Guitar-Playing Astronaut, "Dumb Ways to Die" Creator Lead Surprises In This Year's Creativity 50

NEW YORK, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The kickoff to Cannes Lion season begins today as Advertising Age and Creativity reveal this year's highly anticipated Creativity 50 and the winner of the 4th annual celebration of young creative talent: The Ad Age Global Cover Contest.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130610/DE29153)

"The past year truly delighted us," said Creativity editor Ann-Christine Diaz. "Digital tools enable extraordinary creativity from traditional and non-traditional communities. It's a year in which we watched a cover of one of David Bowie's signature pieces performed from the International Space Station; were compelled by 'The Walking Dead' and 'Scandal'; learned through laughter about commuter safety; and celebrated the simplicity of Dropbox."

Among those making the Creativity 50 cut for 2013:

• Greg Nicotero, Special Effects Makeup Supervisor, Exec Producer, AMC's "The Walking Dead"
• Chris Hadfield, Astronaut
• Shonda Rhimes, Showrunner, ABC's "Scandal"
• Ruchi Sanghvi, Engineer, Dropbox
• John Mescall, Executive Creative Director, McCann Melbourne & creator of Metro's "Dumb Ways to Die"

The winner of 2013's annual Ad Age Global Cover Contest – a duo from Interpublic Group's Lowe network in Bangkok – used a blend of painstaking, handmade paper craft and Photoshop to bring their vision of the creative of the future to life. In addition to having this week's cover, both Katrina Encanto and E.J. Galang will receive a trip to the Festival.

The work of all of the cover competition finalists can now be seen on Ad Age's Web site. The cover competition brief asked for depictions of the meaning of modern creativity. Submissions were judged by Advertising Age and Creativity editorial staff.

The cover competition – in the spirit of Cannes' own "Young Lions" — was open to Advertising Age readers worldwide who are age 30 or less at the time of the festival, and drew hundreds of submissions from more than 50 countries.  Entries must be original and students and professionals from all disciplines are invited to enter. Past winners have hailed from Vietnam, India and the United States. The publication of the Creativity 50 was accelerated this year so the Creativity Issue could be distributed at the festival. 

"We want to bring young creatives to important industry gatherings and create a way to recognize their work at a stage in their careers where they may not normally have the opportunity to be recognized on an international level," said Abbey Klaassen, Advertising Age editor. "It's part of our broader commitment to covering the creative culture at a time when creativity is as important as ever to marketing and business."

To further encourage young professionals to participate in the advertising and marketing community, the Ad Age publishing group is also running a subscription special in connection with the Festival – $129 for a year of both Advertising Age and Creativity. 

Creativity is the creative community's foremost meeting place and a daily showcase for the best in brand creativity from around the world. It's also a searchable archive for the work that matters across advertising, marketing and design. The site also offers news, opinion, analysis and audience insight across all areas of consumer culture, the techniques behind the work, and insight into the people and trends shaping the industry.

Advertising Age is the leading global source of news, intelligence and conversation for the marketing and media community. Ongoing coverage of strategic topics like CMO Strategies and data-driven marketing is complemented by breaking news on digital, social media, and more. The 83-year-old media group produces more than 15 original rankings each year, including the 100 Leading National Advertisers and 100 Leading Media Companies lists, the Digital A-List, and the annual Agency Report. 

SOURCE Advertising Age