The awards, founded by
Wallace A. Ross in 1959, are named for the Greek goddess
Clio, the mythological
Muse known as "the proclaimer, glorifier and celebrator of history, great deeds and accomplishments." the first Clios were awarded in 1960 for excellence in U.S. television advertising. Each winner received a gold
Georg Olden–designed statuette. The competition was expanded to include work on international television and cinema in 1966, and then U.S. radio ads in 1967.
1970s–1980s The Clio Awards were acquired by Bill Evans in 1971 for
US$150,000 () and became a "
for profit" company. In 1984, a nearly identical situation occurred when
Doyle Dane Bernbach, the ad agency for
Ziebart, purchased time on a
Detroit channel carrying the inaugural
Cherry Bowl college football game in December in order for Ziebart's "Friend of the Family (Rust in Peace)" commercial to be eligible for the awards the following year. The commercial won the Clio Award in 1985. The 1988 awards were aired on television on
FOX and hosted by
David Leisure on December 7, 1988.
1990s 1991 Clio Awards Attendees of the 1991 Clio Awards who had paid the $125 admission price did not have tickets waiting at the door, as promised. Also missing was Clio President Bill Evans.
Chicago publisher
Ruth Ratny purchased the Clio name for an undisclosed figure. Evans had wanted $2 million, and trade publications reported a sale price of $10,000, which Ratny called low. Ratny reorganized the event as the
New Clio Awards and combined what had previously been two events into a single presentation, which was delayed from June until September 1992.
Advertising Age magazine reported 6,000 entries, less than one quarter of the 1990 total. As a concession to the 1991 winners who had not yet received the trophies, their entry fee was waived. The 1990 award show at the
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts drew 1,800, while only 500 paid for the 1992 show at the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Another major change with the "New" Clios was direct competition between U.S. and foreign firms, which resulted in Swiss agency Comsult/Advico Young & Rubicam being named the winner of the best Television campaign. A bankruptcy court ruled that the creditors of the 1991 Clio Awards should be paid. At the time, Ratny lacked the financial resources to settle the $600,000 debt. Another Chicagoan, former film editor James M. Smyth, put up the money and became sole owner of the Clio Awards. On New Year's Eve of 1992, Smyth began working on the 1993 show. The award ceremony was again delayed until September, and
Jay Chiat of
TBWA\Chiat\Day, Rick Fizdale from
Leo Burnett Worldwide and Keith Reinhard at
DDB Worldwide joined the Clio Executive Committee. In 1997, the Clios were sold to Dutch-owned company
VNU Media;
2000s - present In 2007, VNU changed its name to the
Nielsen Company. In 2009,
e5 Global Media assumed control of Clio, when it acquired magazines
Adweek and
Billboard, among others, from Nielsen Business Media. In 2010, Nicole Purcell was appointed executive director of Clio and Brooke Levy was hired to run marketing for the organization. In 2015, Purcell was promoted to president. In 2014, the Clio Awards absorbed
The Hollywood Reporter's
Key Art Awards (created in 1971 by
Tichi Wilkerson) to celebrate marketing and communications in the entertainment business. In 2017, it was renamed the Clio Entertainment Award. In 2020, the Clios were postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. ==Judging==