The American Advertising Foundation's (AAF) 2023 Mosaic Awards will recognize and honor organizations and individuals that have shown commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through their creative work, advocacy, and company-wide initiatives. Included will be the launch of the inaugural Mosaic Awards Scholarship Fund to support the next generation of diverse talent. The 2023 winners will be celebrated at a gala event which will be held on September 22, at The Capitale in New York’s historic Bowery neighborhood. Hosting the awards ceremony for a second year in a row, is Quintessential Harlem girl, Gracie Award winner and life-long New Yorker, Bevy Smith.
Each year, the Mosaic Awards receive entries from companies and agencies across the country that are reviewed and judged by senior industry leaders. This year’s Council of Judges included senior industry leaders from fluent360, LinkedIn, OMD, Redscout, SANTA Productions, Snap, Spotify, TEAM Enterprises, TikTok and Weber Shandwick. Among the award sponsors are SiriusXM (Presenting), ClearChannel Outdoor, dentsu, IPG, Google, Meta, Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, P&G, Sony Music Group, TikTok and The Trade Desk.
The American Advertising Foundation will honor the following campaigns, industry leaders and programs during the 2023 Mosaic Awards:
Mosaic Champion – Individual
Geraldine White
Chief Diversity Officer, Publicis Groupe US
Mosaic Champion – Organization
VMLY&R
Multicultural Talent and Suppliers in Advertising
“Widen the Screen”
Client: P&G
Agencies: Grey, Cartwright, H&K and Carat
Innovative Narratives
“The Gentle Giant”
Client: Ad Council, Love Has No Labels
Agency: R/GA
Integrated Creative Campaign
“We Can Talk About It”
Client: Ad Council
Agency: Droga5
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Student Program
Program: Detroit Experience Studio
Agency: VMLY&R
Workforce Inclusion Program
Initiative: Inclusivity Product Council (IPC)
Agency: Leo Burnett
Allyship to Advocacy
“Pampers Maternal Health Equity Initiative: Raise Care, Deliver Joy”
Client: Pampers, P&G
Agency: MSL Group
Student Impact Award
“This Hand”
Client: National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
School: Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, The University of Oklahoma
Data Driven Transformation
“Beyond the Rainbow, an Investigation into LGBTQ+ Marketing and Its Future”
Agency Network: WPP Unite
“This year’s Mosaic Award recipients are a glowing representation of the Mosaic Principles we strive to champion daily. Each campaign, initiative, and leader, illustrates the necessity of accurate and intersectional stories in our industry, and the leadership required to accomplish that goal. Our honorees serve as a North Star for leveraging the power of advertising and media to promote systemic change through equity and inclusion,” commented Candace D. Queen, VP, AAF Mosaic Center.
In addition, this year marks the inaugural launch of the Mosaic Awards Scholarship Fund, an initiative dedicated to supporting the next generation of diverse talent pursuing careers in advertising, marketing and media. “For two decades the Mosaic Center has celebrated the changemakers driving our industry forward. This felt like a logical next step as we reimagine how we create a strong pillar of advocacy with the Mosaic Awards by removing financial barriers to entry into the industry,” said Ms. Queen.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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