Craig Markus, chief creative officer at Proof Advertising, died on August 8 after several weeks in a New York hospital battling Guillain-Barré syndrome. His age was not reported.
Markus’ creative career spanned Ogilvy as an art director, Deutsch NY as a creative director, Cramer-Krasselt NY as an executive creative director, and McCann New York. At the latter he served as an ECD as well as creative lead of that agency’s youth/young adult marketing division, TAG, which helped launch Microsoft’s Xbox.
Over the course of his career, Markus was creative lead for global brands including Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Nike and Levi’s. He also was the founder of branding studio Rage, Grace & Partners.
Bryan Christian, president of Austin, Tex.-based Proof, shared in a social media post, “Craig brought a joyful and passionate spirit to work each day. He was a great boss to his teams, a great co-worker to all at Proof and a great friend and mentor for me.”
Markus and Christian reunited at Proof. They first worked together at McCann. As ECD at McCann, Markus had a hand in helping win the U.S. Army account, for which the lauded “Army Strong” campaign was created.
Markus had degrees in communication from UCLA, and in design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. He also held an MBA from Steinbeis University’s Berlin School of Creative Leadership.
Markus is survived by, among others, two adult sons, Dean and Luke.
Taylor Swift wins big and Rita Ora pays tribute to Liam Payne at the MTV EMAs
Taylor Swift came out on top at the 2024 MTV EMAs on Sunday, walking away with best artist, best U.S. act, best live act and best video for "Fortnight" (featuring Post Malone).
Swift, who is finishing up her Eras tour on the other side of the Atlantic, thanked the fans for the bounty of prizes via video message.
The U.K. show opened with an acrobatic Benson Boone suspended in the air on a gold grand piano performing his viral hit "Beautiful Things" and latest release "Slow it Down." Boone also accepted his first EMA for best new act.
South African newcomer Tyla gave Swift a run for her money picking up three awards for best afrobeats, best R&B and best African act.
Tyla performed her smash hit "Water" for the EMA audience at the Co-op Live, Manchester, flanked by a host of dancers, as well as singing energetic new track "Push 2 Start."
British singer Rita Ora, who hosted the show for a record third time, paid tribute to former One Direction star Liam Payne, who died last month after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires.
Ora had a close relationship with the singer and the pair recorded a song together in 2018, "For You (Fifty Shades Freed)." She addressed the audience saying, "I want to take a moment to remember someone. Liam Payne was one of the kindest people I knew." Her voice broke as she asked the crowd to take a moment to remember Liam saying, "He had the biggest heart and he left such a mark on this world."
Hip-hop legend Busta Rhymes was awarded the EMAs global icon award from British rapper Little Simz telling the crowd that in 34 years of professionally recording this was his first award from MTV and it felt incredible. The 12-time Grammy Award nominee, who has more than 10 million album sales under... Read More