Two Canadian creative directors will participate in the judging of the Cresta Awards, a new international awards program for visual communications to be held at a yet-to-be announced location in Oct.

The Cresta Awards are the inspiration of Creative Standards International, a New York company formed for the purpose of developing the awards, which are being staged with the endorsement of the International Advertising Association.

The president of Creative Standards is advertising awards-show veteran Nancy Ross, who spent 16 years as vice-president of the troubled Clio Awards.

Ross has assembled an impressive cast of 55 creative directors, film specialists, graphic designers and other advertising-related professionals to judge the premier staging of the event.

Included in the International Grand Jury, which represents 27 countries, are Larry Tolpin, executive vice-president and chief creative officer of McKim Baker Lovick/bbdo and Douglas Linton, director of creative services with Ambrose Carr Linton Kelly, both of Toronto.

Other members of the jury include Jay Chiat of Chiat/Day, New York, Jeremy Pemberton, executive creative director of dmb&b in London and Oliviero Toscani, the Italian photographer responsible for the world-famous Benetton ads.

The Cresta Awards will comprise two separate competitions: one for consumer advertising, including public service ads, and another for business-to-business advertising.

Ross says the aim of the program is to help establish creative standards for excellence in consumer and business communications worldwide and to help agencies, studios and production houses build their reputations internationally.

Ross says that unlike many awards shows that create arbitrary categories for judging purposes, such as a category for automobile ads or packaged-goods ads, the Cresta Awards will recognize only the best overall consumer and business ads.

The submissions will be slotted, however, into such categories as single ads, campaigns and multi-media campaigns.