Where is Diversity not a Dirty Word ? KXYL's James says: "Diversity is Perversity"
Visit GSDM (An incredible Advertising Ad Agency in Austin and Chicago)
and the Creator of Brownwood Feels Like Home Campaign (www.brownwoodtx.com)
@ http://www.gsdm.com
Diverse Companies with Inclusive Diversity Policies
Southwest Airlines
Wal-Mart
Brinker International (Chilis)
Fannie Mae Foundation
Fannie Mae
Lennox
MasterCard
SBC
Dreamworks
AARP
Kohler
United States Olympic Committee
With all the bashing taking place on Brownwood Airwaves, “ I am an American” , created by GSDM, Should be in rotation on Brownwood Hate Radio ! To see/hear this ad, please visit their site @ http://www.gsdm.com
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Esera Tuaolo Lands National Television Campaign
By Cyd Zeigler jr.
Esera Tuaolo is back on TV. This time, though, he’s not playing football or coming out of the closet. He’s promoting steak.
Tuaolo is the centerpiece of a new television campaign for Chili’s, a national chain of restaurants that is the centerpiece of Brinker International.
The commercial is part of Chili’s “Tastemonials” campaign series. “It shows people who are not professional entertainers,” says Chili’s public relations representative, Louis Adams, “expressing their love for Chili’s through their performance.”
This particular installment features Tuaolo – 30 pounds lighter than his HBO Real Sports appearance eight months ago – sporting a beaming smile, playing a ukulele, and singing about Chili’s Hawaiian steak. The setting is quintessentially Hawaiian – complete with the big Hawaiian centerpiece from the NFL.
The conceit of the campaign series is that Tuaolo is not a professional entertainer. His resume says otherwise. On top of singing the National Anthem at more sporting events than Whitney Houston, Esera has a commercial CD titled, “One Man’s Island,” has appeared on several NFL music compilations, and has no less than a half dozen theatrical performances under his belt.
It was during an audition for one of those theatrical productions that he first heard about the Chili’s promotion. In St. Paul to audition for the 70’s send up, 8-Track, last January, someone in the casting office told Tuaolo that Chili’s was looking for a Hawaiian person to use for their upcoming commercial. Tuaolo knew Chili’s well, having eaten there countless times while traveling with teammates during his playing years in the NFL. “It must be a jock thing,” Tuaolo says. “I love the ribs.”
“I went to the audition with my ukulele, jeans and a tight shirt, and I sang the Baby Back ribs commercial song.” That song has become one of Chili’s signatures, with ‘N Sync performing it on a desert island in a commercial the premiered two years ago. “They said they wanted something different.”
What they didn’t expect is to get an openly gay former NFL player. Adams says that Tuaolo’s sexual orientation never entered the decision-making process. And, given the campaign’s theme of average people expressing themselves, they didn’t realize until very late in the process that they had a former professional athlete on their hands.
In the commercial, Tuaolo isn’t billed as a former NFL player, or a gay person. He is simply labeled: “Esera – Retired Athlete.”
“He’s not a celebrity in the context of this commercial,” Adams said. “He’s just Esera – from Hawaii and talented.”
Asked if someone’s sexual orientation would ever affect the company’s decision to work with them in a marketing campaign, Adams was adamant:
“No way. It runs contrary to our company policy. We don’t discriminate on any basis, in the hiring of any employees, in serving customers, in any capacity.”
Michael Wilke, from ComercialCloset.org, sees Chili’s handling of the campaign as a solid message. “It is encouraging to see that he has gotten an endorsement so soon after his coming out process. “
Certainly other closeted professional athletes should take notice. While Tuaolo’s sexuality seems to not have played a part in him getting the role, Chili’s is not shying away from the issue of his sexuality. Given his experience with the company, Tuaolo isn’t surprised.
"Everybody who was involved treated me first class,” Tuaolo says. “They were really interested in my family. I showed them pictures of my kids and my husband.”
“I loved Chili’s before, but now I love the company even more.”
Sports and gay athletes and sports fans: information on jocks, sports news and more. We encompass the sporting passions of gay and lesbian sports fans everywhere.
source: http://www.outsports.com/entertainment/20030703esera.htm
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Gay former NFL player lands role in restaurant ads
Any sports figure who's openly gay, goes the hoary truism, can forget about being marketable.
That might be one reason there has never been an openly gay athlete in the major pro sports. So Esera Tuaolo, who played nine NFL seasons before retiring, stands out. He came out last year on an HBO show, then made the TV talk show rounds to talk about it.
Now he's featured in new national TV ads for the Chili's restaurant chain, aimed at mainstream audiences.
Tuaolo, who grew up in Hawaii, is seen playing his ukulele and singing. It wasn't a stretch: As a player, he regularly sang pregame national anthems and sang on two CDs marketed by the NFL. He has performed in eight musicals or plays in Minneapolis, where he lives with his partner and adopted 3-year-old twins.
"They didn't give me the spot because I'm gay," says Tuaolo, turning 35 Friday. "They thought I was talented. But it's a huge statement they put me in there."
That wasn't the game plan. Eric Webber of GSD&M, which is Chili's Austin, Texas-based ad agency, says, "We didn't set out to make a statement." Tuaolo had an audition — his first for an ad — and was hired before Chili's or its agency knew everything about him. But when they found out, says Tuaolo, "they had no problem. It's a beautiful thing."
The Chili's ads are supposed to show average people. Inevitably, Tuaolo — identified in the ad as "Esera, retired athlete" — will draw extra attention. Chili's spokesman Louis Adams says some people recognized Tuaolo when the ad was tested in focus groups and the company is getting "mostly favorable" calls from consumers who've recognized him on-air.
Adams says "the only statement we are making is that we're a fun, casual restaurant. We're not taking a stand on any of his political issues." But, he also says, "At the end of the day, it's about what your company is all about. And we don't discriminate on any basis."
Cathy Renna, news director for Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, suggests Chili's might have a mixed message: simultaneously aiming at mainstream and at niche audiences. Tuaolo, as a defensive lineman with five NFL teams before retiring after the 1999 season, was hardly a sports superstar. But, says Renna, his widely publicized coming-out resonated among gays — "the gay press is fascinated by him" — and would make it likely his ad would be especially noticed in that demographic niche.
"The ad sends a message of inclusion," she says. "It's smart business to include someone so high profile because it will generate interest in the gay and lesbian community."
Bob Garfield, ad critic for Advertising Age and a National Public Radio commentator, also suggests Chili's is pragmatically trying to fly below the mainstream consumer's radar: "Chili's is very discreetly cultivating the gay community, and its considerable discretionary income, without being publicly recognized as trying to be gay-friendly and alienating its core consumers."
Bob Dorfman, who evaluates athletes as endorsers for Pickett Advertising, a San Francisco agency, didn't recognize Tuaolo when he first saw the Chili's ad. And he doubts marketers would use gay athletes, even if they were all-stars: "Unfortunately, there's still a puritan ethic in this country. Advertisers would worry about a backlash in middle America."
Still, some see a breakthrough. "A lot of people don't understand the true significance of this," says Tyler Hoffman of the Gay and Lesbian Professional Athletes Association, which hopes to create an online hall of fame for gay athletes. "It sets a precedent for other companies." Says Michael Wilke, whose commercialcloset.org chronicles gay images in ads: "This is a great step forward, in terms of marketers and consumers seeing (gayness) as a neutral, not a negative."
If Tuaolo's coming-out ends up helping his marketability, he says that wasn't his point. "A lot of people think I came out for my singing career. But I didn't. I wanted my children to know their parent is proud of who he is — no more lies."
His eseratuaolo.com Web site usually gets 240,000 hits monthly but got more than 170,000 within days of the ad's debut. "A lot of e-mails were about the ad, with (gay) kids seeing the commercial and feeling inspired. I want them to know they're not alone." And Tuaolo, who played at 270 ponds, isn't worried about any backlash. "I'm Mr. Aloha. I treat everybody with respect. It's hard to hate anybody like that."
source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand/2003-07-09-hiestand_x.htm
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Domestic Partner Benefits
Where can I find a list of employers that offer domestic partner benefits?
HRC's new employer database provides the nation's most comprehensive data on public and private employers, including colleges, universities, and municipalities, that offer the benefits. Get quick lists here, or view more search options .
to find out which Corporations which view diversity as a strength and have inclusive corporate policies please visit: hrc.org or directly to the publication at
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