FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2005

2005 OBIE Jury Panel To Be Led By Alex Bogusky and OAAA Introduces New OBIE Logo

Washington, D.C. - The Outdoor Advertising Association of America is pleased to announce the seven-member jury panel for the 2005 OBIE Awards competition and introduce the new OBIE Awards logo (attached). The OBIE Awards are the oldest, and one of the most prestigious honors for creative excellence in the advertising world. The 63rd OBIE Awards will be presented on the closing night of the 2005 OAAA National Convention and Trade Show on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 at the Hilton Chicago.

This year’s judging will take place in Miami Beach on Friday, February 25, 2005, where the judges will review more than 1,500 images. The 2005 OBIE Awards jury will be led by Chief Judge Alex Bogusky, partner and executive creative director of Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Bogusky and his creative team have won the OBIE Best of Show Award for the past two years for IKEA and MINI Cooper.

The OBIE Judges

Alex Bogusky
Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Alex Bogusky started at the Crispin and Porter Advertising agency in 1987 as an art director. He became creative director of the agency five years later and was named a partner in 1997. Under his direction, the agency has become one of the world’s most awarded agencies. Bogusky has been profiled in Luerzer’s Archive, Communication Arts, Graphis, Adweek and Creativity. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, TIME, Adweek, Brandweek, Advertising Age and Creativity as well as on national television and radio. In 2002, he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement.

Connie Garrido
Mindshare/The WOW Factory
Connie Garrido, founder, senior partner, and director of The WOW Factory, oversees one of the largest nontraditional media groups in the industry. The WOW Factory, part of MindShare, acts as media portfolio investment managers on behalf of clients, including Yahoo! Personals, Hershey, and American Express. Garrido founded MindShare’s WOW Factory following three years at Ogilvy. She was also the national director of marketing for the Gannett Outdoor Group for six years in both the US and Canada.

Noel Haan
Leo Burnett
For the last 10 years, Noel Haan has been an art director at Leo Burnett Chicago, where he also holds the title of senior vice president and executive creative director. Haan’s work has won awards including the OBIEs, the Kelly Awards, the Andys, Clios, and Addys. In addition to being an instrumental part of the various Altoids campaigns of the last decade, Haan has worked on Reebok, Dewar's, Jenn-Air, and Maytag campaigns, among others.

Mike Hughes
The Martin Agency
Called one of the nine best creative directors in America by AdWeek, Mike Hughes, president and creative director of The Martin Agency, has long been a leader in the advertising world. A former director of AAAA and chairman of its creative committee, Hughes also served as a director for the One Club for Art and Copy in New York, the American judge at the Cannes Advertising Festival, and chairman of the board for Virginia Commonwealth University’s Adcenter.

Joel Jáuregui
Zonazero
As founder of the independent Mexican agency, Zonazero, Joel Jáuregui has been recognized for his company’s creativity around the world, including in Cannes, New York, and London. In 2003, Zonazero became the first Latin American agency to win an OBIE award and has been named one of the top 10 creative agencies in Mexico. Jáuregui has been a judge, both in national and international competitions, and is a member of the Círculo Creative México.

Gary Koepke
Modernista!
Gary Koepke, co-founder and executive creative director of Modernista!, is an internationally known creative director and graphic designer whose work has been shown at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, the Nolan/Eckman Gallery in New York, and the DNP Gallery in Japan. Prior to Modernista!. Koepke worked on the Nike, ESPN, and Coca Cola campaigns at Wieden & Kennedy, producing TV, print, and interactive campaigns and was the founding creative director of Vibe Magazine.

Michael Parsons
Fairway Outdoor Advertising
As national creative director for Fairway Outdoor Advertising, Michael Parsons works as part of a creative team to create and produce award-winning campaigns in a wide variety of media, including outdoor, print, internet, and brand identity. Parsons has also worked for a number of advertising companies, including Red Door Designs, Phorum, and Powerhouse Color.

New OBIE Logo

In late 2003, the OAAA formed a Creative Committee, the purpose of which is to raise the standards of creative design in outdoor advertising. Throughout 2004, a subcommittee, chaired by Brian Haselton, Adams Outdoor Advertising, has been focused on expanding the involvement of advertisers and agencies in the OBIE Awards. This yearlong effort has produced innovative elements for this year's awards, including a new OBIE logo. Producing a fresh, contemporary OBIE mark that has resonated with agency creative directors, the committee has generated enthusiasm and excitement in the creative community for producing innovative and cutting edge outdoor design that advertisers and agencies are excited about entering in the awards competition. According to OAAA executives, a large number of entries this year have come from agencies and advertisers entering the awards competition for the first time.

OAAA is the largest trade association representing the outdoor advertising industry. It is dedicated to leading and uniting a responsible outdoor advertising industry that is committed to serving the needs of consumers, advertisers and the public. The OAAA’s nearly 1,000 member companies generate more than $5 billion annually in ad revenues, representing more than 90% of industry income, and donate space to charitable organizations in excess of $350 million each year.

OAAA (Outdoor Advertising Assoc. of America)
1850 M Street, NW Suite 1040
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: 202-833-5566
E-Mail: mmoller@oaaa.org
Website URL: www.oaaa.org