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Commercial Closet Association has announced nominees for the third annual Images In Advertising Awards, recognizing companies that best demonstrate inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals (GLBT) in mainstream advertising campaigns that appeared in 2006. Commercial Closet Association, a nonprofit organization that educates advertisers about GLBT references for a more accepting society and successful business results, will announce its winners on June 11, at the Time Warner Center in New York City.
Emmy Award-winning comedian Judy Gold will serve as emcee, introducing over 80 high-profile print, television, and interactive ads from companies and advertising agencies nominated this year. Nominated ads can be viewed at Commercial Closet Association’s home page.
“Despite a decline in the number of GLBT characters in ads this year, it’s encouraging and exciting to see several new companies and brands added to our list of nominees,” said Michael Wilke, Executive Director of Commercial Closet Association. “This year we also welcome back IKEA, still widely remembered for its 1994 commercial featuring a gay male couple.”
Nominated for the night’s top honor of Outstanding Commercial are Subaru, IKEA, Nissan, Lifetime, and Sunsilk, along with their respective ad agencies. Orbitz.com, winner of the 2005 Commercial Closet Corporate Visionary Honor, is also a nominee.
Past winners of Outstanding Commercial have included 2005’s Diet Pepsi “Guy Watcher” commercial starring Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’s Carson Kressley by ad agency DDB Needham and United Church of Christ’s “Night Club” commercial by Gotham Inc. in the award’s inaugural year.
Companies failing to hit the mark on inclusion and nominated for this year’s “Clean-Up-Your-Act Notice” include NBC Universal’s film "Let's Go to Prison," Bass Hotels & Resorts' Holiday Inn, DaimlerChrysler's Dodge Caliber, Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2, Diageo's Red Stripe Beer, The Hershey Co.'s Reese's Sticks, and SABMiller's Milwaukee's Best. Ads in this category received negative ratings on Commercial Closet Association’s online ranking system for featuring negative depictions and stereotyping of GLBT individuals.
From pharmaceuticals to retail to travel, this year’s list of nominees spans industries and advertising platforms. In addition to “Outstanding Television Commercial,” one nominee will be announced as a winner in each of the following categories: Outstanding Print/Outdoor Ad, Outstanding Business to Business Trade Publication Ad, Outstanding International Commercial, Outstanding Print Campaign for Domestic GLBT Media, and Outstanding Interactive Marketing Campaign for GLBT Media. Two categories make their debut this year, honoring Outstanding Print Campaign for International GLBT Media and Outstanding Nonprofit Campaign.
Ads were nominated by Commercial Closet Association's Executive Director Michael Wilke and finalists were selected by CCA's Advisory Board. Winners are chosen by the group’s Governing Board and announced at the awards ceremony. Contact Commercial Closet Association for a complete list of nominees or view them online at Commercial Closet Association’s homepage along with 85 years of positive and negative GLBT images in advertising. To date, the site hosts over 3,500 ads in its virtual library.
The Third Annual Images In Advertising Awards is sponsored by Time Warner, and is further supported by ad agency sponsors Lowe Worldwide, Prime Access Inc., McCann Erickson, Interpublic, Shepardson Stern + Kaminsky, as well as companies including Google, Orbitz.com, Bridgestone, Subaru, and MergeMedia, among others.
About Commercial Closet Association
Commercial Closet Association (commercialcloset.org) was founded by veteran advertising industry journalist Michael Wilke in 2001 and has become a sought-after authority on GLBT images in advertising. The nonprofit organization educates and influences the advertising industry to understand, respect and include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) references in advertising to achieve a more accepting society and successful business results. The organization provides advertising training, produces a syndicated column on trends in GLBT advertising, hosts the annual Images In Advertising Awards, and maintains a powerful ad library of over 3,500 GLBT ads spanning 33 countries and 85 years with ratings.
Submitted by Richard Ferraro - Fleishman.com P: 212-453-2205 E: richard.ferraro[.]fleishman.com on behalf of Commercial Closet Association Commercialcloset.Org/.
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richard.ferraro[.]fleishman.com 
