NYF Advertising Awards names 2026 Specialty jury chairs

New Delhi: New York Festivals (NYF) Advertising Awards has announced its 2026 Specialty Executive Jury Chairs and added three new specialty categories—Baked in New York, Sports, and Creative Strategic Marketing/Effectiveness.

The new Baked in New York category will be chaired by Omid Amidi, Chief Creative Officer, McKinney. NYF said the track will recognise work conceived and produced by New York-based teams. Amidi described New York as “pressure” and said ideas here are “tested immediately” by “one of the most diverse” audiences.

NYF has also introduced a Sports specialty category for 2026, chaired by Shannon Washington, Partner and Chief Creative Officer, 11 Ounces. Washington said the barriers between sports and culture have “completely dissolved”, and the work that wins now is not only about athletic achievement.

The third new category, Creative Strategic Marketing/Effectiveness, will be chaired by Ellie Bamford, Chief Strategy Officer, North America, VML. Bamford said the category aims to challenge the “false choice between art and commerce” and reward work that connects creativity with measurable business impact.

Other 2026 Specialty Executive Jury Chairs include Colleen Shaw, EVP, Media + Senior Consultant at Omnicom (Future Now); Will Dempster, Partner and Head of Production, Mischief USA (Film Craft); Emily Oberman, Partner, Pentagram (Design + Package & Product Design); Peter Gosselin, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, CAPE (Financial + Creativity in Commerce); and Josh Budd, Chief Creative Officer, Citizen Relations (PR).

NYF said the Specialty Executive Jury sessions will be held in May 2026. The organisation said the Advertising Awards receives entries from more than 60 countries and is judged by more than 400 jury members across Executive and Shortlist panels.

The early bird deadline to enter the 2026 NYF Advertising Awards is February 27, 2026. NYF said more jury announcements will follow in the coming weeks, and it has also pointed audiences to the 2025 winners’ showcase.