Mike Hughes and John Norman Co-Chair Judging for Radio Mercury Awards

Radio Mercury Awards Moves Awards to Align with Advertising Week

Mike Hughes and John Norman, Co-Chief Creative Officers from the Martin Agency to Co-Chair Final Round Judging Panel


New York, NY– February 11, 2010 -- The Radio Mercury Awards is pleased to announce that the 2010 Awards ceremony and reception will move to the Fall and take place in New York City alongside Advertising Week in September 2010. Call for Entries will open in early April.

Building on the success of a live final round judging panel and creative summit in 2009, Mike Hughes, President and Co-Chief Creative Officer from the Martin Agency as well as the newly hired Co-Chief Creative Officer John Norman will serve as this year’s Co-Chairs for the final round judging, a first in the awards’ history.

Mike Hughes has been responsible for the leadership at the Martin Agency for 28 years, and launched the agency from a regional creative shop to one of the top agencies in the U.S. His work includes such brands as Geico, Walmart and UPS. Hughes is also on the board of the highly coveted VCU Brancenter in Richmond, Virginia.

John Norman has recently taken the post as co-chief creative officer at the Martin Agency after a spending time in Amsterdam at the Wieden + Kennedy offices. He’s behind the celebrated Coca-Cola work, as well as HP and Nike just to name a few.

“John and I are really excited to meet and exceed the bar that was set so high for us from last year’s Radio Mercury Awards final round judging panel. I was proud to be apart of that group, and I look forward to co-leading this new group of judges,” said Mike Hughes, President and Co-Chief Creative Officer, The Martin Agency. “With the Radio Mercury Awards coinciding with Advertising Week we have a marvelous opportunity to celebrate Radio advertising’s best creative work during the pinnacle of the advertising industry’s one and only dedicated conference.”

“The Radio Mercury Awards’ move to Advertising Week builds on the momentum from last year’s competition where we sought to elevate Radio advertising creative and partner with the creative community to do so,” said Jeff Haley, President and CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau and Chair of the Radio Creative Fund (RCF.) “We’re honored to have Mike and John lead the judging panel and build a roster of judges that will continue to recognize those that can truly encapsulate what the Radio Mercury Awards stands for, creative excellence in writing and producing Radio commercials.”

“As we continue to elevate the caliber of Advertising Week across the board, we’re thrilled to have the Radio Mercury Awards join the programming slate for 2010,” said Matt Scheckner, Advertising Week Executive Director.

The Radio Mercury Awards, the only competition exclusively devoted to radio, was established in 1992 to encourage and reward the development of effective and creative radio commercials. The annual Radio Mercury Awards competition draws entries from advertising agencies, production houses, radio stations, and educational institutions across the country. Approximately 17,000 commercials have competed for over $2.9 million in prizes. The Radio Creative Fund (RCF), a non-profit corporation funded by the radio industry, governs the Radio Mercury Awards. Last year, the $100,000 Grand Prize was awarded to The Richards Group.

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Media Contacts:
Radio Advertising Bureau

Leah Kamon
lkamon@rab.com
212-681-7219

Meghan Buonocore
mbuonocore@rab.com
212-681-7215