Washington bested two other top finalists for this year’s CCO award.
Last year, Shannon Washington broke barriers in the industry.
In March, she was part of a documentary titled “Black Madison Ave” that featured seven Black executive creative directors dissecting the lack of diverse representation in creative executive roles in the ad industry. Later in the year, she became the first-ever Black female chief creative officer at a holding-company agency when she was promoted to U.S. Chief Creative Officer at R/GA.
The competition for CCO of the Year, as usual, was strong. The other finalists were Greg Hahn, who three years into his run at Mischief @ No Fixed Address has stayed true to its ethos of making advertising fun, and Aaron Starkman, global CCO of Rethink—which secured Creative Agency of the Year honors on this year’s Ad Age A-list.
But in Washington, the jury saw an ability to create work that “puts people at the center” and addresses an “emotional need.”
Nowhere was this more evident than in R/GA’s “Love Lives On” campaign for the Ad Council, which included a seven-minute film, “The Gentle Giant,” that beautifully recounted George Floyd’s personal story. Through the eyes of his sister, Bridgette Floyd, we see moments when he acted as a mentor, put family first and was part of his community.
The campaign also highlighted others who were impacted by tragedies, including the Asian community targeted by a surge in hate crimes over the past few years.
