Terry Crews to Host Inaugural Clio Creator Awards at the Dolby Theatre

The Clios will hand out its first creator-focused awards on Nov. 18 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with actor Terry Crews hosting a ceremony the organizers explicitly built to rival the Oscars and Grammys.

The show marks year one of Clio Creators, a new program presented by YouTube and powered by influencer marketing company Influential. It will honor creative work across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and other platforms, and will stream exclusively on YouTube.

The program has been in development for roughly two years, and the ambition was cinematic from the start, according to Chris Detort's colleague — Chris Detert, chief communications officer at Influential and executive producer of the event. "We wanted red carpet fanfare," Detert said.

How do the Clio Creator Awards differ from other industry awards?

Unlike most advertising honors, Clio Creators will name the creator — not the brand or agency — as the recipient. Creators can submit their own work, and brands can submit campaigns made in collaboration with creators, according to the organization.

The honors range from Bronze to Grand Clio, and nearly every award will be presented on stage by a major creator, including Jordan the Stallion, King Bach and Trixie Mattel.

Two special honors are already set:

• Dhar Mann, founder of Dhar Mann Studios, will receive the Clio Creator Impact Award.
• Grace Wells, the short-form filmmaker known for her series Making Epic Commercials for Random Objects, will receive the Rising Star Award.

The stated promise is a prestige-tier platform for creator work. What remains untested, as with any first-year show, is whether an advertising-awards institution can translate 65-plus years of credibility with brands into standing with creator communities — a caveat the organizers have not addressed.

Why Terry Crews?

Crews and Detert first met at the Possible marketing conference in Miami, while Crews was hosting Crews Control, a YouTube series for Cadillac's F1 team. When Detert floated the hosting idea, it resonated with Crews, whose multidecade career has survived in part because he embraces new formats early.

Crews brings his own creator credentials: about 25 million followers on TikTok and nearly 18 million on Instagram. For him, the appeal is that creators now produce much of the best storytelling in advertising.

"Brands and ads have taken the place of sitcoms," Crews told ADWEEK. "I get most of my great laughs from ads, rather than television shows. Most of the time I get it from these great creators who are doing these hilarious videos."

Crews said he has already worked with Mann, one of this year's honorees, in a philanthropic venture.

What standard will the awards apply?

Crews argues the Clios' legacy supports judging work on quality rather than reach — a claim the awards' actual judging criteria, which the organization has not detailed, will have to bear out.

"This is not about numbers and volume," he said. "This is about how creative these guys are. I think that is the most important thing: to treat everyone there as an artist."

In short: the host is promising an artist-first ceremony, and the Nov. 18 stream on YouTube will show whether a 65-year-old advertising institution can credibly deliver it.