Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 10:11:11 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAAD's Ellen Watch: The Top Ten Sponsors Ellen Finale Caps Extraordinary Year of Television After a year in which the show forever changed the face of television, viewers of Ellen were treated to an hour long, star-studded series finale. Titled "Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute," the episode parodied a documentary featuring 50 years of Ellen DeGeneres making television history. Special guests included Linda Ellerbee, Helen Hunt, Glenn Close, Cindy Crawford, Julianna Margulies, Jennifer Aniston, Christine Lahti, Phil Donahue, Tim Conway, Ted Danson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary Steenburgen, Bea Arthur, Kathy Najimy, Woody Harrelson and Diahann Carroll. "Ellen DeGeneres has made a profound and remarkable impact on our society," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry. "Her groundbreaking portrayal of a smart, funny and consistently positive leading lesbian character has been a gift to all viewers-regardless of their sexual orientation. The show's legacy is an indelible one that Ellen and all of us will be proud of forever." Please write DeGeneres and let her know how much you appreciate her personal bravery and that her sitcom has truly changed the face of television in immeasurable ways. Ellen DeGeneres, c/o Huvane Baum Halls, 8383 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 444, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 1997-1998 TOP TEN ELLEN ADVERTISERS: Throughout this past year, many Ellen advertisers have come under attack by anti-gay radical right organizations. GLAAD's weekly "Ellen Watch" has often been redistributed by these organizations, with the purpose of encouraging letters of protest to the show's corporate sponsors. Since the beginning of this season, GLAAD has been keeping a tally of Ellen's top ten most frequent sponsors. Please contact these corporations and thank them for standing firm in the face of pressure from a vocal minority. 1. Uniliver- 31 ads Mr. Richard A. Goldstein, President Unilever United States, Inc. 390 Park Avenue New York, New York 10022 ph: 800.598.1223 fax: 212.906.4411 e-mail: corporate.relations@unilever.com 2. General Motors - 12 ads Mr. John F. Smith, Chairman General Motors 3044 West Grand Boulevard Detroit, Michigan 48202 phone: 313.556.5000 fax: 313.556.1988 e-mail: http://www.gm.com/tools/feedback.html 3. Bristol-Myers Squibb & Walt Disney (tie) - 11 ads a piece Mr. Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., Chairman Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 345 Park Avenue New York, NY 10154 ph: 800.468.7746 e-mail: http://www.bms.com/talktous.html Mr. Michael Eisner, Chairman The Walt Disney Company Burbank, California 91521 ph: 818.560.1000 fax: 818.560.1930 e-mail: http://www.disney.com/Mail (Note: While Disney is the parent company of ABC, it is reported that they played no part in the decision to cancel the show.) 5. Burlington Coat Factory & Intel (tie) - 9 ads a piece Mr. Monroe G. Milstein, Chairman Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation 1830 Route 130 North Burlington, NJ 08016 phone: 609.387.7800 fax: 609.387.7071 e-mail: media.relations@coat.com Mr. Gordon E. Moore, Chairman Intel Corporation PO Box 58119 Santa Clara, CA 95052 ph: 408.765.8080 fax: 408.765.0159 feedback form: http://www.intel.com/feedback.html 7. Time Warner & Volkswagon (tie) - 8 ads a piece Mr. Gerald Levin, CEO Time Warner, Inc. 75 Rockerfeller Plaza New York, NY 10019 ph: 212.484.8000 fax: 212.275.3970 Mr. Clive Warrilow, President Volkswagon of America PO Box 3951 Troy, MI 48007 ph: 800.822.8987 feedback form: http://www.vw.com/contact/ 9. Warner-Lambert, Bayer & Visa (tie) - 7 ads a piece Mr. Melvin R. Goodes, Chairman Warner-Lambert 201 Tabor Road Morris Plains, NJ 07950 ph: 800.223.0182 feedback form: http://www.warner-lambert.com/feedback.html Mr. Helge H. Wehneier, President Bayer Corporation 500 Grant Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ph: 412.777.2000 Mr. Carl Pascarella, President Visa USA PO Box 8999 San Francisco, CA 94128 ph: 650.432.3200 fax: 650.432.8100 For a listing of the Ellen sponsors for every individual episode this season, please click here: http://www.glaad.org/glaad/ellenwatch/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's DISPATCH AND QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.