Inducted in 2018
Bill Hinkle is widely recognized for his achievements in advertising and higher education. After graduating from the University of Tulsa, Bill honed his creative skills at several of Tulsa’s most successful advertising agencies, starting as a copywriter, becoming a Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director, then founding his own firm, Hinkle Creative Services. In the process, he’s won hundreds of creative and marketing awards.
In one of advertising’s most prestigious creative competitions, New York’s One Show, Bill won Gold and Silver awards. He has won 28 national ADDY awards, the largest competition for creative excellence in advertising. He’s also won more than 500 local ADDYs and numerous Best of Show awards. His award-winning campaigns include those for Tulsa Federal Credit Union, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa State Fair, Hillcrest Healthcare System, and Tulsa Opera, among many others.
He was awarded the Silver ADDY by the Tulsa Advertising Federation as Advertising Executive of the Year. The local chapter of American Women in Radio and Television named Bill Account Executive of the year and Creative Person of the Year three times.
In 1994, Bill began a new phase of his career when he co-founded an Advertising Program at the University of Tulsa. As an adjunct professor, he’s known for motivating young adults to follow their dreams, and he’s been named Faculty Member of the Year by three different TU student groups. He also received the J. Paschal Twyman Award for “service above and beyond the call of duty” to the University, and was inducted into the University of Tulsa Communications Hall of Fame.
He’s been President of the TU Alumni Association and has served on the boards of: Emergency Infant Services, Palmer Drug Abuse Program, American Theatre Company, Hillcrest Hospital, Symphony of Tulsa, Theatre Tulsa, Tulsa Sports Commission, and Tulsa Philharmonic. Bill and his wife Rosie have endowed a scholarship at TU, as he continues his varied and impressive record of community service.
