Bob Giraldi is an iconic director of TV commercials, music videos, short and feature films with a career spanning 50 years. A creative director at the legendary Y&R ad agency in NY, and caught up in the middle of the early advertising creative revolution, he spent over 10 years on Madison Avenue, earning the distinction of being named as one of "101 Stars Behind 100 Years of Advertising." In 2014, Giraldi was the first commercial director ever to be elected to the Advertising Hall of Fame.
Giraldi has produced and directed over 4000 visual marketing and advertising pieces. He has been inducted into the NY Art Director's Hall of Fame, one of the few film directors to be honored. His work resides in the permanent collection of Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in NYC. He directed one of the longest advertising campaigns in history: "Tastes Great, Less Filling" for Miller Lite. He also directed the original Pepsi ad campaigns featuring Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
Working with music luminaries such as Michael Jackson, Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ricky Martin, Hall & Oates and Will Smith, he continued to win acclaim and define the future of the medium with music videos like "Beat It," "Say, Say, Say," "Love is a Battlefield," "Hello," "Running With the Night," and "Don't Drive Drunk”.
In the early '90's, Bob Giraldi threw his hat into the New York restaurant ring, opening Jo-Jo with his then film partner, Phil Suarez, and the fresh to New York chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Soon Giraldi became part of the team that created the foundation for a food dynasty that is unparalleled, even to this day. After Jo-Jo, Giraldi became a partner in various eateries, such as Jean Georges, the NY Times 4-Star restaurant an Asian fusion sensation, Vong, a forerunner of modern Thai cuisine in NYC, with its London and Hong Kong outposts-- Mercer Kitchen in SoHo-- and Prime, the venerable steakhouse at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Giraldi was also involved in the creation of Patria; at the time in the early 90's, led by chef Douglas Rodriquez, considered the first significant and legitimate nuevo Latino cuisine in NYC. Patria received the NY Times 3-Stars,
Gigino Trattoria opened its doors in August of 1994. Owners once again, Giraldi and Suarez, along with executive chef Luigi Celentano, whom they discovered in Positano on the Amalfi coast of Italy, have kept this amazing resilient and consistent Italian eatery flourishing as the restaurant has become a mainstay in the ever-changing Tribeca neighborhood.
Bob also started Gigino at Wagner Park with Suarez-- and Celentano, once again, as the Executive Chef. This popular inside/outside café is located at the southern tip of Manhattan, with the most spectacular views of the New York harbor; a truly unique piece of waterfront dining, especially in the summer months on the outdoor patio.
In 1995, Giraldi and Executive Producer, Patti Greaney, created the original website StarChefs.com, featuring celebrity chefs and cookbook authors. StarChefs.com continues to be the foremost website used by professionals and food aficionados.
Mr. Giraldi has been on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts for over thirty years. He is currently Chair of SVA's 'Masters in Directing' grad program.