Vigilante agency names Valerie Graves as Chief Creative Officer

(January 26, 2006) Vigilante, a leading urban and youth advertising and marketing agency based in New York, recently named two new executives to its leadership team to best position the firm for the future. Valerie Graves was named chief creative officer and Mike Persaud was named financial controller. As the award-winning firm continues to grow, the firm’s leadership team also continues to expand.

Valerie Graves has more than 25 years of creative experience developing campaigns for African American, urban, female and general market consumers.

“Valerie is an industry powerhouse who bring Vigilante’s clients cutting-edge ideas, leadership both internally and externally, as well as excellent relationships in corporate America and the music and entertainment industries,” said Larry Woodard, Vigilante CEO and Chief Strategy Officer. “I am proud to have her join our leadership team.”

Under Graves’ new creative leadership, Vigilante recently launched an advertising campaign for Pontiac Solstice, which features the music of multi-platinum, GRAMMY® Award-winning artist and actor Ludacris. The Vigilante creative work uses the track "Two Miles an Hour" in a brand-building television spot, which will run in national media rotation.

The campaign also includes a two-page spread magazine ad and outdoor billboards including a placement adjacent to NY’s famed Apollo Theatre. The print and outdoor headline reads “Two Miles an Hour So Everybody Sees You.”  The headline is the title of a Ludacris hit song and its video, in which the Pontiac Solstice appears. It references the urban act of “flossing,” a slang term for “showing off” or driving your car slowly through a neighborhood so everyone can admire it.

Prior to joining Vigilante, Valerie was senior vice president and chief creative officer at UniWorld Group from 1999 through 2003. Valerie’s responsibilities included overall direction of the agency’s award-winning creative product. Clients included Ford Motor Company, Lincoln, AT&T, Kraft, Microsoft and Burger King Corporation.  Under Valerie’s creative leadership, UniWorld has dominated the ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards, winning the African American category 2001-2003.

Ms. Graves' individual awards include honors from the Art Director's Club of New York, the Boston Ad Club and the Maine Ad Club. She is the recipient of a Creativity Magazine Award, the Chicago Radio Festival Award and is a 15-time winner of the Creative Excellence to Black Audiences (CEBA) Award.  Advertising Age also has honored her as “One of the 100 Best and Brightest.”

From 1995-1997, she was senior vice president, corporate creative services at Motown Records, where she developed new business and corporate imagery campaigns. Additionally, she launched Valerie Graves Creative, an advertising and marketing company specializing in African American, urban and female consumer markets, whose clients included Clairol. In 1999, Ms. Graves was creative director at Nelson Communications, Inc., the health communications giant, where she created a multimedia program for World AIDS Day "99.

Ms. Graves began her career as a copywriter at the D'Arcy MacManus and Masius, BBDO and Ross Roy communications agencies in Detroit, and moved to the east coast to work at the J. Walter Thompson and Kenyon & Eckhardt agencies. As a creative consultant, Ms. Graves served on the national advertising team of the Clinton/Gore '92 campaign.

Valerie serves on the Creative Review Committee of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America and on the Campaigns Review Committee of The Advertising Council. She sits on the Board of Directors of The Advertising Club of New York and chairs its Diversity Committee.

Ms. Graves attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and studied screenwriting, directing and film production at New York University.

She resides in New York City with her husband, Newsday journalist Alvin Bessent.

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