My night at the Commercial Closet Awards

Frank DeCaro, Rob Smith, and Jim Carlucci at the Commercial Closet Awards in NYC

Here in the big apple, sometimes it really is all about who you know.  Case in point: the picture above. That’s me flanked by comedian Frank DeCaro and his partner Jim Carlucci at the Commercial Closet Awards at the New World Stages in New York City on Monday night. Decaro served as the emcee for the event, which celebrates and awards positive images of LGBT people in advertising. 

I won’t bore you with the details of how I got to attend such a fab shindig, but suffice it to say that I was probably the most junior level person there who wasn’t walking around with a food tray in my hands. As far as being gay in the industry, I do work in media right now, and I will say that it’s a lot easier for offensive stuff to get out there if there aren’t any of us around to question it. 

Just ask Nike, who are dealing with a little homophobic ad scandal of their own right now. It is very important to have out and open LGBT people in the industry to help combat negative images and to push agencies and advertisers to do a little better, which is exactly why events like the CCAs exist. 

After loosening up with a few cocktails and a little sushi and engaging in a fair share of schmoozing and networking, the crowd assembled into the auditorium for the awards. It was actually quite nice to see such a cross section of gay and gay-friendly agencies, advertisers, and sponsors all taking part in an event of this sort. I saw myself as sort of the black, gay, 200-pound version of Eve Harrington, listening intently to the different conversations, taking mental notes of the various clothing styles on display, and figuring out exactly when and where I would sink my claws into New York’s gay advertising social scene. But I digress…

More on the evening's winning ads, after the break!

The ads themselves were funny, sexy, touching, and creative.  One of the best moments was sharing a belly laugh with the crowd after the now-famous "Nope, still gay!" ad for Chemistry.com, because what young gay boy hasn’t closely examined that issue of Playboy his father left laying around, furiously wanting something to happen? 

While that was pretty funny, the major crowd pleaser would have to be this ad from France, which with all of its tongue-in-cheek sexiness would presumably cause quite the commotion if ever ran in the U.S.:

Enjoy Rugby in the Capital of Love, Outstanding Print/Outdoor LGBT Market winner

That jacket, CCA winners and Frank DeCaro

For my first ever awards show, I couldn’t have asked for a better night.  Frank and his partner were very chatty and welcoming, I got to meet some other gays in the industry, and I got a chance to see some really great gay-inclusive advertising that I wasn’t previously aware of. I think that the aim of shows like these is to hope that one day they really won’t be needed, but as long as they are I’m glad that the handlers definitely knew how to show a good time to the assorted power-players in the LGBT community, and also to this newcomer that felt absurdly lucky to be there.

For more info on The Commercial Closet Association and the full list of winners, check out their website.