The ADDY Committee is proud to present this year's judges for the 25th annual Phoenix ADDY® competition

Mark Carlson, Creative Director, US Marketing, McDonald’s Corporation

Mr. Carlson is a 1982 Graduate of the College of Design at Iowa State University with a BA in Graphic Design. He began his career learning the traditional elements of print production in a print shop, then worked as a graphic designer for American Republic Insurance Company, and later Kragie/Newell Advertising in Des Moines, IA (now part of The Integer Group of advertising agencies). In his 11 year stay at the agency, he worked his way to copywriter, producer, director, and finally Creative Director, working for such advertisers as NAPA Auto Parts, Chevrolet, Firestone, and McDonald’s.

In 1998, he joined McDonald’s Corporation’s world headquarters in Oak Brook, IL, and works with dozens of agencies in the development and approval of creative for all media. His position gives him the challenging responsibility of “brand steward,” coordinating the efforts of local and national advertising. He is currently spearheading the complete redesign and implementation of a new global packaging system.

Mark has won numerous local and regional awards for his creative work (ADDY, Telly). He has been active in local chapter activities of the American Advertising Federation, winning Ad Pro of the Year honors, and has served for several years as an ADDY judge and keynote speaker. He currently serves on the Joint Policy Committee of the ANA/AAAA (Association of National Advertisers/American Association of Advertising Agencies). 

Mark and his wife Vicki Ray Carlson live in Naperville, IL with their three daughters Emma, Leah and Sadie.


Allesandra Lariu -  - Digital Group Creative Director at McCann Erickson NYCi

Lariu has been in digital long enough to have designed and coded CD-ROMs. More recently she’s helped move the interactive industry forward with digital work for such clients as O2, Baileys, Mercedes-Benz, BBC, Kodak, Orange, Epson and London Underground at Agency Republic in London.

Lariu’s latest work out of McCann New York has included highly praised projects, including an augmented reality ad for the One Show and the MasterCard Priceless Picks iPhone app. She is also the co-founder of She Says, an initiative to help women further their careers in online advertising. Lariu has won and judged many of the industries most regarded awards.

Alessandra Lariu’s Honors:
WON: IAB, Revolution, BIMA, Creative Circle, Webbys, Eurobest
SHORTLISTED: IAB, BIMA, Clio, Campaign
JUDGED: BIMA, D&AD, ADDY, OneShow 


Jay Roth - Senior Copywriter - The Integer Group, Denver, Co

Jay Roth is a Denver, Colorado-based senior copywriter with fifteen years under his belt, thirteen of them at The Integer Group. Over the course of his career, Jay has developed work for household names like Royal Caribbean, Hewlett-Packard, MillerCoors Brewing Company, Polaris Snowmobiles, Coca-Cola, Denver Art Museum, and Procter & Gamble. Jay has been privileged to be recognized by the One Show, Graphis, Webbys, and ADDYs, and is currently the president of the Art Director’s Club of Denver. He lives with his wife Tonja, three children, and about fourteen pets (at last count).  

• Former Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth, is his second cousin.
• Witnesses say Jay once ate more than 100 crickets in a remote part of Mexico.
• Jay dated Anna Paquin briefly before she hit the big time in X-Men.
• He and his wife Tonja went to Siberia in 2005 where they adopted their daughter, Alena.
• Jay was on a national TV documentary honoring the life of Johnny Carson.
• While in Vegas, he made Nikki Hilton laugh while her sister Paris snubbed him.

 Four out of the six statements above are true.