Bill Imada, founder and CEO of IW Group, a PR/Marketing firm, is part of a group blog at Advertising Age called “The Big Tent” that’s worth following. In this recent post, Bill writes about (and includes embedded videos of) TV commercials that include Asians and Asian Americans without using demeaning stereotypes.
Here are the ads that Bill writes about:
The post is in reaction to the stupid animated commercials for SalesGenie.com that debuted during the Super Bowl, which are still airing despite complaints from APA groups.
Erin and I met Bill this week when he flew out to Denver for a keynote speech and workshop that Erin was also involved in, sponsored by Coors. The other night, after the workshops, Erin and I had a terrific dinner with Bill and Joanne Tabellija of Coors at one of our favorite Japanese restaurants, Domo, and then we all attended a wonderfully vibrant reception hosted by the Colorado chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (phew, that’s a mouthfull), where Bill spoke again.
The room — a meeting area at a LoDo Italian restaurant — was filled with an eager crowd of young APAs who represent the future of the area’s Asian American community. The event gave me hope that these young people will be great, savvy leaders who value their heritage but also understand the conflicts and promise of being Asians in America.
