Consumers Login Votes for Best Minority-Focused Automobile Ads

General public steers the vote for Urban ADvantage awards, winners announced at the Urban Wheel Awards

DETROIT, Dec. 8 -- As sponsors for the Eighth Annual Urban Wheel Awards, On Wheels, publisher of African Americans On Wheels (AAOW) and Latinos On Wheels (LOW) magazines, and Forbes are encouraging the general public to vote for the most innovative car advertisements geared to African- American and Latino drivers by logging on to www.onwheelsinc.com ; www.blackvoices.com ; www.blackplanet.com ; www.diversityinc.com or www.migente.com . Two Urban ADvantage awards (one for best African-American print ad and one for best Latino print ad) will be awarded to the advertising agencies that produced them during the invitation-only Urban Wheel Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. The winners also will be featured in the winter issues of AAOW and LOW magazines and on the www.onwheelsinc.com website.

On Wheels introduced the Urban ADvantage awards in 2002 as part of its Urban Wheel Awards ceremony to recognize diversity in advertising and reward the advertising agencies that demonstrated the most skill in minority-based marketing, as determined by popular vote. Last year, more than 2,500 people voted online for the winners of the Urban ADvantage. New York-based advertising agency Footsteps, L.L.C. won the award for its African-American print ad titled "Come Into Your Own" for Mercedes Benz. Dallas-based advertising agency Dieste, Harmel & Partners won for its Latino print ad titled "Valor Hyundai" for Hyundai Motor Co.

"The Urban ADvantage is a 'people's choice' award that reflects the consumers' definitions of effective target marketing," Randi Payton, president and CEO of On Wheels, said. "The award is a crucial part of the Urban Wheel Awards because it reflects popular opinion about what constitutes culturally sensitive marketing."

In addition to the Urban ADvantage, the following awards will be presented at the UWA ceremony: Patterson-Greenfield Company of the Year, Edward Davis African-American Executive of the Year, Edward Davis Latino Executive of the Year, Minority Supplier of the Year, Urban Truck of the Year and Urban Car of the Year. The winners of these awards will be selected by an independent panel of judges comprised of well-known journalists, including Warren Brown, Washington Post; Earle Eldridge, USA Today; Edward Lapham, Automotive News; Kathy Jackson, Automotive News; Ken Chester Jr., Motor News Media; Kimatni Rawlins, Automotive Rhythms; and Greg Sanchez, LetsTalkCars.com.

Detroit-based On Wheels is a multicultural multimedia company that publishes African Americans On Wheels and Latinos On Wheels magazines, which are distributed in more than 80 newspapers throughout the United States and have a combined readership of 5 million. Additionally, On Wheels manages the Edward Davis Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to students pursuing technical and college degrees in the automotive industry. Since 1997, On Wheels has hosted the annual Urban Wheel Awards, the automotive industry's premier diversity awards ceremony, in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show. The Eighth Annual Urban Wheel Awards will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.

Forbes is the presenting sponsor for the Urban Wheel Awards. Other major sponsors include: General Motors Corporation; General Motors Acceptance Corporation; Ford Motor Company; Audi of America, Inc.; Volkswagen of America, Inc.; American Honda Motor Company; DaimlerChrysler Corporation; Mercedes-Benz of North America; BMW Group; Kia Motor America; Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover; DTE Energy; GlobalHue; Hyundai Motor America; Meherry/State Farm Alliance; Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.; Nissan North America and Subaru of America, Inc. Media partners include: Michigan Front Page; Michigan Chronicle; Detroit News; Rolling Out Magazine; Clear Channel; DiversityInc; Corp! Magazine; Upscale; BlackVoices.com; Detroit Auto Scene; Detroit Cable Communications Commission; Sister2Sister; Blackplanet.com; Migente.com; eMOTION REPORTS.com; and Latina Style.