Nancy Vonk, Co-Chief Creative Officer, has been at Ogilvy & Mather (Toronto) since 1998. She joined Ogilvy in 1988 as an art director, having worked at different shops in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Toronto previously. Nancy has won awards including Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, CA and Clios.

Nancy will chair the ADC's 87th Annual Awards Advertising jury. Nancy has also participated in CA, One Show, Clio and Cannes and has chaired many shows. She lectures in schools across North America including VCU Adcenter, Creative Circus, Emerson College and OCAD. She appears regularly on globally-syndicated Ad Persuasion.

Nancy and partner Janet Kestin paired up in 1991 at Ogilvy. They are the Creative Directors of Dove "Evolution." Since 2003 Janet and Nancy have been collaborators on "Ask Jancy," an advice column on ihaveanidea.org. They co-authored an Adweek book, Pick Me: Breaking into Advertising and Staying There, which was published in 2005. Both were recognized as "Women of Excellence" by 'board magazine in 2006, Nancy was named on their "It List" in 2006 and 2007, and both were honored as top advertising women at the 2007 WIN Awards in Los Angeles. Nancy took a moment to share thoughts about her time at Ogilvy, lessons she has learned, the Dove campaigns and her fondness for Larry David. Interviewed by Regan Murphy, regan@adcglobal.org.

NV: I moved to Toronto from Baltimore 21 years ago, and never looked back. I love the fact that I pass people from all over the world every day, that there are neighborhoods that reject the "melting pot" model so I can feel like I'm in a little corner of Greece or Vietnam or Portugal on any given day. I'm a big leftie liberal so the more tolerant society suits me. It's a more outward-looking place.

NV: Working with talented people I respect and like on some of the best brands, with some of the best clients in the world. I love mentoring juniors and take great satisfaction in seeing them so often go forward successfully. Hearing thank-you's years later is an unbeatable feeling.

Many people have influenced me, most creative directors - Sam Macuga, Mark Hilltout, Steve Landsberg, Rick Boyko, Steve Hayden. They are brave, no-bullshit and authentic. They stir the pot.

NV: The vital importance of the right partner for happiness and success. Avoid playing politics; be authentic. If the agency can't take that you may as well leave (or accept being asked to leave) knowing it's for the best. Approach clients as true teammates, not the enemy. Get to know them and their problems and win. Accept criticism (from the CD, the client, whoever). They may just be right. There's always a better solution.

NV: The incredible power of word of mouth marketing is well on its way to being understood and embraced. It will inevitably have a role for many more brands, and impact strategy accordingly. Best practices will become universal, so today's frequent blunders will be seen as early days goofiness.

NV: In mentoring Ogilvy juniors I have been in a position to encourage a good person to go ahead and leave for what, for them in that moment, is a better opportunity rather than stay, if I honestly believe it's best for them. I've had to recognize good people stalling, needing a new canvas, and pushing them out of the nest. To be a true mentor you have to put that person's career development first.

NV: Recognize work that you would forward to a long list of friends on first viewing. Look for originality, craft, and ultimately, the biggest ideas.

NV: Taking the time to properly experience interactive work is always a challenge - potentially not doing justice to a submission. Like traditional work, the factor that should count the most is, what's the big idea? Is there a big juicy concept there you've never seen before?

NV: My partner Janet Kestin and I have had the great experience of winning at Cannes for Dove way back in 1992. In Canada they've been clients to die for ever since then. Our market has always been experimental, allowing us to take more risks and fail without penalty when that occasionally happens. Today it's the most successful country in the world for Dove sales. Now, watching others we've hired go on to the biggest prizes ever for the brand is a whole new kind of reward. In most ways it's even better than being the creators. The fallout of Evolution has included seeing most of our clients asking for that kind of performance, and openness to behaving accordingly. Media neutral starting point is the order of the day. We ask ourselves how to solve a problem, not what the :30 second spot look like.

NV: It's gone by in a flash. I've had great CD's over time that have made the experience seem like working in several different agencies, and since becoming CD it's a new job again. Today with the ride we're on I feel less like I should apologize for being in one spot for most of my career. It's the best time at Ogilvy and in our industry. I've put exceptional value on minimal politics, working globally with some of the best talent in the world, partnering with some of the best clients on the planet and working with Janet which is still fun every day.

NV: There are a number of Dove projects that continue to solve problems well outside the box, stuff like a play directed by Judith Thompson that's opening in the spring, as well as a documentary. We have more internet films in development for other clients and a national launch for something called Diamond Shreddies that I'm dying to get out into the world - a great 360 project that tested off the charts in a test market last fall. Watch for the virals. Meanwhile, Janet and I are in early days planning for a new book, this time more of an art project unrelated to ad land.

Don't miss the January 18, 2008 entry deadline for Professionals and the January 31, 2008 deadline for Students. It's your chance to win a Gold Cube in the 87th Annual Awards. Enter your Advertising, Design, Interactive, Photography and Illustration, even unpublished work in Playground. Look into the breakout categories, ADC Hybrid and ADC Design Sphere, as well as sponsored awards from Corbis and Yahoo!

Enter here now!

Sir Alan Collins & Sohnar Limited invites ADC members to a presentation of 'Traffic & Creative Management Best Practice.' Join the British Consul General to find out how Traffic can help transform your creative business profitability.

Followed by industry networking and cocktails.



Thursday January 31, 2008
6pm - 8pm

Residence of British Consul General
351 East 51st Street, PH1
(between 1st & 2nd Avenues)
New York, NY 10022

R.S.V.P by January 29th, 2008
Telephone: 212.745.0471
E-mail: rsvp@britainusa.com

Following the tremendous success of Kalman's Illustrated Elements of Style - an update to the classic edition by Strunk and White - The Principles of Uncertainty is a unique invitation to look at the world and experience life from Kalman's perspective. With its simple yet stunning combinations of image and text, Kalman's book takes up some existential questions, such as - What is identity? What is happiness? Why do we fight wars? And then, discusses the larger issues of humanity - death, love, and candy (not necessarily in that order).

Kalman's brilliant, whimsical paintings, which initially appear random, ultimately form an intricately interconnected worldview, and reveal her delightful and idiosyncratic inner monologue. The Principles of Uncertainty is part personal narrative, part documentary, part travelogue, and all Kalman.

Enter the 87th Annual Awards! Students who are undergraduates or MFA candidates and reside or attend school anywhere in the world are eligible for the competition, and are invited to submit unpublished work in any category, except Playground. More info? http://www.adcawards.org/information/eligibility/

Last year's student winner for Graphic Design: Book Design, Limited Edition, Private Press Or Special Format Book was Sarah Cohen, who at the time of judging was a student at California College of the Arts. Titled "Perfect," her design was awarded an ADC Silver Cube. Sarah describes her winning design: "This project appeared a tall order, to say the least; it was to make something on some topic and make it good. The first challenge was to pick a subject I actually cared about. After picking a hyper-personal subject, I was faced with revealing a lot about myself. It was hard. And terrifying. But necessary. Challenges appeared around every corner, no matter my supposed cunning or careful preparation, no matter how much I willed a graceful process." The actual construction of the book, however, proved to be a difficult obstacle - to perfectly bind an 800-page book. She ended up practicing many times on huge, blank book-blocks made of the same weight paper as her final, in increasing page counts - and she made it work.

Sarah graduated one year ago and began working for Civil Engine Inc., a small firm dealing with a range of projects spanning logo and book design, as well as crafting the aesthetic framework and narrative for time-based animations. Currently living in San Francisco, Sarah spends her remaining time designing personal posters and cards for a wide variety of events and takes pride in crafting gift packages. "I would like to establish my own design firm. It will be a design boutique, comprised of equal partnership between me and some worthy friends," Sarah says of her future. ADC wishes Sarah best of luck in her future endeavors and encourages current students to follow in Sarah's footsteps and submit unpublished work to the 87th Annual Awards!

ADC thanks Trudy Owett for her generous contribution to the organization. Trudy's late husband, Bernard Owett, was an ADC member, artist, and creative force in the advertising field. He spent his professional life at J. Walter Thomson creating award-winning advertising and mentoring the industry's future stars.

The ADC would like to acknowledge Edgardo Moreno for designing ADC's 2007 holiday party invitation.

The Designism 2.0 podcast is now available online. Go here to listen. Podcast editing and posting courtesy of Zoom-In.com.

The ADC is now on Facebook. Get ADC updates via Facebook's applications and network with the 400+ current fans so far. Become a fan of the ADC by going here.

Design studies in Spanish for students of all levels now available. The Division of Continuing Education at the School of Visual Arts will offer a new series of advertising and graphic design courses, from beginning to advanced levels, taught entirely in Spanish. The faculty members, all native Spanish speakers, are practicing creative professionals who have lent their talents to such clients as Burberry, HBO, IBM, The New York Times, Nike, MTV Networks, Random House and Target, among others. Registration began December 3, 2007 and courses begin January 28. More information on the program can be found on SVA's website or by clicking here.

As a member of the ADC you have the opportunity to post your portfolio on our website. Check out the latest ADC individual and student members portfolios.

When ADC redesigned the website last summer, we also upgraded our job postings. Now ADC members can post a job on the ADC website for a discounted rate of $125 per job post while non-members can participate for $225. Payments can be made by credit card for posting positions in one job category only. Job postings are live online for 90 days.

ADC Members now get expanded business benefits from their membership. Login to 'My Account' on the ADC website and scroll down to Special Offers to access special discounts to Members. In addition to the benefits offered by Emma, Eye magazine, and IdN magazine (and DVD) to our website, Adobe now offers ADC members 10 percent discount - a good reason to join the ADC today and take advantage of all the benefits we have to offer.

Exclusively for ADC members, Adobe Systems now offers a 10 percent discount on anything in the Adobe store including Adobe products, third-party plug-ins, training and more. These discounts are just one of many programs Adobe plans to bring to members through its long-standing relationship with ADC. Adobe is proud to be part of the design community and will continue to work with ADC to create innovative programs that give members a voice and actively engage the community in dialogues about the important issues in the fields of design and technology.

Academic:
The Chicago Portfolio School: Chicago IL

Professional:
Ahmed Al-Baz: Saudi Arabia
A.G. Brooks: Kew Gardens NY
Michael Coakes: Chicago IL
Liliana de Angelis Evans: Modena Italy
John Dutton: NY NY
Kathleen Fable: NY NY
Sarah Foley: Brooklyn NY
Steven Garfinkel: NY NY
Stephen Gates: White Plains NY
Danette High: SDparks MD
Julia Laricheva: Brooklyn NY
Boyoung Lee: NY NY
Ki Kang: Little Neck NY
Stuart Lowitt: NY NY
Claudio Martins: Manaus Brazil
Joseph A. Pinelli: Hopewell NJ
Alan Rowe: Vancouver Canada
Andrew Schoengold: Woodbury NY
Joshua Scott: NY NY
Myong Sup Song: Seoul Korea
Michael Stinson: Los Angeles CA
Ruth Waddingham: NY NY
Conway Williamson: NY NY
Philip Yan: Toronto Canada

Student:
Stephanie Fenstermaker: University of St. Francis, Fort Wayne IN
Reggie Lam: NYC College of Technology, Brooklyn NY
Erivaldo Martins Araujo: Marist College of Recife, Recife Brazil
Ronald Sanchez: NYC College of Technology, Brooklyn NY
Yangjie Wee: Parson School of Design, NY NY
Lara L. Young: Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota FL

We regretfully note the passing of Ettore Sottsass and Phil Dusenberry.

Ettore Sottsass was the founder of the influential Memphis Group and was responsible for the familiar bright red plastic Olivetti typewriter. Although trained and active as an architect, Mr. Sottsass secured a permanent place in pop culture with his designs of everyday items, including office cabinets, table lamps, ice buckets and silverware. Mr. Scottsass died December 31 at the age of 90.

Phil Dusenberry, famed BBDO creative known for campaigns such as GE's "We Bring Good Things to Life" and Pepsi's "The Choice of a New Generation," died December 29 at the age of 71.

The ADC is the premier organization for integrated media and the first international creative collective of its kind. Founded in New York in 1920, the ADC is a self-funding, not-for-profit membership organization that celebrates and inspires creative excellence, connecting creative visual communications professionals from around the world.

To promote the highest standards of excellence and integrity in visual communications for the industry and to encourage students and young professionals entering the field. In short, to provide "visual fuel."

To provide a forum for creative leaders in Advertising, Design, Interactive Media and Communications to meet, learn, participate, and explore the direction for these rapidly evolving industries.

Not Yet A Member? Join Now.
The Art Directors Club 106 West 29th Street New York, NY 10001 212.643.1440 www.adcglobal.org