Ad Week Successful Due To Ethnic Participation
NEW YORK - Despite the changeable weather the 7th Annual Advertising Week was a great success drawing over 60,000 participants from all over the country. Ethnic participation was greatly increased with panel participation by Spike Lee, Robert Townsend, Mary J Blige, Russell Simmons, John Legend and more. John Legend and the Roots gave a special performance at the Best Buy (formerly the Nokia) Theatre. "This year was exceptional," said Larry Woodard , Chair of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) NY Council and President and CEO of Graham Stanley Advertising. "To sum the week up, the industry accepted the challenges we face, like lack of diversity in the industry, admitted there have been failures, embraced the idea that change must take place and we are optimistic about the future." Panel discussions were upbeat and broad-ranging. UniWorld Group sponsored a panel entitled Inside Men: Content Pros and the Multicultural Consumer that featured director Robert Townsend, Entertainment Tonight co-host Kevin Frazier and Alvin Bowes of BET. Seen in the audience were Malik Yoba and Keith Clinkscales of ESPN who was also a panelist in a discussion on Diversity Strategies that Work hosted by the 4As and Graham Stanley Advertising. Since its creation in 2004, Advertising Week has drawn thousands of participants from around the world to New York City for a week long think-tank comprised of over 200 different events, panels and discussions that focus on the power of advertising and its neighboring industries. Above and beyond celebration, the mission of The Week is to inspire young people to join the craft; focus the industry and public at-large on the social impacts of advertising; address the most important issues facing the industry and shine a bright light on the business and economic influence of the advertising, media and marketing industries.
