The American Advertising Federation has announced the inductees into the 2024 AAF Advertising Hall of Fame.
Olivier François, Global Chief Marketing Officer for Stellantis, is one of six industry leaders joining this group.
The announcement was celebrated during the closing bell ceremony on the New York Stock Exchange.
This year’s honorees were chosen following a rigorous review overseen by a council of judges comprised of a group of industry leaders and fellow members of the Hall of Fame.
In addition to Francois, the inductees include:
- Jerri DeVard, CEO and Founder, Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA)
- Jeff Goodby, Co-Chairman, Goodby Silverstein & Partners
- Bill Imada, Co-Founder, Chairman & Chief Connectivity Officer, IW Group
- Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, P&G
- Donna Weinheim, Former Partner, Executive Creative Director, BBDO
- Cliff Freeman & Partners
François has always aimed to go beyond the status-quo, with his experience for pairing the commercial with a genuine sensibility for socially responsible causes and environmental ethics.
He has reached strong sales figures and global brand recognition by enlisting distinguished world leaders, cultural icons from across the film, television and music industries, and renowned environmentalists.
“The greatest Brand value I can deliver is to show that our Brands have values. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude receiving this recognition. It simply would not have possible without a house of now 14 iconic American, French, German and Italian brands that together compose a symphony.
“A CMO can play one brand beautifully, but with the accompaniment of many distinguished brands, along with the great number of extraordinarily talented, relentless, and fearless people on our Stellantis teams and the incredible agency rosters across the world, who together have lifted our brands to the highest heights of success, we can have a bit of fun.” says François.
François found a way to place the Dalai Lama in a Lancia by simply practicing what he preaches.
To fight for human rights in Tibet utilising Richard Gere during the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.
To get Nobel Laureates’ Mikhael Gorbachev, Lech Walesa, and Nelson Mandela to appear in a spot to support free elections in Myanmar.
To create with Sean Penn, the campaign to support the Haitian Relief Organisation and deploy Jeep vehicles to help distribute food and water.
To stand up for Detroit in the midst of The Great Recession with bold music from Eminem and a message ‘Imported from Detroit’ in the first-ever two-minute Super Bowl spot in the history of the Big Game that helped to lift an industry, a city and a nation.
His proposal to use Carl Sagan’s ‘Pale Blue Dot’ in a Jeep campaign was key in launching the first ever electrified Jeep vehicle – the Jeep Wrangler 4xe.’
François was recently named to Forbes CMO Hall of Fame, after appearing on Forbes ‘World’s Most Influential CMO’ list multiple times since 2014.
He has twice been named the ‘Grand Brand Genius by Adweek; named ‘Branding Power Player’ by Billboard Magazine (2016) and Advertising Age named the Chrysler Group under’ leadership, as the ‘Marketer of the Year’ (2012).
François and his team garnered a Primetime Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Commercial’ for the ‘Imported from Detroit’ Super Bowl campaign in 2012 and was nominated again for a Primetime Emmy Award in the ‘Outstanding Commercial’ category in 2012 for ‘Halftime in America’ and in 2020 for the ‘Groundhog Day’ Super Bowl commercial starring Bill Murray.
In its 70+ years, only 282 advertising legends and 12 global companies have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
The 2024 Honorees will be honoredat a gala ceremony to be held on April 25, 2024, at Cipriani Wall Street.
Steve Pacheco, President and CEO, American Advertising Federation, said: “The AAF Advertising Hall of Fame brings together the nation’s top leaders in American advertising, marketing, media, and tech and is another example of how AAF serves as the ‘Unifying Voice for Advertising.”
