September 2, 2011
GLAAD ANNOUNCES HONOREES, AWARD
RECIPIENTS FOR THE 2011 GLAAD AMPLIFIER
AWARDS PRESENTED BY OMNICOM GROUP, DRAFTFCB,
PUBLICIS GROUPE & ROKK VODKA
Allstate, Bob Witeck & Wesley Combs to be Honored on October
4th at NY event, Google, American Airlines, Wells Fargo, GMHC
Among Award Recipients
Contact:
Rich Ferraro
Director of Communications GLAAD
(646) 871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org
New York, NY, September 2, 2011- The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, announced today the
honorees and award recipients for the 2011 GLAAD Amplifier Awards presented
by Omnicom Group, and presented in part by DRAFTFCB, Publicis Groupe, and
ROKK Vodka. The event will take place on October 4, 2011 at The Altman
Building in New York City.
Among the award recipients are: Google's television ad for Chrome "The Web is
What You Make of It: It Gets Better Project," American Airlines' "Beach Towel"
outdoor ad campaign, Allstate's "Protection for All" ads, Wells Fargo's print ads
for LGBT financial advisors, and the "I Love My Boo" campaign by New York's
first HIV/AIDS non-profit organization, GMHC.
A complete list of award recipients is included below and images of the ads can
be found at http://www.glaad.org/amplifierawards/awardrecipients. This year, all
award recipients listed in the categories below will receive a GLAAD Amplifier
Award and be recognized at the event.
"When the GLAAD Media Awards began recognizing news and entertainment
media 23 years ago, fair and accurate images of LGBT people were few and far
between," said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson. "As a result of
programs like the GLAAD Media Awards, LGBT images in the media grew
rapidly.
"The advertising industry is still behind news and entertainment media
in terms of including images that reflect the diversity of LGBT people. By
highlighting the great work of all of our award recipients with an Amplifier Award,
we hope their corporate peers will begin including our community in ads which
accurately reflect the fabric of American culture today."
GLAAD also announced that Allstate will receive the Corporate Responsibility
Award for its long-standing and public commitment to the LGBT community.
Allstate has been a leader in LGBT marketing and inclusion for over 15 years.
The company has offered same-sex partner benefits since 1995, one of the first
insurance companies to do so, and began advertising to the LGBT community
soon thereafter. Allstate’s ads have spanned many topics from "Celebrating
Diversity" to "Protection for All" and have educated the public on the diversity of
gay and lesbian families today. Allstate is ranked as one of DiversityInc’s "Top 50
Companies for Diversity" and received a score of 100 on HRC’s "2011 Corporate
Equality Index." The company received an award from GLAAD in 2009 for the
outdoor advertising campaign entitled "Insurance Comes Out."
GLAAD will present Bob Witeck & Wesley Combs with the Public Visibility Award
in recognition of their careers advocating for LGBT inclusion in all forms of media
and marketing. For two decades Bob Witeck and Wesley Combs have
challenged the minds of all Americans with inclusive and compelling LGBT
strategies. Through their dedication at Witeck-Combs Communications, they
have worked with leading Fortune 500 companies to represent LGBT people and
families in innovative and authentic campaigns that resonate with the customer
and deepen loyalty to a brand . They have pioneered valuable research into the
behaviors and attitudes of LGBT households that inspires corporations to
recognize, respect and support our community through their marketing and
cause-related philanthropy.
The GLAAD Amplifier Awards, formerly called the
GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising, elevate and promote individuals and
projects in advertising and marketing industries for groundbreaking
representations of the LGBT community. The Amplifier Awards also fund
GLAAD's work to amplify stories of LGBT people and issues in all media, as well
as GLAAD’s work with corporate America on best practices for inclusion of LGBT
people in the workplace.
GLAAD is pleased to announce that for the second year in a row, this event is an
official event of Advertising Week. Advertising Week is North America's premier
gathering of cutting-edge communications leaders. Advertising Week is a hybrid
of thought leadership and special event programming, uniting clients, creatives,
media and inspiring figures. Advertising Week's mission is to galvanize the
industry by creating an entertaining, enlightening and engaging platform for
disparate parts of the advertising business.
GLAAD will also hold a panel discussion on trends in LGBT advertising with
Publicis Groupe during Advertising Week.
The GLAAD Amplifier Awards will be held in New York on October 4, 2011 at
The Altman Building, 135 West 18th Street in New York City. More special
guests and presenters will be announced. To purchase tickets for the event,
please visit http://www.glaad.org/amplifierawards.
Award Recipients for the 2011 GLAAD Amplifier Awards were printed, broadcast
or appeared online between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.
Leveraging GLAAD's media advocacy and anti-LGBT defamation resources,
GLAAD’s Advertising Media Program proactively advances inclusion of the LGBT
community in mainstream advertising through advocacy work at advertising
agencies and corporate advertising departments. GLAAD maintains an online
library of over 4,000 LGBT-inclusive ads at www.glaad.org/advertising.
The GLAAD Amplifier Awards are presented by Omnicom Group, and presented
in part by DRAFTFCB, Publicis Groupe, and ROKK Vodka. GLAAD is also
grateful to the event's Gold Corporate Partners: American Airlines and Oglilvy;
Silver Corporate Partners: Barefoot Wines & Bubbly, Deutsch, McCann
Worldwide, MillerCoors and Yahoo!. For a full list of corporate sponsors and
information on how to become a corporate sponsor, or to become a table host or
purchase tickets, please visit www.glaad.org/amplifierawards.
THE 2011 GLAAD AMPLIFIER AWARDS
AWARD RECIPIENTS
Outstanding TV Campaign – Mainstream Market
"The Web is What You
Make of It: It Gets Better Project" (Google Chrome)
Outstanding TV Campaign – LGBT Market
"Cocktail Cabaret" (Absolut
Vodka/RuPaul's Drag Race)
"The Experts" (Expedia/TripOut)
Outstanding Print Campaign – Mainstream Market
"So What's Cooking in
the Kitchen" (GE Monogram)
"Stick Around. Things Get Interesting." (Kaiser
Permanente)
Outstanding Print Campaign – LGBT Market
"LGBT Franchise Product"
(American Airlines)
"Not All Ifs in Life are the Same" (MetLife)
"Wells Fargo
Advisors ADPA Campaign" (Wells Fargo)
Outstanding Outdoor Campaign
"Beach Towel" (American Airlines)
"Filtering
Out Inequality" (Rokk Vodka)
"Protection for All" (Allstate Insurance Co.)
Outstanding Interactive Campaign no award recipients
Outstanding Social Marketing Campaign
"AIDS is Not Over" (Desert AIDS
Project)
"Be Their Champion" (NYC Administration for Children’s Services)
"La
homofobia tiene muchas caras" (Hispanic Federation & The NY AIDS
Institute)
"I Love My Boo" (GMHC)
###
About GLAAD: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share
their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they
present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By
ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD
promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality. For
more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on
Facebook and Twitter.