For the first time in the history of the ad:tech awards, three individuals were honored with the Industry Achievement Award.

An A-List crowd of interactive marketing and advertising professionals convened Wednesday evening for an entertainment-packed ad:tech San Francisco awards ceremony and connect LIVE! event.

While partygoers feasted on gourmet appetizers and quenched their collective thirst with a top-shelf open bar, DJ Zeph entertained the crowd with music to get the crowd in the mood for the night's festivities. But the real attraction for the attendees was a performance by members of the famed Cirque du Soleil performance troupe, which took the stage twice, first to open the ceremony and then again to close the show.

After the awards ceremony, attendees drank, ate and networked into the night, while DJ Zeph kept the party going strong with his music.

Don Knox, vice president of ad:tech, welcomed the crowd, telling the audience that the tradeshow -- as well as the internet -- has come a long way over the past 10 years. Knox then thanked the more than 400 companies that submitted campaigns for review, as well as the judges and sponsors who lent their support to make the event possible.

Susan Bratton and Geoff Ramsey hosted the ceremony proper, which honored industry notables with 23 LimeLight Awards, 10 People's Choice Awards and a new feature: three Industry Achievement Awards.

A complete list of the evening's winners follows:

Interactive Ads

BEST DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENT:
ACE First Responder, GSD&M

BEST INTERACTIVE BROADCAST AD:
Ronaldinho Spoof, SP3 Denmark

BEST LARGE FORMAT AD:
Universal Shrek Character Ad, T3 (The Think Tank)

BEST NEXT GENERATION AD:
Leo Burnett Detroit/Campfire

BEST OVERLAY AD:
Air Force Humanitarian, GSD&M

BEST USE OF RICH MEDIA:
ESPN X Games 12: Video Reel "Mirra," AKQA Optimization/Search Strategy

BEST CAMPAIGN OPTIMIZATION:
The Weather Channel - NOTIFY! page optimization, Widemile

BEST SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION/STRATEGY CAMPAIGN:
Marriott.com Natural Search Campaign, Marriott & iProspect

BEST SEARCH MARKETING STRATEGY/CAMPAIGN:
Lids & iProspect Interactive Campaigns

BEST AFFILIATE MARKETING CAMPAIGN:
Advaliant

BEST BRANDING CAMPAIGN:
Air Force Campaign, GSD&M

BEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS CAMPAIGN:
DHL-AirMAX Banner Campaign

BEST CONSUMER CAMPAIGN:
Body by Milk, Weber Shandwick

BEST DIRECT RESPONSE CAMPAIGN:
eBay Holiday, Agency.com

BEST EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN:
Talladega Raceday Scanner Weekend, Turner Sports New Media carried by Datran Media

BEST INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN:
adidas MLS Mashups Campaign, EVB

BEST MOBILE CAMPAIGN:
Nike Basketball Mobile, R/GA

BEST SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGN:
Leo Burnett Detroit/Campfire

BEST WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING CAMPAIGN:
Regiftable.com - Really, You Shouldn't Have, Money Management International

Websites

BEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING WEBSITE:
Cisco- No More Webisodes, Ogilvy

BEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS TRANSACTION WEBSITE:
BlueTie's Featuretisements, BlueTie, Inc.

BEST BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER MARKETING WEBSITE:
Maddenoliday, Freestyle Interactive

BEST BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER TRANSACTION WEBSITE:
Lenovo- Think Duo, Ogilvy

People's Choice

BEST DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENT:
Tony Hawk's Project 8, Client: Activision, Agency: 65 Media, Rich Media Vendor: EyeWonder

BEST INTERACTIVE BROADCAST AD:
Nerf Herder (I don't wanna be no) for Ziddio.com, AKQA

BEST LARGE FORMAT AD:
Mercedes-Benz USA GL Teaser, Critical Mass Inc.

BEST NEXT GENERATION AD:
Nissan ABC Ad Pod, Schematic

BEST OVERLAY AD:
Air Force Humanitarian, GSD&M

BEST USE OF RICH MEDIA:
ESPN X Games 12: Video Reel "Mirra," AKQA

BEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING WEBSITE:
Cisco-No More Webisodes, Ogilvy

BEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS TRANSACTION WEBSITE:
Coke Solutions, Avenue A | Razorfish

BEST BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER MARKETING WEBSITE:
Range Rover Microsite 2007, Wunderman, Irvine

BEST BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER TRANSACTION WEBSITE:
Target Custom Stationery, AKQA

Industry Achievement Awards Recipients

For the first time in the history of the awards, ad:tech honored three individuals with the Industry Achievement Award for long-term dedication and consistent outstanding service to online marketing by individuals.

The three executives awarded this year were Scot McLernon, senior vice president of sales, CBS Digital Media; Sarah Fay, president, Isobar USA; and David Smith, CEO, MediaSmith.

Michael Estrin is the associate editor at iMedia Connection. Read full bio.