GLAAD ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR THE 2012 GLAAD AMPLIFIER AWARDS, PRESENTED BY THE OMNICOM GROUP

(GayWebSource.com) New York, NY September 11, 2012 – GLAAD, the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, announced today the nominees for the 2012 GLAAD Amplifier Awards presented by The Omnicom Group.  The event will take place on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at XL Nightclub in New York City.

A complete list of nominees is included below, and images of the nominees may be found athttp://www.glaad.org/amplifierawards/nominees

Among the nominees:  J.C. Penney for its Father’s Day ad featuring two gay dads with their children; Johnson & Johnson’s anti-bullying campaign “Care with Pride”; a cheeky ad from General Motors for the Chevy Volt; Lexus for its celebration of the 45th Anniversary of The Advocate; Amtrak’s “Ride with Pride” campaign; American Apparel for its LGBT Pride campaign featuring transgender model Isis King; and the You Can Play Project for its partnership with professional hockey players to help put an end to homophobia in sports.

“The advertising and marketing industries are catching up with the rest of the media by including more images of LGBT people in mainstream ads that target broad audiences,” said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. “Americans expect to see their worlds reflected in advertising, and today that includes LGBT people and families. This year’s nominated campaigns are not only smart business decisions, but set the bar high for future images of our community in advertising and marketing.”

The GLAAD Amplifier Awards elevate and promote individuals and projects in advertising and public relations 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.

Nominees were selected by a jury comprised of staff members from Omnicom Group, Deutsch, Digitas Health, Ketchum, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Kaplan Thaler, TBWA.

GLAAD is pleased to announce that for the third 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.

The GLAAD Amplifier Awards will be held in New York on October 2, 2012 at XL Nightclub, 512 West 42nd Street in New York City.  Special guests and presenters to be announced. To purchase tickets for the event, please visit

http://www.glaad.org/amplifierawards

Nominees for the 2012 GLAAD Amplifier Awards were printed, broadcast or appeared online between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012.

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 http://www.glaad.org/advertising.

The Omnicom Group brings you the GLAAD Amplifier Awards, presented by Ketel One Vodka and Ketchum.  GLAAD is also grateful to the event’s Jury host Deutsch, Silver Corporate Partner Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, and Bronze Corporate Partners Johnson & Johnson and Target 10.  For information on how to become a corporate sponsor or to purchase tickets, please visithttp://www.glaad.org/amplifierawards.

2012 GLAAD AMPLIFIER AWARDS
NOMINEES

Advertising – The Hot Spot (Mainstream Market)
“Care with Pride” (Johnson & Johnson)
“First Pals” (J.C. Penney)
“Make a Difference. Save a Life.” (Desert AIDS Project)
“Never Hide” (Ray-Ban)
“Testing Makes Us STRONGER” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Advertising – The Hot Spot (LGBT Market)
“Lexus Celebrates The Advocate’s 45th Anniversary” (Lexus)
“Mom, Dad, I’m Electric.” (General Motors)
“Orbitz Price Assurance” (Orbitz)
“Outrageous Through the Ages” (Absolut Vodka/RuPaul’s Drag Race)
“Red Ribbon Runway” (Gilead Sciences/RuPaul’s Drag Race)
“Ride with Pride” (Amtrak)

Digital – Out and Interactive
“Advocate Money Minute Presented by Wells Fargo” (Wells Fargo)
“Be You, With Us” (Marriott)
“Equality Is _____” (Allstate Insurance Co.)
Oreo Pride Cookie (Kraft Foods)
“SAGECAP” (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders)

Public Relations – Out and Proud
“The Faceoff” (You Can Play Project)
“Land of Dreams” (Brand USA)
LGBT Pride 2012 (American Apparel)
“Project Honesty” (KY Brand)
“Weigh It Forward” (Philadelphia Gay News)