ADCOLOR Awards Night: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion

ADCOLOR is an organization promoting diversity and inclusion across creative industries. “Rise Up and Reach Back”, is the motto and overall mission of ADCOLOR.

ADCOLOR promotes individuals and organizations to “Rise Up”, stand up and take pride in their own accomplishments, and “Reach Back”, use their own platform to mentor others and acknowledge those who are also a positive influence in their communities. ADCOLOR’S goal is to “create a community of diverse professionals who are here to support and celebrate one another”.

ADCOLOR believes that greatness comes from uniqueness. Their mission is to persuade individuals to stand out, be different, and be proud of it. ADCOLOR wants companies to recognize these different people as assets and be proud of the value they add to their organizations.

ADCOLOR hosted their 12th annual awards night on September 22, 2018.

The evening’s host was Bozoma St. John, presenters including Luvvie Ajayi (Author), Wilson Cruz (Actor, 13 Reasons Why), Jay Ellis (Actor, Insecure), James LeSure (Actor, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce), honorees including Legend Award recipients Esi Eggleston Bracey (EVP & COO Beauty & Personal Care, Unilever) and Ann Mukherjee (Chief Global Marketing Officer, SC Johnson), Catalyst Award recipient Tarana Burke (Founder, #METoo Movement), Advocate Award recipient Lydia Polgreen (Editor in Chief, HuffPost), Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Lisa Quiroz Garcia (SVP, Cultural Investments and Chief Diversity Officer, Time Warner (1961-2018)), ADCOLOR/One Club Creative Award recipients AJ Hassan (VP, Executive Creative Director, R/GA Chicago) and Shannon Washington (SVP, Creative Director, Deutsch), Special Recognition recipient James Edmund Datri (Outgoing President & CEO, American Advertising Federation), Mr. ADCOLOR Leo Wong (Industry Speaker l 4A’s 100 Honoree and ADCOLOR FUTURES Alum), Ms. ADCOLOR Michelle Almeida (Account Executive, Anomaly), and many more!

We had the opportunity to speak to Tiffany Warren (Founder & President of ADCOLOR), Sarah Kate Ellis (CEO of GLAAD), and Wilson Cruz (Actor).

The Knockturnal: How does it feel to be apart of such an amazing event celebrating diversity?

Tiffany Warren: I could’ve never imagined a place and a moment like this. This was simply about creating a community where people could be themselves, and now everybody wants in on it. It’s pretty cool. Tonight is simply but a celebration of each other, achievement, and diversity.

Wilson Cruz: You know, I love this event. This event and organization was started by a friend of mine, Tiffany Warren and she is a power house. I’m so proud of her. I love seeing these faces that we don’t normally get to see, and I think this year we could really put a notch in the win column as far as the conversation around diversity and having ADCOLOR be apart of that.

The Knockturnal: For all the young people who are gonna be watching this, what would be your advice to them to “Rise up and Reach Back” within their own communities?

Tiffany Warren: Well I have my 3 year old niece with me. I wanted to her come, and some people were like, “oh she’s so young”. But I think the more of these images she can see, to see herself in a dress like this and have a conversation like this that is real and purposeful, I can only imagine what she is going to be like when she gets older. My advice would be, the thing that makes you different is what makes you beautiful. That story that you think doesn’t matter could be the story that we all need to hear.

Wilson Cruz: The best advice I’ve ever been given, and that I think could ever be given, is to always start everyday with a willingness to be grateful. I know it’s difficult when we are in difficult times in our life, but that’s when we need to be the most grateful. If we can help young people understand or start practicing that mindfulness in terms of gratitude, and see how that could be a magnet for more growth in their life, it could change the way people look at their life and their work.

The Knockturnal: What do you think is the next step to continue to grow and add color into the world?

Sarah Kate Ellis: I think that in all aspects of tv, film, and advertising, it is incredibly important to promote diversity and inclusion. But you need it in front of the camera, behind the camera, and at every level. That’s the most important thing because if you’re missing any of those steps you’re missing the bigger picture. “

Nominees, award winners, and more about ADCOLOR’s mission and purpose can be found on their website at www.adcolor.org.

The event was presented by Microsoft Advertising and Omnicom Group.