K
NOWN AS “THE OSCARS
of Advertising,” the Clio
Awards have saluted the
world’s ad masters since
the industry’s Mad Men-era
heyday on Madison Avenue. (The
show’s fictional adman Don Draper
nabbed a Clio for TV advertising in
the AMC series’ fourth season.) But
across six decades, the niche awards
competition — founded in 1959 by
advertising executive Wallace A.
Ross — has evolved into a fluid, ev-
er-adaptive program that reflects the
year’s highest achievers in advertis-
ing, sports, fashion, entertainment,
health and more. Innovation, cre-
ative excellence and the permeation
of pop culture have remained its cor-
nerstones, and if there’s one medium
that epitomizes the Clios’
versatility, it’s music.
Launched in 2014, the
Clio Music platform, led
by music director Michael
Kauffman, honors the year’s
most notable music achieve-
ments in two categories — music
marketing and use of music — present-
ed annually during the Clio Awards.
This year, #Clio60 will take
place at the Manhattan Center
in New York on Sept. 25, hosted
by Bravo’s Andy Cohen. While
grand-prize winners are held
until the program, the year’s
gold, silver, bronze and shortlist
honorees are announced in advance.
Gold winners include Spotify’s “Billie
Eilish Experience,” Roc Nation’s Meek
The Clio Awards: Celebrating
Music’s ‘Visceral Power’
AS THE GLITTERING ADVERTISING HONORS TURN 60, THEIR YOUNGER MUSIC ARM RECOGNIZES SAVVY
MARKETING MOVES AROUND THE SOUNDS OF BILLIE EILISH, MEEK MILL AND ELTON JOHN
BY KEVIN WARWICK
Kauffman
Eilish in the “Bury a Friend”
room during Spotify’s “The Billie
Eilish Experience” at The Stalls at
Skylight Row in Los Angeles on
March 28, a Clio Award winner.
EI
LI
SH
:^ J
OE
S
CA
RN
IC
I/G
ET
TY
IM
AG
ES
.^ K
AU
FF
M
AN
:^ A
ST
RI
D^
ST
AW
IA
RZ
/G
ET
TY
IM
A
GE
S.
Players
SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 • WWW.BILLBOARD.COM 1 5 9