GLAAD Absorbs
Commercial Closet Association

The Commercial Closet Organization announced Monday that effective immediately it will merge its programs and operations with those of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The merge will kick off GLAAD's new Advertising Media Program, which will officially get under way in January, according to Anthony Cirone, president of Commercial Closet's board of directors.

"We're integrating with GLAAD, so we're dissolving," Cirone told Advocate.com Monday. "This is the basis to develop GLAAD's advertising media program."

Cirone said conversations with GLAAD began earlier this year when Commercial Closet's board of directors began batting around ideas to take the nonprofit to the next level. He said that GLAAD will inherit Commercial Closet's Web library of more than 4,000 ads.

"We started conversations with GLAAD and quickly felt a strong partnership there," he said. "We recognized the great synergies between CCA's work in advertising and GLAAD's work in media. As we continued to talk to each other, that became even more apparent. The rest is history."

An official announcement will be made in a press release hitting media outlets Tuesday.

"Advertising is woven through every form of media and impacts awareness and understanding of the LGBT community," GLAAD president Neil G. Giuliano said in the official release. "We are excited about this new opportunity to expand the impact of GLAAD's culture-changing work and build upon the trailblazing work of CCA as we launch our Advertising Media Program."

Cirone said that while CCA will be dissolved, board and staff members interested in continuing with its mission will likely be able to stay involved. (The Advocate)