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Early Deadline: 2-27-2026
570-GET-GOLD CALL TODAY!
570-GET-GOLD CALL TODAY!
2026 jury president announced
We are thrilled to announce that Andrea Diquez, Global CEO of GUT, has been appointed Executive Jury President for the 2026 New York Festivals Advertising Awards. Andrea is one of the most respected creative leaders in the world, known for her ability to unite breakthrough ideas with real business impact.
She will lead and curate this year’s Executive Jury, bringing together top global creative talent for three days of in-person judging in New York City this June. Her leadership and vision reflect everything NYF stands for: bold creativity, world class craft, and work that moves culture and business forward.
"For over 65 years, New York Festivals has celebrated the bold creativity that builds business and moves our industry forward. I am honored and excited to lead this year’s Executive Jury and recognize the ideas that take risks, drive real results, make you feel something, and remind us why we love this industry."
- Andrea Diquez
IMPORTANT DATES
OPEN FOR ENTRIES - 1/13/26
Early Deadline - 2/27/26
Official Deadline - 4/23/26
FINAL Deadline - 5/8/26
We are accepting NGO/PSA work in all categories.
Evolution of the
Skyline FOR NYFA 2026
Our goal is always to mirror the industry and help identify excellence in emerging areas of creativity. Along with category updates throughout the competition, we’re unveiling new and revitalized category groups.
Design + Package & Product Design
Celebrates world-class design thinking and craft across brand systems, packaging, and product design. Judged in partnership with AIGA NY by leaders shaping the visual language of today’s most influential brands. (Now with an in-person Executive Jury)
Financial + Creativity in Commerce
Honors creative ideas that move markets and drive growth, proving that bold thinking can deliver real, measurable business impact across finance and commerce. (Now with an in-person Executive Jury)
Sports
An expanded category group judged by an in-person Executive Jury, recognizing work at the intersection of sport, culture, creators, and community. From fandom to feeds, this category rewards ideas that move fast, feel authentic, and make undeniable impact.
Baked In NY
Celebrates work which is conceived and created by New York–based offices or teams.
Big ideas, sharp execution, and creative instincts forged under real pressure, judged by an in-person Executive Jury.
Future Now
An expanded, future-facing category judged by an in-person Executive Jury, honoring breakthrough digital and mobile ideas powered by emerging platforms and technologies. This is where experimentation becomes execution and tomorrow’s creative standards are defined.
Real Ass Ads
The Real Ass Ads category group celebrates the work that keeps the industry running. The spots, campaigns, and activations that actually sell the product. This is advertising that’s clear, confident, and unpretentious. Whether for a local car dealer, a regional law firm or a national household brand, Real Ass Ads honors creativity that connects, converts, and proves that effective work is still great work. All work entered should include a CTA that directly drives to sales, bookings and/or a promotion.
Creative Marketing Strategy / Effectiveness
Honors breakthrough ideas that solve complex marketing challenges through smart strategy and creative execution. Winning work demonstrates clear objectives, measurable results, and a powerful fusion of creativity, data, and thought leadership.
Thank you to the incredible teams and companies who partnered with Grey to produce our Bobby Lobby call-for-entries campaign.
GENJAM 2025
What happens when you bring together the sharpest creative minds, a bold AI platform, and just three hours to concept, produce, and pitch?
That’s Gen Jam: New York Festivals x Machine Cinema, presented by LTX-2 and the 4As, and hosted at McCANN New York — a first-of-its-kind creative experiment blending AI and human imagination. The day brought together leaders shaping the future of advertising, including:
Britt Nolan (McCann Worldgroup North America)
Wayne Best (VML NY)
Bianca Guimaraes (Mischief @ No Fixed Address)
Scott Bell (BBDO New York)
Tiffany Rolfe (R/GA)
Justin Thomas-Copeland (4As)
Check out the full recap video and see how far creativity can go when human talent meets machine power.
Ad Safari
NYF’s mission to celebrate creativity and the creative community brought some of NYC’s top creatives together inside Library180 for an Ad Safari like no other. With shelves stacked with vintage ads they browsed, debated, cringed, and championed their picks from hidden gems to the “what were they thinking?” moments.
Can Misirlioglu (ECD, Design at CYLNDR Studios)
Candice Drakeford (Creative Director)
Juliana Cobb (Head of Creative at 72andSunny)
Amy Carvajal (Founder of Fulltank Studio)
Lyle Yetman (CCO at McKinney)
Shannon Washington (CCO & Partner at 11Oz)
Pete Gosselin (Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at CAPE)
Daniela Varela (Group Creative Director at The Weber Shandwick Collective)
They dove into the stacks at Library180 and pulled from the archives to revisit the once bold risks and cringe worthy tries of past campaigns. Then they sat down together to unpack it all: the nostalgia, the bold choices, the surprising brilliance, and the lessons today’s creatives can still pull from yesterday’s ads.
Step inside the Ad Safari and see what caught their eye.
FUGAiZI
In 2025 to celebrate the upcoming 2026 season, we partnered with NYC based CAPE. and LTX Studio to create FugAIzi as a Save The Date.
celebrate the 2025 winners
Winner of Best of Show and three Grand Awards, SATO 2351 from Dentsu Digital proves that a single idea, executed with heart, purpose, and precision, can ripple across the world and impress the most creative juries in the business. This unforgettable entry for the Think Name Project redefined what collaboration means, blending purpose, PR, and partnership into something truly powerful.
New York Festivals salutes the 2025 Winners. Here’s a behind the scenes look at our Executive Jury judging sessions, the Grand Award winners, the Best of Show and our Industry Award winners!
Every year, the New York Festivals Special Industry Awards honor companies whose multi-award winning campaigns demonstrated innovation and creativity. This honor is the ultimate recognition: celebrating the holding companies, networks, and agencies whose cutting edge work inspired and engaged consumers AND fostered brand affinity.
The 2025 Industry Award recipients are determined by the number of top-scoring entries that earned trophies within the competitions based on scores determined by the New York Festivals 2025 Executive Jury.
NYFAi Winners Are Here!
Launched in partnership with Lightricks’ LTX Studio, a powerful generative AI platform, NYFAi is a global competition designed to push the boundaries of storytelling through the power of artificial intelligence. The future of advertising came to life in real time as seven innovative agencies competed, and three elite agency teams advanced to the winner’s circle creating campaigns that showcased the powerful collaboration between human creativity and AI technology.
GOLD: “Closer Than You Think”
Client: The Duke Lemur Center
Agency: CYLNDR Studios
SILVER: “Expansive Pad”
Client: Helping Women Period
Agency: Clutch
BRONZE: “Find Your Feet”
Client: New York Scores
Agency: Code and Theory
NYF 2025 CRISTAL VILLAGE AWARD
New York Festivals, in partnership with the African Cristal Festival, is proud to present the NYF Cristal Village Award.
This award celebrates creative brand and experience work that educates for good, recognizing campaigns and initiatives across any channel - with broad appeal, purpose, and driving cultural synergy and understanding.
To qualify for this award, work must embody a strong sense of purpose, inspire new thinking, or deeper understanding, change attitudes and behaviors - for social good. The award focuses on entries that bridge cultures and deliver messages with wide-reaching, positive impact.
Examples of eligible work include, but are not limited to, campaigns delivering: human & community-driven brand activation, new product and service launches and activation - with a strong social focus, climate and sustainability change, mental, physical health & wellness impact, disease awareness, animal welfare, and human rights.
Entry fees for submissions in this category will go towards sponsoring Pan-African young creatives to attend the African Cristal Festival, planned to take place in Casablanca, Morocco in September 2025. Both NYF and The African Cristal Festival hope that such an experience for young talent will change and inspire lives.