A GREAT big thank you to everyone who attended the Inaugural GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising presented by Ogilvy and Southwest Airlines in New York City on October 27, 2009! Over 350 professionals from the advertising industry attended the event that recognize and honor outstanding images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in advertising.
The evening began with a reception at New World Stages where guests bid on silent auction items with proceeds benefiting GLAAD’s media advocacy and anti-defamation work.
Inside the event, the live auction was conducted by the first female fine art auctioneer in America, Lorna Kelly, and actor Bryan Batt (Mad Men).
The Inaugural Media Awards in Advertising opened with a warm welcome from host, actor Alan Cumming, who received the Vito Russo Award at the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. After a “GLAAD Men” sketch (in the style of Mad Men), he cued the beginning of the visual presentations. All nominees were shown to the audience – spanning industries and including diverse images of the LGBT community.
After Cumming’s monologue, he introduced Jeffrey Moran of Absolut Vodka, who announced the GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Print/Outdoor advertisement that ran in LGBT outlets. Progressive Insurance accepted the award for “LGBT Print Campaign,” which featured classic antique portraits of gay and lesbian couples, with one-line captions such as, “Generations later, this portrait reached the mantel.” The award was accepted by Miriam Deitcher, Director of Target Marketing for Progressive.
The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Print/Outdoor advertisement in the Mainstream Market was presented to Allstate’s “Insurance Comes Out” campaign. Allstate’s outdoor advertisement ran on bus shelters and in health clubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco to pay homage to the company’s LGBT consumers. The advertisement featured different printed advertisements containing an equality rainbow and LGBT friendly phrases such as, “Equality is Our Policy” and “You’re Only Human, Fabulous, But Human.” The award was accepted by Megan Dawson, Associate Project Manager and Manager of LGBT Communications at Allstate.
in the Outstanding Interactive Campaign category. In partnership with Scion, LOGOonline built the application that allowed LOGO viewers to express their creativity with the popular Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple franchise. Users were able to create their own unique comic strip with the show’s characters and were given the ability to create their own Scion to use in their comic. Users were encouraged to share their comics and enter them in a contest that received 2,031 entries. Hill presented the award to Lisa Sherman.
Award recipients, previously announced at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in January 2009 for the categories: Outstanding Advertising – Electronic and Outstanding Advertising – Print, were also recognized at Tuesday night’s event.
Anthony Cirone, former Chair of the Commercial Closet Association Board of Directors, announced a tie in Outstanding Advertising – Electronic between Levi's "Logo Unbuttoned" campaign and Kenneth Cole's "We All Walk In Different Shoes – Nina Poon". A representative from interactive marketing accepted the award for Levi’s sensuous ad featuring a gay couple. Kristen Dykstra spoke on behalf of Kenneth Cole’s enterprising ad featuring transgender model Nina Poon.
Scott Seitz of SPI Marketing and Jeffrey Moran received the award for Outstanding Advertising – Print for "Will You Marry Me" by ABSOLUT® VODKA The ad featured a marriage proposal from a man to his partner on a jumbotron at a baseball game. The caption reads, “In an Absolut World”, a daring political statement campaigning for marriage equality.
The final award of the event
was presented by actress Judith Light along with LGBT advocate and author, David Mixner. Light and Mixner presented Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams with the Public Visibility Award for their personal dedication to advocating for LGBT equality, as well as the inclusion of LGBT stories in advertisements for their furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.
Beginning next year, all future advertising nominees will be announced in conjunction with the GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising event. Also, GLAAD maintains an online library of over 4,000 LGBT-inclusive ads.
GLAAD would like to extend great thanks to all the corporate partners for their generous support in making the event a great success and a night to remember.
We hope to see you at the GLAAD’s next event, OUTAuction, on Sunday, November 15, 2009.
The following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising recipients announced on Tuesday in New York.
• Outstanding Print/Outdoor - LGBT Market: "LGBT Print Campaign" Progressive Insurance (Presented by: Jeffrey Moran) [Accepted by: Miriam Deitcher]
• Outstanding Print/Outdoor - Mainstream Market: "Insurance Comes Out" Allstate (Presented by: Jeffrey Moran) [Accepted by: Megan Dawson]
• Corporate Responsibility Award: Subaru (Presented by Lisa Sherman:) [Accepted by: Tim Mahoney]
• TV - LGBT Market: "Bertolli Oven Baked Meals" Bertolli (Presented by: Jay Manuel) [Accepted by: Gaston Vaneri]
• TV - Mainstream Market: "Golfers" Orbitz (Presented by: Jay Manuel) [Accepted by: Brian Hoyt]
• Interactive: "Scion's Create-Your-Own-Comic" Toyota Scion (Presented by: Nancy Hill) [Accepted by: Lisa Sherman]
• Outstanding Advertising - Electronic: TIE: (Presented by: Anthony Cirone)"Logo Unbuttoned" Levi's & "We All Walk In Different Shoes - Nina Poon" Kenneth Cole [Accepted by: Kristen Dykstra]
• Outstanding Advertising - Print: "Will You Marry Me?" ABSOLUT® VODKA (Presented by: Anthony Cirone) [Accepted by: Jeffrey Moran]
• Public Visibility Award: (Presented by: Judith Light and David Mixner) [Accepted by: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams]
Click here to view all the nominees.
Special thanks to Thomas Evans photography and Peter Lau photography for capturing the event.
Inside the event, the live auction was conducted by the first female fine art auctioneer in America, Lorna Kelly, and actor Bryan Batt (Mad Men).
The Inaugural Media Awards in Advertising opened with a warm welcome from host, actor Alan Cumming, who received the Vito Russo Award at the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. After a “GLAAD Men” sketch (in the style of Mad Men), he cued the beginning of the visual presentations. All nominees were shown to the audience – spanning industries and including diverse images of the LGBT community.
After Cumming’s monologue, he introduced Jeffrey Moran of Absolut Vodka, who announced the GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Print/Outdoor advertisement that ran in LGBT outlets. Progressive Insurance accepted the award for “LGBT Print Campaign,” which featured classic antique portraits of gay and lesbian couples, with one-line captions such as, “Generations later, this portrait reached the mantel.” The award was accepted by Miriam Deitcher, Director of Target Marketing for Progressive.
The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Print/Outdoor advertisement in the Mainstream Market was presented to Allstate’s “Insurance Comes Out” campaign. Allstate’s outdoor advertisement ran on bus shelters and in health clubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco to pay homage to the company’s LGBT consumers. The advertisement featured different printed advertisements containing an equality rainbow and LGBT friendly phrases such as, “Equality is Our Policy” and “You’re Only Human, Fabulous, But Human.” The award was accepted by Megan Dawson, Associate Project Manager and Manager of LGBT Communications at Allstate.
In an interlude from the awards, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios addressed the crowd on the fundamentals that brought the group of professionals together on this special night. In remarks after the event, Barrios said that "advertisers that promote fair, accurate and inclusive images of the gay and transgender community send an important message to their customers, to fellow corporations – and to anyone who sees their ads – that LGBT people should be accepted and valued for our contributions to society. Advertisers that promote fair, accurate and inclusive images of the gay and transgender community send an important message to their 
customers, to fellow corporations – and to anyone who sees their ads – that LGBT people should be accepted and valued for our contributions to society," continued Barrios on the authority of corporate advertising. Barrios concluded that, "GLAAD congratulates the award recipients and will continue to advocate for increased inclusion of LGBT images in mainstream advertising to show gay and transgender people are part of America and respected as customers and employees in these companies."
Barrios then introduced Senior Vice-President and General Manager of LOGO and MTV Networks, Lisa Sherman, to the enthused crowd. The former ad-exec, was brought into cultivate LOGO from its launch in 2005 as an all ad-supported channel. In 2007, AfterEllen reported Sherman as being “number eleven” on their list of “The Top Thirteen Power Lesbians in the Entertainment Industry,” reporting that “under her guidance Logo's advertisers have grown from three, at its debut in 2005, to more than sixty.” (Click here for more)
With great honor, Sherman took the stage to introduce the Corporate Responsibility Award and announce its winner, Subaru. Tim Mahoney, Chief Marketing Officer Subaru, North America, accepted the award.
As the awards continued, Jay Manuel of America’s Next Top Model resumed the stage to begin announcing the award recipients in the categories of television advertising. Bertolli, received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Television – LGBT Market, for their ad “Bertolli Oven Baked Meals” that appeared on LGBT television channels. The advertisement featured a man’s day dream sequence, which gets interrupted by his partner as they sit down for dinner. Bertolli’s Senior Brand Building Director, Gaston Vaneri accepted the award.
The Outstanding Television in a Mainstream Market Award was presented to Orbitz, for their “Golfers” commercial. The award was accepted by Brian Hoyt, Vice-President and Government Affairs for Orbitz. The advertisement ran on national television channels and included a golfer wearing an LGBT equality symbol.
Nancy Hill, President-CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), awarded Toyota Scion's "Create-Your-Own-Comic" campaign on LogoOnline.com the GLAAD Media Award customers, to fellow corporations – and to anyone who sees their ads – that LGBT people should be accepted and valued for our contributions to society," continued Barrios on the authority of corporate advertising. Barrios concluded that, "GLAAD congratulates the award recipients and will continue to advocate for increased inclusion of LGBT images in mainstream advertising to show gay and transgender people are part of America and respected as customers and employees in these companies."in the Outstanding Interactive Campaign category. In partnership with Scion, LOGOonline built the application that allowed LOGO viewers to express their creativity with the popular Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple franchise. Users were able to create their own unique comic strip with the show’s characters and were given the ability to create their own Scion to use in their comic. Users were encouraged to share their comics and enter them in a contest that received 2,031 entries. Hill presented the award to Lisa Sherman.
Award recipients, previously announced at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in January 2009 for the categories: Outstanding Advertising – Electronic and Outstanding Advertising – Print, were also recognized at Tuesday night’s event.
Anthony Cirone, former Chair of the Commercial Closet Association Board of Directors, announced a tie in Outstanding Advertising – Electronic between Levi's "Logo Unbuttoned" campaign and Kenneth Cole's "We All Walk In Different Shoes – Nina Poon". A representative from interactive marketing accepted the award for Levi’s sensuous ad featuring a gay couple. Kristen Dykstra spoke on behalf of Kenneth Cole’s enterprising ad featuring transgender model Nina Poon.
Scott Seitz of SPI Marketing and Jeffrey Moran received the award for Outstanding Advertising – Print for "Will You Marry Me" by ABSOLUT® VODKA The ad featured a marriage proposal from a man to his partner on a jumbotron at a baseball game. The caption reads, “In an Absolut World”, a daring political statement campaigning for marriage equality.
The final award of the event was presented by actress Judith Light along with LGBT advocate and author, David Mixner. Light and Mixner presented Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams with the Public Visibility Award for their personal dedication to advocating for LGBT equality, as well as the inclusion of LGBT stories in advertisements for their furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.
Beginning next year, all future advertising nominees will be announced in conjunction with the GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising event. Also, GLAAD maintains an online library of over 4,000 LGBT-inclusive ads.
GLAAD would like to extend great thanks to all the corporate partners for their generous support in making the event a great success and a night to remember.
We hope to see you at the GLAAD’s next event, OUTAuction, on Sunday, November 15, 2009.
The following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising recipients announced on Tuesday in New York.
• Outstanding Print/Outdoor - LGBT Market: "LGBT Print Campaign" Progressive Insurance (Presented by: Jeffrey Moran) [Accepted by: Miriam Deitcher]
• Outstanding Print/Outdoor - Mainstream Market: "Insurance Comes Out" Allstate (Presented by: Jeffrey Moran) [Accepted by: Megan Dawson]
• Corporate Responsibility Award: Subaru (Presented by Lisa Sherman:) [Accepted by: Tim Mahoney]
• TV - LGBT Market: "Bertolli Oven Baked Meals" Bertolli (Presented by: Jay Manuel) [Accepted by: Gaston Vaneri]
• TV - Mainstream Market: "Golfers" Orbitz (Presented by: Jay Manuel) [Accepted by: Brian Hoyt]
• Interactive: "Scion's Create-Your-Own-Comic" Toyota Scion (Presented by: Nancy Hill) [Accepted by: Lisa Sherman]
• Outstanding Advertising - Electronic: TIE: (Presented by: Anthony Cirone)"Logo Unbuttoned" Levi's & "We All Walk In Different Shoes - Nina Poon" Kenneth Cole [Accepted by: Kristen Dykstra]
• Outstanding Advertising - Print: "Will You Marry Me?" ABSOLUT® VODKA (Presented by: Anthony Cirone) [Accepted by: Jeffrey Moran]
• Public Visibility Award: (Presented by: Judith Light and David Mixner) [Accepted by: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams]
Click here to view all the nominees.
Special thanks to Thomas Evans photography and Peter Lau photography for capturing the event.