Born and raised in the Bronx, Neil Tardio first explored his creative side at the University of Oregon, studying both art and architecture and TV, radio and theater, all the while performing stand-up comedy and working at KPTV in Portland. After a stint in Ranger School, he served in Korea as an Intelligence Officer and as a company commander.
After the war, with his experience in television, Tardio sought employment in advertising agencies, and landed a spot in McCann Erickson’s one-year training program. After four years at McCann Erickson, he moved to Young & Rubicam, working his way up from TV commercial producer to executive producer, completing his career there as associate creative director. During his 10 years at Y&R, Tardio worked on award winning accounts including Goodyear, Union Carbide, General Foods, Gulf Oil and Windex. He made the transition from ad executive to director in 1970 after directing and producing “Light, Strong and Beautiful”, a 30-minute industrial film for Kaiser Aluminum, noting the freedom and creativity he had in the film’s execution.
He established Neil Tardio Productions in 1973 and has since gone on to direct countless commercials, including spots for IBM, American Express, AT&T and Chrysler, to name a few. Tardio has also directed Billy Joel’s “The Night is Still Young” music video, numerous PSA campaigns, including the White House’s “Just Say No” and the Ad Council’s Drunk Driving Prevention campaigns, as well as commercials for political campaigns.
Tardio’s commercial work has received a DGA Award nomination in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials category for his US Army and Xerox spots in 1983 and numerous CLIO Advertising Awards. He has been a DGA member for over 40 years and was chairman of the 1999, 2001 and 2005 Commercial Negotiations Committees.