DeVito/Verdi

DeVito/Verdi
Formerly called
 Follis & Verdi, Follis/DeVito/Verdi
Private
Industry Advertising Agency
Founded 1988 (New York, New York)
Founder Ellis Verdi and John Follis
Headquarters New York, United States
Key people
 Ellis Verdi, President
Sal DeVito, Executive Creative Director
Services Strategic/brand leadership, creative services, media planning/buying, production broadcast and print, digital, research, public relations, direct marketing, online/wireless, sales promotion and design/collateral development.
Website www.devitoverdi.com

DeVito/Verdi is an American-based advertising and public relations company, headquartered in New York City, founded in 1991 by partners Sal DeVito and Ellis Verdi. The full service agency serves clients across the United States in cities such as Denver, Boston, Miami, Grand Rapids, St. Louis, San Francisco and Washington, D.C..

History

The firm is led by Sal DeVito, Executive Creative Director (left) and Ellis Verdi, President.
The firm is led by Sal DeVito, Executive Creative Director (left) and Ellis Verdi, President.

In 1988 the agency was opened as Follis & Verdi by Ellis Verdi and John Follis, partner and creative director. In 1991, Sal DeVito joins the firm as a second partner and creative director and the name becomes Follis/DeVito/Verdi.[1] In July 1993, Follis left the firm citing philosophical differences, and opened his own New York agency, now known as Follis Advertising. In 1993, the firm is renamed DeVito/Verdi.[2]

In 1997 the agency receives notoriety when the Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani orders the removal of advertisements mentioning the mayor from the city busses.[3]

In, 1998, DeVito/Verdi wins an award as best small creative agency for the fourth straight year.[4] In 2000, the firm produced television commercials and other advertising for the United States Senate election in New York for Hillary Clinton.[5] By the year 2001, the firm's annual billings reached an estimated $134 million and this would grow to over $220 million in 2006. Also in 2006, the New York City Office of Emergency Management contracted DeVito/Verdi to create advertisements to make city residents more aware of potential emergencies like floods, storms, and powerloss.[6] The agency formed a public relations division during the year.

In 2007, after a six-month review, the Sports Authority selected DeVito/Verdi to handle online, print, television, and radio advertising for the sports retailer.[7]

In 2011, DeVito/Verdi won more awards than any other agency with a total of 13 awards at the Racie Award Show with a swwep in the radio and magazine categories.[8]

DeVito/Verdi opened their West Coast office in San Diego in 2011.

The agency is media-agnostic and develops plans involving all agency disciplines.

An ad from the New York Magazine campaign.
An ad from the New York Magazine campaign.

Recognition

In 1993, Follis/DeVito/Verdi won nine ADDY Awards making it the second most awarded agency in New York.[9]

In 2003 and 2006, the agency has won the grand prize at the Radio Mercury Awards for their radio ad for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association,[10] and it has won the top award at both the Cannes and Clio awards ceremonies.[11]

The ad agency was recognized by the 2006 International ANDY Awards, the Healthcare Advertising Awards and The Outdoor Advertising Association of America competitions for its work for Mount Sinai Hospital. DeVito/Verdi's campaign for Mount Sinai took home the highest honors at the 23rd Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards in June 2009. The campaign was awarded top prize in the Large Hospitals Group for three different categories: Magazine, Billboard and Radio. The agency was a two-time winner at the prestigious ANDY Awards for its out-of-home advertising, and for its entire print campaign to promote the hospital's services and stellar qualifications.[11]

DeVito/Verdi has been named "Best Agency" six times over the last 12 years by the American Association of Advertising Agencies.[8]

In July 2015, DeVito/Verdi won a silver Telly advertising award for a 30-second television spot lampooning greedy and uncaring bankers for the New England Federal Credit Union.[12]

In December 2015, the agency was awarded a single Gold Ingot at the Midas Awards for the world's best financial advertising. The award for was for the agencies work with the New England Federal Credit Union.[13]

In October 2016, Devito/Verdi won a total of 11 Hatch Awards for the print and television campaigns for the furniture retailer Bernie & Phyl's. The firm took home the top prize in the category for the best "Television Campaigns Under $50,000," and tied for the best in the "Regional TV Campaign" category, along with four silver, one bronze, and six merit awards.[14]

Notable Ads

A piece from the campaign for Daffy's clothing.
A piece from the campaign for Daffy's clothing.

Daffy's - 'DeVito/Verdi created a series of ads that told New Yorkers they'd be crazy to pay too much for clothes. One ad showed a picture of a straitjacket: "If you're paying over $100 for a dress shirt," the headline read, "may we suggest a jacket to go with it?"

New York Magazine - DeVito/Verdi's campaign for New York Magazine billed it as "Possibly the only good thing in New York Rudy hasn't taken credit for."

New York Resident Magazine - "In an age when ever-greater value is placed on the science of advertising, Devito/Verdi has remained committed to smart slogans and crisp concepts. With fiendishly clever phrases, highly evocative images and a high-impact sensibility, Devito/Verdi keeps to classic standards retains a classic comic sensibility in what has otherwise become a more uniformed world of glitzy show-and-tell." [15]

Time Out Magazine - One of DeVito/Verdi's advertisement for Time Out Magazine read "Our magazine is a lot like the average New Yorker, I'll tell you where you can go and what you can do with yourself.[16]

Legal Sea Foods - During the 2016 United States presidential election, the east coast restaurant chain, Legal Sea Foods ran a campaign with their CEO Roger Berkowitz running a faux presidential bid. In one short television spot, the restaurant's CEO supports LGBT rights, by noting "that's why we serve rainbow trout". In another spot, Berkowitz declares, "If we build a wall on the border, who will eat our delicious fish tacos?"[17][18]

Mount Sinai Health System - In a campaign that began in July 2015, Mount Sinai Health System ran print and television spots in the New York metropolitan area showing how the organization is "changing the face of medicine." One of the 15-second TV spots shows a single mountaineer climbing a steep cliff with a voice-over, "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who's doing it." The ad ends with black text which reads, "Changing the face of medicine." And the final frames display Mount Sinai's logo and its campaign tagline, "For you. For life."[19]

Notable clients

DeVito/Verdi has worked for such clients as Meijer, The National Association of Broadcasters, Sony, Canon, BMW, Circuit City, Daffy's, Esquire Magazine, TimeOut Magazine, Grey Goose Vodka, SteinMart, Reebok, Massachusetts General Hospital, Hotwire.com, Office Depot, Legal Sea Foods, The Herb Chambers Companies, Legal Sea Foods, Gildan Activewear, Fallon Community Health Plan, Gold Toe, Suffolk University, Pepsi/SOBE, Corazon Tequila, Gordmans, Empire Kosher Chicken, BevMo!, Acura, CarMax, Sports Authority, University of Chicago Medical Center and others.[20][21][22][23][24]

References

  1. ↑ Kanner, Bernice (1992-05-11). "Advertising's Newest Bad Boys". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  2. ↑ Elliott, Stuart (18 July 2001). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; DeVito/Verdi, on its 10th anniversary, makes some changes". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Riggs, Thomas (2006). Encyclopedia of major marketing campaigns, Volume 2. 2. Gale Group. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  4. ↑ "Industry Votes DeVito/Verdi Best Small Agency in the U.S.". Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  5. ↑ Wells, Melanie (2000-03-06). "Politics On Madison Avenue". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  6. ↑ Staff, Writer (2006-05-15). "People and Accounts of Note". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  7. ↑ "DeVito/Verdi - Sports Authority". MediaPost. 2007-08-27. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  8. 1 2 "DeVito/Verdi Checks Out With 13 Wins at the 2011 Racie Award Show". American Association of Advertising Agencies. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  9. ↑ Bryant, Adam (1993-03-17). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising -- Addenda; Awards Presented At 2 Ceremonies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  10. ↑ Radio Mercury Awards. "Grand Prize Winners". Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  11. 1 2 "DeVito/Verdi". MAYDREAM, INC. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  12. ↑ Incanttalupo, Tom (2015-07-24). "NEFCU's 'If I Only Had a Heart' commercial wins Telly award". Newsday. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  13. ↑ "Midas Awards for the World's Best Financial Advertising Announces 2015 Award Winners". GlobeNewswire, Inc. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  14. ↑ Whitman, Richard (2016-11-02). "New York-Based Devito/Verdi Wins 11 Hatch Awards For Super-Cheesy Furniture Retailer". MediaPost. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  15. ↑ The brand Wagon, "The Hook, the Line and the Unsinkable Devito/Verdi", Spring 2015
  16. ↑ Berger, Warren. "Stirring Up Trouble, Without Even Trying". The One Club - Viewpoint. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  17. ↑ Reilly, Katie (2016-06-02). "These Look Like Campaign Ads. But They're Something Entirely Different". Time (magazine). Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  18. ↑ Schultz, E.J.; Diaz, Ann-Christine (2016-03-09). "Elections Inspire Marketers (and Vice Versa)". Ad Age. Crain Communications. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  19. ↑ Aiello, Marianne (2016-04-06). "Mount Sinai Launches First National Campaign". HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  20. ↑ Chesto, Jon (2014-02-09). "Meet DeVito/Verdi, the New York agency that's shaking up the Boston ad scene". Boston Business Journal.
  21. ↑ "DeVito/Verdi Toasts the New Year with Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum". PR Newswire Association LLC. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  22. ↑ Lazare, Lewis (2014-11-25). "University of Chicago Medicine taps DeVito Verdi New York for consumer ads". Chicago Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  23. ↑ Coffee, Patrick (2015-07-20). "Gildan Splits With AOR DeVito/Verdi". Adweek. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  24. ↑ Chesto, Jon (2016-05-24). "NY ad agency behind those cryptic sofa billboards you keep seeing". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-05-24.

External links

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