DeVito/Verdi

DeVito/Verdi is an American-based advertising and public relations company, headquartered in New York City, formed in 1993 by partners Sal DeVito and Ellis Verdi when founding partner and Creative Director, John Follis, left Follis/DeVito/Verdi to start his new agency, Follis Inc.[1] 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.

DeVito/Verdi
FormerlyFollis & Verdi, Follis/DeVito/Verdi
TypePrivate
IndustryAdvertising Agency
Founded1988 (New York, New York)
FounderEllis Verdi, John Follis and Sal DeVito
Headquarters
New York
,
United States
Key people
Ellis Verdi, President
Sal DeVito, Executive Creative Director
ServicesStrategic/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.
Websitedevitoverdi.com

History
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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

In, 1998, the company has won an award as best small creative agency for the fourth straight year.[5] In 2000, the firm produced television commercials and other advertising for the United States Senate election in New York for Hillary Clinton.[6] 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 power loss.[7] 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.[8]

In 2011, DeVito/Verdi won more awards than any other agency with a total of 13 awards at the Racie Award Show with a sweep in the radio and magazine categories.[9]

In June 2019, the agency will be moving from the Union Square area to the top floor of the Cadillac House in the SoHo area of the city. The building is the former home of the General Motors Company Cadillac division.[10]

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.

Recognition

In 1993, Follis/DeVito/Verdi won nine ADDY Awards making it the second most awarded agency in New York.[11]

In 2010, DeVito/Verdi won the "Best of the Best Among All Ads" at the National Retail Federation (RACie) award show. The Ehrlich Pest Control radio spot that was competed against television and marketing communications from major retailers.[12]

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,[13][14] and it has won the top award at both the Cannes and Clio awards ceremonies.[15]

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.[15]

DeVito/Verdi has been named "Best Agency" six times over the last 12 years by the American Association of Advertising Agencies.[9]

A poster by DeVito/Verdi used in a campaign for Premier Health Partners focusing on the opioid epidemic in the Dayton, Ohio area.

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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18]

In September 2017, two of DeVito/Verdi's radio ads for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association won "Hall of Fame" awards at the 2017 Clio Awards show. The Hall of Fame selections are for "outstanding work from the past that has stood the test of time and cemented a place of honor and respect in the hearts and memories of consumers and advertising professionals alike".[19][20][21]

Notable Ads
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." [22]

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.[23]

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?"[24][25]

In 2017, DeVito/Verdi produced a series of television commercials for Legal Sea Foods where fish and crustaceans lament by singing the blues about not being selected to be served by the restaurant chain.[26]

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."[27]

A marijuana-themed print spot that was part of the marketing campaign dubbed "Welcome to Legal.

In 2018, DeVito/Verdi worked with Mount Sinai on a campaign to raise awareness about the clinical care and procedures available to New York residents. The health system also worked on a campaign with the United States Tennis Association focused on orthopedics and sports medicine.[28]

Bernie & Phyl's - In an effort to reach a younger consumers who usually avoid traditional media, furniture retailer Bernie & Phyl's hired DeVito/Verdi to come up with a poster campaign for commuters on Boston's subway system. The ads were designed to look like kinky or lewd classified personal ads, but use clever word play to capture the attention of smartphone focused commuters.[29][30] In May 2017, some of the ads were removed from the MBTA's subway cars for being too sexually suggestive. Devito started a new campaign in August 2017, featuring the removed ads covered by a "Banned in Boston" banner explaining why the government agency pulled the advertisement.[31]

In 2018, DeVito/Verdi helped to create a campaign for Premier Health Partners focusing on the opioid epidemic in the Dayton, Ohio area. The print advertisement showed an expensive smartphone, with a description of the features and then moving on to a justification for stealing the phone and selling it to get enough opioids for the week before quitting. The tagline of the advertisement was "The world looks different when you're addicted to opioids".[32]

During the spring of 2018, DeVito/Verdi started a marketing campaign to effect changes in patient behavior for BayCare Health System's patients about when to use telehealth, urgent care, the emergency room, or their Primary care physician. One billboard showed a bee and a beehive with the visual; of if a patient steps on a bee, then they should head to urgent care, but if they step on a beehive, then they should head for the emergency room.[33]

During the late summer of 2019, Devito/Verdi created a cannabis themed campaign for Legal Sea Foods, that is headquartered in Massachusetts, a state that legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2016. The "Welcome to Legal" spots air on local television stations at 4:20 pm and are full of pot puns and psychedelic art fish arrangements. Examples of the slogans and puns included in the creative are; "Our fish are freshly baked," "Right now our fish are high… in Omega 3s," "Right now we're packing bowls… with clam chowder," and "Right now we're smoking… salmon".[34]

Notable clients

DeVito/Verdi has worked for clients such 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, Laurel Road, and others.[35][36][37][38][39]

References
  1. Janofsky, Michael (1993-07-28). "A Partner Leaves Follis DeVito Verdi". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  2. Kanner, Bernice (1992-05-11). "Advertising's Newest Bad Boys". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  3. 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.
  4. Riggs, Thomas (2006). Encyclopedia of major marketing campaigns, Volume 2. 2. Gale Group. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  5. "Industry Votes DeVito/Verdi Best Small Agency in the U.S." Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  6. Wells, Melanie (2000-03-06). "Politics On Madison Avenue". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  7. Staff Writer (2006-05-15). "People and Accounts of Note". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  8. "DeVito/Verdi - Sports Authority". MediaPost. 2007-08-27. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  9. "DeVito/Verdi Checks Out With 13 Wins at the 2011 Racie Award Show". American Association of Advertising Agencies. Archived from the original on 2011-09-18. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  10. Staff Writer (2019-05-23). "Ad Agency Opens New HQ At 330 Hudson St". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  11. Bryant, Adam (1993-03-17). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising -- Addenda; Awards Presented At 2 Ceremonies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  12. Staff Writer (2010-03-11). "DeVito/Verdi Steals the Show With "Best of the Best Among All Ads" Live Vote Award at the 2010 RACie Award Show". American Association of Advertising Agencies. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  13. Staff, Adweek (2006-06-09). "DeVito/Verdi Wins $100,000 Radio-Mercury Grand Prize". Adweek. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  14. "The 2003 Radio-Mercury Awards Winners". Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  15. "DeVito/Verdi". MAYDREAM, INC. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  16. Incanttalupo, Tom (2015-07-24). "NEFCU's 'If I Only Had a Heart' commercial wins Telly award". Newsday. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  17. "Midas Awards for the World's Best Financial Advertising Announces 2015 Award Winners". GlobeNewswire, Inc. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  18. Whitman, Richard (2016-11-02). "New York-Based Devito/Verdi Wins 11 Hatch Awards For Super-Cheesy Furniture Retailer". MediaPost. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  19. "National Thoroughbred Racing Association Dinner Date". ClioAwards. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  20. "Dinner Date Campaign: NTRA Hall of Fame Campaign". ClioAwards. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  21. Staff Writer (2017-09-13). "National Thoroughbred Racing Association Ad Campaign Gallops Into Clio Hall Of Fame". Markets Insider. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  22. The brand Wagon, "The Hook, the Line and the Unsinkable Devito/Verdi" Archived 2015-04-08 at Archive.today, Spring 2015
  23. Berger, Warren. "Stirring Up Trouble, Without Even Trying". The One Club - Viewpoint. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  24. Reilly, Katie (2016-06-02). "These Look Like Campaign Ads. But They're Something Entirely Different". Time. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  25. Schultz, E.J.; Diaz, Ann-Christine (2016-03-09). "Elections Inspire Marketers (and Vice Versa)". Ad Age. Crain Communications. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  26. Burn, David (2017-06-07). "Unchosen Fish Sing The Blues". Adpulp. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  27. Aiello, Marianne (2016-04-06). "Mount Sinai Launches First National Campaign". HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  28. Gooch, Kelly (2018-11-15). "Mount Sinai launches new advertising campaign". Becker's Hospital Review. Becker's Healthcare. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  29. Ryan, Greg (2017-02-17). "The story behind Bernie & Phyl's sexually suggestive ads on the T". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  30. Engel, Clint (2017-02-22). "Bernie & Phyl's seeks young consumer with suggestive ads". Furniture Today. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  31. Simpson, Neal (2017-08-14). "Bernie & Phyl's follows racy ads with 'Banned in Boston' campaign". The Patriot Ledger. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  32. Christman, Lacey (2018-11-06). "6 campaigns examining drug and alcohol addiction". Medical, Marketing and Media. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  33. Park, Andrea (2019-08-06). "BayCare's marketing strategy centers on 'taking the friction out of the healthcare experience". Becker's Healthcare. Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  34. Spears, Emma (2019-08-23). "Boston seafood chain markets 'smoked' fish for weed lovers in a trippy, new ad campaign". The GrowthOp. Postmedia Network Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  35. Chesto, Jon (2014-02-09). "Meet DeVito/Verdi, the New York agency that's shaking up the Boston ad scene". Boston Business Journal.
  36. "DeVito/Verdi Toasts the New Year with Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum". PR Newswire Association LLC. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  37. Lazare, Lewis (2014-11-25). "University of Chicago Medicine taps DeVito Verdi New York for consumer ads". Chicago Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  38. Coffee, Patrick (2015-07-20). "Gildan Splits With AOR DeVito/Verdi". Adweek. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  39. Chesto, Jon (2016-05-24). "NY ad agency behind those cryptic sofa billboards you keep seeing". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  40. "See the Spots". Gardner-White Furniture. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  41. Zimmerman, Brian (2018-02-19). "3 groups of people hospitals should target in an opioid awareness campaign". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
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