The late Johannes Newrkla has been rewarded with ADCE’s 2020 Creative Distinction Award, a recognition for creativity with a profound social and cultural impact.

He was the Managing Partner and co-founder of Merlicek & Partner, and CEO of Bluetango, a Vienna based advertising agency he started after studying architecture and marketing, when he ended up in advertising as a consultant and creative.

As a genuine European and a border crosser he was a founding member of the Art Directors Club of Europe. For 8 years, he held the presidency of the ADCE, and has been our Treasurer until this year 2020. Johannes won many national and international awards and was a member of many international juries like The Cup (Intercontinental Advertising Cup), Golden Drum, CCA-Austria, Die Klappe (Germany) and many others.

The ADCE Board has decided to award Johannes Newrkla with the Creative Distinction as he passed away in March 2020, victim of Covid-19. He was the only Founding Member still on the ADCE Board and has tirelessly been working to promote excellence in European creativity for more than 30 years.

He believed in Europe and worked to elevate the standards of European creativity through the ADCE. “Unity in Diversity” was one of his mottos and he was always enhancing the best creativity from senior and new generations. He will never be forgotten.