The AICP Awards national tour, which brings winners of the AICP’s three competitions--The AICP Post Awards, the AICP Next Awards, and the AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial--to audiences around the country, will make its final stop of 2022 when it comes to Chicago on November 17. 

The event will be held at The Old Post Office and kicks off with a happy hour at 6 pm, followed by the awards program and panel discussion at 7 pm. The evening concludes with a reception from 8 to 11 pm. Tickets are available here. 

The event will feature Chicago-based creative  leaders, who will discuss the winning work, offer insights into the execution of some of this years’ top honorees and offer their opinions on future trends in the industry. Moderated by AICP president and CEO Matt Miller, the panel will include Mikal Pittman, EVP, executive creative director, Leo Burnett; Ashley Geisheker, EVP, head of production, Leo Burnett; Mark Gross, co-founder/chief creative officer, Highdive; and Aubrey Walker, executive creative director, OKRP. 

Top winners at the show will be well-represented on the Chicago panel, as Leo Burnett’s Pittman led the team that created the Most Next winning entry, “Thighstop” for Wingstop. The project also won in the AICP Next Awards’ Integrated Campaign category. Geisheker also played a role in the Awards this year, producing “The Lost Class” for Change The Ref, which won in the Purpose Driven and Influencer categories in the Next Awards and the Concept and Public Service Announcements of the AICP Show. 

As the winner of the Most Next honor, Leo Burnett directed  a $5,000 grant from the AICP Foundation to an organization of their choosing. The agency chose Marwen, which provides free visual arts and college and career programming for Chicago’s young people from under-resourced communities in middle through high school. 

“We’re thrilled that the AICP Awards national tour is returning to Chicago next week,” says Lisa Masseur, founder and executive producer at Tessa Films and president of the AICP Midwest chapter. “As a tight knit community in the Midwest, who has largely only gathered virtually for the past couple of years, everyone is looking forward to celebrating this year’s winning work, in addition to simply being together again.”

Supporters for the AICP Awards Chicago event include Allstate, Earhole, Essanay, O’Connor Casting, REEL Chicago and Sling Shot Intergalactic. Sponsors include Banner, Comma Music, Daufenbach Camera, IATSE Local 476, Laird and Good Company, Noisefloor Sound Solutions, Resolution Digital Studios, Squeak E. Clean, Tessa Films  and TPC (formerly Elite). Benefactors include Whirlpool WOW Studios and The Mill. Patrons include DDB, FCB Chicago, Leo Burnett,  Quriosity Productions, Picture North, SG + Partners, SMASH Virtual Production Studios and The Team Companies. 

The happy hour was jointly sponsored by Quriosity Productions and SG + Partners, and the post-panel cocktail lounge was sponsored by Cast & Crew, CAPS – A Cast & Crew Company and The Team Companies. Cutters Studios and Optimus served as executive producers for the AICP Awards Midwest Presentation.