New York’s giant commercials industry tends to be all wrapped up in itself and when it’s spring awards time, the predictable winners are members of New York/Los Angeles companies and Chicagoans are nowhere in sight.
So the fact that the New York Festivals International Advertising Awards is anointing a Chicagoan for a once-in-a-lifetime honor is shockingly delightful news.
Veteran editor Bob Carr, of Red Car, will receive the NYF Living Legend Award, recognizing industry individuals, who have, among other accomplishments, “made a lasting impression on the creative community and who continue to influence the profession in a significant way.”
Says characteristically modest Carr, “I’m very flattered.”
But lest New Yorkers feel slighted, equally legendary spot and feature film director Bob Giraldi also receives an equally well-deserved Living Legend tribute. “It will be a double honor for me to be on the stage with him,” Carr says.
The two good friends will receive their tributes in a comparably short ceremony May 5 at 7:30 p.m., the second day of the International Advertising Festival at the dazzling new Skylight West venue, followed by an after-party.
Carr was selected by NYF’s inner circle from among the many thousands of notable and talented specialists in the global commercials industry.
Carr spent 20 years with the original Optimus (which was acquired by its present owners in the late ‘90s), rising from assistant editor to VP/senior editor of the film department. In 1993 he and three partners launched NuWorld Editorial and when they dissolved the company in 2000 Red Car founder, Larry Bridges, wasted no time in hiring Carr.
Carr’s client list reads like the Fortune 500 of international advertisers, including Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Co., Gatorade, Levis, McDonalds, 7-UP, Toyota, and United Airlines. He’s worked with the Who’s Who of legendary spot directors and he has a bookcase full of major advertising awards for famous commercials that attest to his unique skills.
Carr has never lost his passion for his craft
“No matter the project, director or creative team, Bob always adds a dimension you never envisioned,” says Burrell’s chief creative officer Lewis Williams.
“His creative ability to orchestrate performance, music and storytelling into the editing process is one of a kind. Living Legend or a Legend Living. Either way I want him on my team.”
Even after a lifetime of editing, Carr maintains his passion for his work. “I’ve always said, the tools change but the craft remains the same,” he says. “Crafting and polishing, finding the subtleties, happy accidents and genuine moments, all still give me the most joy. Getting new dailies is always like opening presents on Christmas morning.”
Coincidentally, two former, prominent Chicago advertising legends will be part of the festival. Keith Reinhard, chairman emeritus of Omnicom and for many years the president and driving force behind DDB/Chicago, will receive the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Donald Gunn, of the Gunn Report, who spent 30 years with Leo Burnett, Chicago, serves as moderator of the festival’s elite 2011 Executive Jury of 36 of the most famous creative directors in the world.
For more information on the 2011 International Advertising Awards New York Show or to purchase tickets click here.
