Advertising Icon George Lois to receive 2013 CLIO Lifetime Achievement Award

NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The CLIO Awards, among the world's most recognized international advertising, design and communications competitions, today announced that legendary adman George Lois will receive this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. He will be honored May 15th at the 54^th annual CLIO Awards ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

"George Lois is a legend among the pantheon of advertising greats and there is no one more worthy of this Lifetime Achievement Award," said Nicole Purcell, executive director, CLIO Awards. "He is the genuine living, breathing example of what the CLIO Awards strive to recognize: groundbreaking work, limitless creativity and the courage to always be asking, 'What's next?'"

Considered America's "master communicator" and one of the most prolific advertising communicators of the last half century, Lois is credited as the pioneer of the Creative Revolution in the U.S. advertising industry in the 1960s – a time that changed the world of communications forever and brought a new young breed of advertising that had style, energy and a sense of humor.

Among Lois' most significant contributions to this era and to American culture were the 92 covers he produced for Esquire Magazine, 38 of which are now housed as a permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art. His controversial cover art— exhibiting Andy Warhol drowning in a can of Campbell's soup, Muhammad Ali posed martyr-like as St. Sebastian, Nixon in lipstick and Sonny Liston, the heavyweight boxer convicted of armed robbery, posed as a black Santa Claus at a time when racial tensions gripped the nation — were iconic, bold and a true inspiration to generations of art designers.

Lois is renowned for delivering revolutionary ideas that have changed the entire direction of companies and the way America sees them. He ignited Tommy Hilfiger's career with a single billboard; breathed life into a failing cable network with his famous "I Want My MTV" slogan; made Xerox a household name in two days by partnering with a chimpanzee; persuaded America to change their oil at Jiffy Lube stations; and lead the winning ad campaigns for four U.S. senators, including Robert F. Kennedy.

Lois incited a seismic shift within advertising when he channeled the 1960s counterculture movement into a new wave of creativity that Madison Avenue hadn't experienced. This shift, Lois maintains, was only possible through a knowledge and respect for the past work of influences such as Paul Rand, one of the foremost American graphic designers of the 20th century. This respect continues to drive Lois today, exemplifying the essence of the CLIO Awards.

"I'm humbled at this incredible honor and very grateful to CLIO," said Lois. "By bringing the industry together to recognize and honor great work each and every year, the CLIO Awards help keep the spirit of our industry alive and ensure that future generations can learn from this work."

"I've always believed that the combination of talent and tenacity can solve almost any problem," he added. "It may be a new generation but the challenges are the same. To do great work you must educate yourself on the great work that preceded you, trust your creative instincts and then fight to the death for a good idea when you've got one. That's how you'll find success in this industry."

The CLIO Awards, owned by Guggenheim Digital Media, established its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Lois will join the ranks of such previous honorees as iconic director/cinematographer Tony Kaye (2001); Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO co-founder David Abbott (2002); former Ogilvy & Mather and WPP worldwide creative director Neil French (2003); global director media arts, TBWA Worldwide, Lee Clow (2004); BBH co-founder, Sir John Hegarty (2005); R/GA co-founder and chairman, Bob Greenberg (2006); Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide creative director, Bob Isherwood (2007); partner and general creative director of AlmapBBDO, Marcello Serpa (2008); Wieden + Kennedy co-founder, Dan Wieden (2009); Goodby, Silverstein & Partners co-chairman/creative directors Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein (2010); influential director Joe Pytka (2011); and Executive Chairman and Creative Director of South Asia for Ogilvy & Mather India Piyush Pandey (2012).

For more information on the upcoming CLIO Awards, please visit: http://www.clioawards.com. Follow the CLIO Awards on your favorite social networks: Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

The CLIO Awards Mission
Our mission is to honor the groundbreaking work and talent that push the boundaries of creativity. Everything we do is fueled by our passion for celebrating the power of creativity, provoking action and nurturing your vision. As the standard bearer for visionary communications, we award those creators whose work exemplifies inventive thinking. Celebrating Inspiration. Honoring Imagination. Fostering Creativity. This is the very essence of the CLIO Awards.

About The CLIO Awards
The CLIO Awards is one of the world's most recognized awards competitions for advertising, design and communications. The CLIO Awards has maintained its original commitment to celebrate and reward creative excellence, honoring a powerful form of communication and its impact on modern culture. At the same time, the CLIO Awards remains focused on evolving with the industry in order to acknowledge the most current, breakthrough work. To this day, CLIO's iconic statue is the most widely recognized and coveted symbol of the industry's creative accomplishments.

About Guggenheim Digital Media
Guggenheim Digital Media engages people and marketers at the intersection of culture’s most powerful forces—music, media and entertainment. This connectivity makes GDM a potent catalyst in influencing popular culture. Its leading assets include: music (Billboard and its related conferences and events, including the Billboard Music Awards), entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShowEast, CineAsia, and CineEurope); and advertising & marketing (Adweek, Adweek Conferences and the CLIO Awards).

Contact:

Cheryl Cook
CPR Media
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773-343-1639

Kristen Liuzzi
CPR Media
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773-484-3922

SOURCE The CLIO Awards