AAF Mosaic Awards Honors Joaquin Blaya @ The Forefront Of Multiculturalism.

The American Advertising Federation (AAF) announced the winners of its inaugural Mosaic Awards, which celebrate
extraordinary achievements in diversity and multicultural marketing and advertising. The merit-based awards honor companies and individuals that demonstrate the spirit of the AAF’s Principles and Recommended Practices for Effective Advertising in the American Multicultural Marketplace. The awards also recognize industry trailblazers who have contributed significantly to the evolution of the multicultural marketing and advertising industry.

James Earl Jones, renowned actor and Verizon spokesperson, will participate in the ceremonies, which will be held December 12, 2001 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the AAF’s Multicultural Resources Expo. U.S. Representatives Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI) are honorary co-chairs.

Individual Mosaic Award Honorees

David Bell, vice chairman, The Interpublic Group of Companies, for his longstanding commitment to increasing diversity in the ad industry.

Joaquin Blaya, chairman and chief executive officer, Radio Unica, for his revolutionary contributions to the development of Spanish language television and radio as mediums.

John H. Johnson, publisher, chairman and chief executive officer, Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., for his role in creating African American advertising and marketing.

Arthur Liu, president and chief executive officer, Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., for taking the risk of establishing the first Asian/Chinese language radio network.

Robert L. Wehling, recently retired global marketing officer, The Procter & Gamble Company, for his vision in advocating the value of multicultural consumers and opportunity for growth with the promotion of diversity.

Corporate Mosaic Award Honorees

Leo Burnett U.S.A., for long-term commitment to the formulation and achievement of diversity objectives throughout its ranks and the ad industry.

Lincoln Mercury, for a tradition of goal-oriented marketing that includes reaching out to multicultural consumers through effective creative executions and partnerships with multicultural agencies.

PepsiCo, for successful strategic embrace of multicultural marketing and ethnic media and for implementing goal-oriented diversity initiatives.

The Procter and Gamble Company, for integrating multicultural marketing and diversity programs into overall corporate marketing strategies.

United States Postal Service, for years of outreach into multicultural communities and most recently making history when the agency contracted directly with minority-owned advertising agencies.

Verizon Communications, for leadership in the Multicultural Business Practices Leadership Council and its long history of partnerships with multicultural agencies.

The Mosaic Awards are a program of the AAF Center on Multiculturalism, which is lead by Heide Gardner, AAF vice president-diversity & strategic programs. “These awards are intended to go beyond recognizing the honorees. We hope this program will help to jump-start our economy by shaping policies and encouraging an inclusive business culture for the entire advertising industry,” said Gardner.

AAF president and CEO Wallace S. Snyder added, “Those who receive the Mosaic Awards have established missions and implemented processes that reflect AAF’s Principles. The corporate case studies we will present during the awards program will provide blueprints for success in today’s challenging economy.”

For more information on the AAF Center on Multiculturalism programs, contact Heide Gardner, vice president-diversity & strategic programs, at (202) 371-2314. For luncheon or exhibit opportunities for minority-owned companies, government agencies and major national corporations, please call 1-800-999-2231 ext.332. To download a copy of the AAF’s Principles and Recommended Practices for Effective Advertising in the American Multicultural Marketplace, please visit our Web site at http://www.aaf.org/multi/principles.html.