Despite nearly 15 million Americans identifying as LGBTQ+, it’s still treated as a niche group by many marketers. LGTBQ+ representation cannot be relegated to the month of June. While we may have seen brands lean in to the community during Pride month, what happens next is what really matters.
In July, the Ad Age Town Hall will bring together members of the LGBTQ+ community to discuss how marketers can extend their Pride campaigns throughout the year and what successful representation really looks like.
Date: Thursday, July 22
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EDT
For more information, please email aaevents@adage.com.
To inquire about available sponsorship opportunities, email aasales@adage.com.
As Associate Creative Director at McCann New York, Lucas is responsible for assisting in creative direction on a number of projects throughout the agency and supervising teams on multiple creative projects.
Crigler’s experience as an advertising creative spans over a decade. He began his career at a small agency in Rhode Island called Nail Communications, building his portfolio with work from brands such as Mike and Ike candies, Cox Communications and the Rhode Island Food Bank. For his work on Vibram FiveFingers, he was awarded a Gold Pencil for his work on Vibram FiveFingers. During a stint at RPA in Los Angeles, Crigler took home a Clio and a Cannes Lion for his work on the Honda spot: “Paper.”
In late 2017, Lucas made his way back to the east coast, touching down at McCann as an Associate Creative Director. Throughout his time at the agency he’s worked on several projects for Verizon, TGIFridays, the NY Lottery, MGM and Cigna, to name a few. Though, this latest work for Mastercard holds a special place in his heart as it comes from his own, personal life-experiences. Specifically, one day while getting lunch with his creative partner at a deli in Manhattan, he was misgendered in front of a large crowd, all due to the name on his card not matching his gender. In that humiliating encounter, he knew he had to help make a difference in the lives of the millions of other transgender people in the world. And with that, the True Name card was born.
When not at work Lucas enjoys spending time at the gym, taking his two Boxer dogs for long strolls around Brooklyn, painting, and running his 100% transgender-led nonprofit, Trans In The Wild. He’s also an accomplished activist through his Instagram page (@CoolTransLuke) and has been featured by inclusive brands such as Alan Cummings’ clothing line "Rock Soup," MarcoMarco Underwear, LogoTV, Tinder, OUT Magazine, BravoTV’s “Get A Room," Tom Hardy, and MTV’s “One Style Fits All."
As Director on Invention+ (Mindshare’s division dedicated to media innovation), Rachel leads innovation for General Mills, Unilever’s hair/skin portfolio, and other brands across North America. She is also the co-founder of the agency’s global DE&I employee resource group and agency consultancy, Mindshare Collective, focusing on product development to make media more inclusive across every spectrum. With her leadership on Mindshare Collective, she created a first-of-its kind digital Inclusion Private Marketplace to support journalism for marginalized communities in media.
A respected industry thought leader, Rachel’s insights have been featured in publications such as Ad Age, Adweek, The New York Times, Campaign Magazine, and more. Over the past few years, she has been personally honored as one of Business Insider’s 35 Under 35 Rising Stars of Madison Avenue, The Drum’s “50 Under 30”, and Cynopsis Media’s Rising Star Awards for her creativity in media.
Rachel is a graduate of Arizona State University, Barrett Honors College with bachelor’s degrees in French and Marketing, magna cum laude.
Damian Pelliccione (They / Them) is the CEO of Revry, the groundbreaking new LGBTQ digital content streaming service for Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android TV Amazon Fire, Samsung TV Plus, IOS, Android and the Web. Revry now reaches over 280+ million people in over 135 countries across the globe.
Damian also worked as head of Business Development for Make.TV a German based live streaming technology and represented Make.TV. Damian also served as adjunct professor for Columbia College Chicago and instructor at YouTube Space LA and NYC. Damian is a member of the Producer’s Guild of America New Media Council, TV Academy Of Arts and Sciences, International Academy of Web TV and StartOUT.
Michael is an experienced media, marketing and business executive. He has co-led Equal Entertainment with his life/kid/business Partner, Mark Berryhill, including numerous branded content and TV productions for the last 12 years. Having run the media innovation practice of and serving as CMO for PwC, Michael has architected the advertising offerings of AT&T, built the first model of Hulu and mobile activated P&G’s Olympic experience. Their LGBTQ-owned media and entertainment company, Equal, is also in venture with Pride Media (Out, Advocate, Pride.com and their 14m unique LGBTQ a month). Michael is an author of All Thumbs—Mobile Marketing that Works (MacMillan, 2014) that coincidentally is part of the Ad Age Book Series and became one of Amazon’s top business books upon release in August 2014 and later for the year.
Jeanine Poggi covers the TV industry and how broadcast and cable networks and distributors are adopting to the changes in the world of TV advertising. She joined Ad Age in 2012, following six years covering the retail and media industries and other financial sectors for Women's Wear Daily, Forbes and TheStreet.
Michael Wilke has charted the emergence of LGBTQ representations in advertising as a journalist since 1992 and influenced better portrayals since 2001 as the founder of Commercial Closet Association (now AdRespect.org). Independently and as senior US consultant for Out Now Global, Wilke has guided Fortune 500 companies, ad agencies and industry associations to promote advertising that respects diversity, gender identity/expression, and sexual orientation.
Wilke coined the term "gay vague" as a business reporter at Advertising Age. He has also written for The New York Times, NBC, CBS, and Adweek, and appeared widely as a guest on CNN, CNBC, and Fox shows hosted by Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.
Currently serving as a Director of Marketing in New York City, Wilke remembers way too many commercial jingles from his childhood.
Rich Ferraro is the Chief Communications Officer of GLAAD, the world’s most visible LGBTQ advocacy organization. He oversees GLAAD’s Communications department including GLAAD's Press, Talent Relations, News and Rapid Response, and Creative departments. He also leads GLAAD's social media team, which was recognized as an Official Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards in the category for “Social: Public Service & Activism.”
Ferraro leads much of GLAAD's behind-the-scenes work with journalists, content creators, social media platforms, and global brands. Ferraro has worked on hundreds of LGBTQ-inclusive media projects and in 2015 he received a Daytime Emmy Award as part of the team behind the MTV and Logo documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.” He currently sits on Twitter's Trust & Safety Council and Facebook's Network of Support, organizations that provide feedback on LGBTQ policy and inclusion to both platforms. He has advised companies including Delta, P&G, Kellogg's, Absolut, Bud Light, among many others, on LGBTQ-inclusive advertising and has programmed LGBTQ private events featuring global CEOs during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
He is also an Executive Producer of the GLAAD Media Awards stage show and leads the selection process for the GLAAD Media Award nominees, honorees, and award recipients. Previously, he served as Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs at ViacomCBS, where he worked on press for series and campaigns including MTV True Life, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and MTV’s 2016 election campaign, which drew attention to issues including immigration, LGBTQ equality, and racial justice.