NYF Health Opens 2025 Awards with Industry Leaders Allison Ceraso and Kathleen Nanda at the Helm of Executive Juries
NYF Health Expands with Bold New Categories and the 2025 CFE Campaign from The Bloc
The 2025 New York Festivals Health Awards, honoring excellence in Healthcare, Wellness and Pharmaceutical advertising, is now open for entries.
This year’s competition launches with the appointment of two industry trailblazers to lead the Executive Jury panels. Allison Ceraso, CCO at Digitas Health, will chair the Health & Wellness Executive Jury, and Kathleen Nanda, CCO at FCB Health New York, an IPG Health company, will head the Pharma Executive Jury.
These influential creative leaders will preside over the Executive Jury panels, thoughtfully evaluating the Shortlist, curated by the online Shortlist Jury, to determine this year’s award-winning campaigns. Together, they’ll honor inspired work that makes a difference in people’s lives and recognize the best in health and wellness communications.
“We’re proud to welcome such visionary leaders to chair this year’s Executive Juries,” said Jennifer Vizina, Executive Director, New York Festivals Health Awards. “Their insight and dedication will help ensure that the most innovative, purposeful, and impactful work from around the world is honored with the recognition it deserves.”
2025 Executive Jury Chair – Health & Wellness
Allison Ceraso has built her career on empathy, creativity, and impact, bringing a people-first mindset to every aspect of health advertising. Now serving as CCO of Digitas Health, the largest health agency within Publicis, she is focused on integrating inclusive design and innovation into meaningful brand experiences that improve lives.
Her award-winning work, from the emotionally resonant ParkinSex and ScART initiatives to recent campaigns in asthma and Alzheimer’s disease, reflects her belief that creativity in health must be both human and purposeful. A recognized industry leader, Allison was named a 2024 Cannes Lions “See It, Be It” Mentor, a Campaign US “40 Over 40” honoree, and an HBA Rising Star. She is also deeply involved in mentorship and advocacy through her work with FIT’s Ad Design program and the Research Foundation to Cure AIDS. As Jury Chair, she brings visionary leadership and a passion for transformative storytelling to guide this year’s Health & Wellness judging panel.
“NYF Health honors the world’s most exceptional creativity in health — the kind fueled by grit, determination, heart, and a drive to make a difference. As a born-and-raised New Yorker, I know those qualities aren’t just what power great work — they’re the soul of this city. I’m proud to help recognize the brilliance, craft, and impact shaping the future of health.”— Health & Wellness Chair, Allison Ceraso CCO at Digitas Health
2025 Executive Jury Chair – Pharma
Kathleen, a 14-year veteran of FCB Health New York, an IPG Health company, the single largest healthcare marketing agency in the world, has spent more than 20 years creating effective, award-winning work on marquee brands across a broad range of categories. She began her career in consumer advertising, working for notable clients such as AT&T, Ford, Citibank, Sprint, Kodak, and the US Marine Corps, among others.
After discovering healthcare, she eagerly jumped in and never looked back. Over her career, she has been both a winner and a juror at The New York Festivals, Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clios, Effies, and more. She was named a 2024 MM+M Woman of Distinction. Kathleen’s experience is vast, and she’s created award-winning work for all types of brands, from dermatology to virology.
Grounded in a firm belief that creativity has the power to help improve lives, she relentlessly pushes for work that breaks through and changes human behavior in new and unexpected ways. The tremendous potential of healthcare advertising still excites her daily, and she is thrilled to be able to help enhance the work, and most importantly, the lives of those impacted by it.
“NYFH is a great show and I’m thrilled by the opportunity to recognize work that blends creativity and compassion, and to help champion campaigns that change lives, drive equity, and elevate healthcare communication,” said Kathleen Nanda, CCO, FCB Health New York, an IPG Health company. “I believe in the power of celebrating courage in creativity and am eager to lead a jury that encourages risk‑taking and boundary-pushing work.”
2025 CFE Campaign
NYF Health Awards unveiled this year’s Call for Entry campaign, “Rewarding Healthy Obsession,” developed by Adam Hessel, CCO at The Bloc, and his creative team. The engaging print campaign dramatizes the relentless commitment of health and pharma creatives by showcasing extreme work scenarios. Witty scenarios include finalizing a case study during mid-flight wild turbulence, reviewing edits in a sauna, tweaking copy during a bank robbery, and even a bride approving layouts in a limo after her wedding, the concept taps into the obsessive perfectionism that drives the industry.
“We wanted to focus on the enduring passion, dedication, and relentless creative commitment that it takes to achieve great work. The campaign showcases the creative journey that’s in our DNA – the best creatives do whatever it takes to keep making progress, no matter what situation they find themselves in,” said Adam Hessel, Chief Creative Officer at The Bloc.
“NYF Health couldn’t agree more with the sentiment behind ‘Rewarding Healthy Obsession.’ For nearly 50 years, we’ve been recognizing the kind of creative persistence in the health industry this campaign celebrates. We hope creatives will get a knowing chuckle,” says Jennifer Vizina, NYF Health Executive Director.
New Category News for 2025
NYF Health expands its 2025 competition with bold new categories that reflect the evolving landscape of health and wellness communications. New additions include NYF’in Funny, celebrating the evolving trend to add humor in health advertising; Creativity in Commerce, honoring hybrid campaigns that drive engagement and transactions; Best Use of Data, spotlighting work powered by research and storytelling; and Managed Markets, recognizing strategic pharma communications.
Also new for 2025: Greater Good, honoring purpose-driven campaigns that use creativity to spark systemic change in areas like mental health, health equity, human rights, environmental sustainability, and children’s well-being. Future Now expands with new craft-focused categories spotlighting innovation in augmented experiences and AI-enabled pharma and medical work.
The NYF Health dual Executive Jury sessions will be held in mid-November 2025 in New York City.
The official Early Bird deadline to enter the 2025 NYF Health Awards is September 15. For more information on the competition, including rules, categories, and entry details, visit: HERE.
