Our History “Celebrating 125 Years”
Since 1896, the first organization of its kind, The ADVERTISING Club has been serving the ad community. Our history mirrors the industry itself and industry legends built this organization. Our members represent the entire community -- advertising, media, marketing and ad-tech/mar-tech professionals. We provide education and networking opportunities to enhance professional development, expose members to innovation and technology, and provide access to influencers/companies across the entire advertising ecosystem. Our Foundation fuels the talent pipeline with ground-breaking diversity programs. The Club also produces The International ANDY awards, a top creative award show that focuses on the power of the idea, innovation and the collaboration between marketer and creative. Today, we have 5,000 members; corporate and individuals, students all the way up to the C-suite.
The Sphinx Club was Born
A group of business people meets regularly in New York City to discuss the advertising business.
They name themselves the Sphinx Club, which became the Advertising Men's League in 1906, and then, became more inclusive as The ADVERTISING Club of New York in 1915.
The First Supporters
The first supporter of the "truth in advertising" program, which remains a hallmark of consumer protection, and formed the first "Vigilance Committee", which evolved into today's Better Business Bureau.
The AD Club Launches an Advertising and Marketing (A&M) Course
The AD Club launches an advertising and marketing (A&M) course to train World War I veterans.
Today, the faculty of A&M features advertising’s biggest names subsequently renamed to Access To Masters (A&M) Series. The long-running course has given more than 50,000 people their first glimpse of the business.
The AD Club Begins Playing Host to Presidents, Princes and International Dignitaries
The AD Club begins playing host to Presidents, princes and international dignitaries.
Honored guest speakers included Presidents Eisenhower, Truman, Hoover and Coolidge, The Prince of Wales, Commander Richard E. Byrd, and New York Mayors Walker, Wagner and LaGuardia.
The AD Club Creates the Advertising Hall of Fame
The AD Club creates the Advertising Hall of Fame to immortalize industry giants.
In 1973, the Hall of Fame was turned over to the American Advertising Federation (AAF).
The AD Club Introduces the International ANDY Awards
The AD Club introduces the International ANDY Awards.
The ANDY Awards celebrate creative excellence in advertising and continue to serve the industry as a predictor for what ideas will sweep the awards season.
The AD Club Foundation is Born
The mission: support the educational needs of the advertising community and encourage promising young talent to pursue careers in the industry. So far, the Foundation has collected $11 million, helping thousands of New York City students.
The Club Celebrated its 100th Anniversary with "Night of 101 Stars"
Guests included Bruce Barton, Charlotte Beers, Bill Bernbach, Jay Chiat, Phil Dougherty, William Randolph Hearst, and Annie Leibovitz.
Stars Of Madison Avenue
The week-long conference Advertising Week, an AD Club partner organization is born.The AD Club hosts “The Stars of Madison Avenue: The Business of Celebrities.” The awards presentation honors the successful unions of brand and celebrity. In 2015, this luncheon event becomes Brave Brands; a celebration to honor the collaboration between agency and brand marketer taking bold leaps together.
International ANDY Awards Progress
For the first time, The International ANDY awards crowd sourced the jury that included several outliers namely Shepard Fairey, an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene.
I’MPART is Born
AD Club Foundation creates a movement to galvanize the community to promote, attract, retain and train a diversity and inclusive workforce, I’MPART is born.
International ANDY Awards 50 Years
International ANDY awards celebrates 50 years of honoring the best and bravest ideas in our business and begins honoring bravery in advertising.
The Redefining Series launches to bring inspirational content and shared experience through personal storytelling. These talks allow a peek into the industry’s most respected creatives and marketers to what inspires them, what moves them, and what they credit their successes to.
As part of the mission to highlight shared truths and the fact that courage takes many forms, Redefining aims to empower individuals to believe in and create brave ideas.
The Fellowship Program
The Fellowship program is created to retain people of color in the advertising industry, as well as elevate them to executive roles. The Fellowship is a $100,000+ annual commitment from The AD Club’s Foundation.
International ANDY Awards Stance
In a bold announcement, The ANDY Awards becomes the first show to eliminate categories in a stand to refocus the industry on what matters most; the power of a creative idea. In lockstep with this decision The ANDY Awards are the first show to livestream the jury room discussions.
The AD Club Turns 125
AD Club of NY turns 125 and collects video and physical entries to be included in a sealed time capsule to be opened in 50 years. The AD Club and community weathered a global pandemic during 2020 and 2021.
