising® as well as five other international award competitions.

“As owners and organizers of award competitions it is our responsibility to create and maintain an honest and effective judging system. It is not the entrant’s responsibility. Years ago IAG designed a bulletproof system to prevent cheating because jury members are locked-out from scoring work from their own agency and or network. This preventive measure clearly demonstrates to the international advertising community, that we are the global leaders when it comes to organizing and running clean and successful award competitions, one they can truly trust.”

“Furthermore, the 370+ members on the New York Festivals Grand Jury combined with the 30+ CCO members on the Executive Jury continues to be the largest advertising jury ever assembled and combined they cast more than 330,000 votes each year in selecting the winners, an unprecedented number of votes in the annals of advertising award competitions. Our market share has grown significantly because of our innovations, which is causing shifts and reactions in the awards industry. That’s what we do, innovate. And when called upon, litigate to protect our valuable assets,” said Smyth.

This is not the first dispute between IAG and Cannes Lions. Smyth said that IAG has been engaged in an on-going dispute in Asia with Haymarket and Cannes Lions related to claims of trademark infringement regarding IAG’s AME Awards, for Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness competition, which was launched throughout the world in 1994. Haymarket now joined by Cannes, claim their Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards, also known as AME Awards in Asia, was launched in a few Asian countries around 2002 and they have been trying to bar IAG’s use of the acronym AME in Asia. However, Haymarket and Cannes have since changed the name of their competition to Festival of Asian Marketing Effectiveness and are no longer using the acronym AME.

Press inquiries should be directed to G. Mandel: [email protected] Ph: 1 212 643 4800.

International Awards Group, founded in 1957, organizes advertising and programming competitions for the following brands: AME Awards® for the World’s Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness™; Midas Awards® for the World’s Best Financial Advertising™; The Global Awards® for the World’s Best Healthcare Advertising™; New York Festivals® for the World’s Best Advertising®; New York Festivals® for the World’s Best TV & Films™; and New York Festivals® for the World’s Best Radio Programs™. Entries to each of the competitions are judged around the world by panels of peers in their respective industries. For more information, go to http://internationalawardsgroup.com/

New York, NY – March 27, 2013: New York Festivals International Advertising Awards® announced three additional appointments to the 2013 Executive Jury, bringing the total to 30. They will join an exclusive judging panel of worldwide Chief Creative Officers to select the World’s Best Advertising® across all mediums from the shortlist selected by the online Grand Jury.

Recent appointments include:

• Matt Eastwood, Chief Creative Officer, DDB New York
• Tom Eslinger, Worldwide Digital Creative Director, Executive Creative Director of Integrated Production, Saatchi & Saatchi New York
• Rob Rasmussen, Chief Creative Officer, Story Worldwide

The Executive Jury convenes April 27 – May 1st for five days of live judging to determine the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Grand winners, and the single entry worthy of being named World's Best Idea™.

“New York Festivals has assembled an elite group of 30 of the world’s most respected international CCO’s and Executive Creative Officers to judge the shortlist across all mediums; their reputations and range of creative talents, combined with NYF’s unique matrix judging system, provides all shortlisted entries with the undivided attention they deserve,” commented Michael O’Rourke, President, International Awards Group/New York Festivals.

To view the 2013 Executive Jury visit: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/NYFJuries/

Award-winning entries will be announced at the New York Show™ awards presentation on Thursday, May 2nd, 2013. The New York Show, a two-day series of creative events, will take place at the landmark New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts building, located at 455 Fifth Avenue, at 42nd Street in New York City. Festivities will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, May 1st and 2nd, and includes the Executive Jury Press Conference, keynote speakers, creative panel discussions, networking events, and exhibits of the Shortlisted work. Thursday evening features the 2013 New York Show awards ceremony and after-party to honor the winners in true New York style.

To purchase tickets for the New York Show please visit: https://www.newyorkfestivals.com/Events/

Ticket prices for the 2013 New York Show: Full Access Pass to all events, including panel sessions, screenings and awards show - $250; Award Ceremony - $100; Executive Jury Press Conference and individual panel sessions - $30 per session.

Press inquiries should be directed to Gayle Mandel: [email protected] Ph: 1 212 643 4800.

International Awards Group, founded in 1957, organizes advertising and programming competitions for the following brands: AME Awards® for the World’s Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness™; Midas Awards® for the World’s Best Financial Advertising™; The Global Awards® for the World’s Best Healthcare Advertising™; New York Festivals® for the World’s Best Advertising®; New York Festivals® for the World’s Best TV & Films™; and New York Festivals® for the World’s Best Radio Programs™. Entries to each of the competitions are judged around the world by panels of peers in their respective industries. For more information, go to http://internationalawardsgroup.com/

• The JWT India creative team responsible for a series of print ads featuring images of scantily clad bound and gagged women in the back of a Ford car, has been fired.