ANA:Multicultural Excellence Awards Winners.

The Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA) presented its first ever Multicultural Excellence Awards recognizing outstanding advertising campaigns targeted to multicultural consumers in four categories at a special dinner ceremony last night at its annual Multicultural Marketing Conference held at The Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, Florida. The winners are:

In addition, 11 companies received honorable mentions ( http://www.ana.net/news/2001/11_06_01_honorees.cfm ) . Over 100 campaigns were submitted for consideration.

“Multicultural marketing is a critical aspect of brand-building and a high priority to our members,” noted John J. Sarsen, Jr., ANA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “These awards were created to honor outstanding multicultural campaigns from ANA member companies and are part of the ANA’s ongoing commitment to multicultural marketing.”

Added James D. Speros, Chief Marketing Officer, U.S., Ernst & Young and Chair of ANA’s Multicultural Marketing Committee: “We were delighted with both the number and the quality of submissions. They are testimony to the growing attention multicultural marketing is commanding.”

Entries were judged on their creative excellence and relevance to multicultural consumers by a panel consisting of members of ANA’s Multicultural Marketing Committee, which sponsored the awards, and selected leaders from multicultural media companies. All entries (if in a language other than English) came with translations. Eligibility was limited to campaigns created for ANA member companies that ran between June 2000 and May 2001.

Scholarship Funding

Each of the companies honored with an ANA Multicultural Excellence Award will also receive a stipend earmarked for a scholarship for high-potential students from multicultural backgrounds who wish to pursue careers in advertising or marketing. The winning companies will then select the individual scholarship recipients. Funding for these scholarships comes from a portion of the awards submission fee of $500 per campaign.

The Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA) is the industry’s premier trade association dedicated exclusively to marketing and brand building. Representing more than 315 companies with 8,000 brands that collectively spend over $100 billion in marketing communications and advertising, the Association’s members market products and services to consumers and businesses. ANA serves the needs of its members by providing marketing and advertising industry leadership in traditional and e-marketing, legislative leadership, information resources, professional development and industry-wide networking.