NY Urban League Honors Interpublic Group

Today, Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) received a Champions of Diversity Award from The New York Urban League, the first time an advertising holding company has received the coveted honor. Companies from a variety of industries compete for the awards, which salute those who recognize the need for diversity in the job market and embrace inclusion in the workplace.

The New York Urban League 8th Annual "Champions of Diversity Awards” were held at a breakfast ceremony in New York City. The 2011 honorees included Adecco Group North America, Johnson & Johnson, Macy’s, as well as IPG. Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO of Interpublic Group, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

"Over the past five years, IPG has made a formal commitment to becoming the world’s most inclusive network of marketing services companies. Our plan is to continue investing in diversity and inclusion, and to build on the progress we have made so as to make a lasting change to the DNA of our company. Awards like this help to tell us we are on the right track to making that culture change happen,” commented Michael Roth at the ceremony. "Credit goes to our board of directors for making this a top corporate priority, and to our agency leaders and managers across our organization who remain focused on the need to deliver on this very important goal.”

NYUL President and CEO Arva R. Rice praised Interpublic for becoming the first corporation in its field to earn such an honor. "Thank you for making diversity a fundamental tenet of your corporate philosophy. As you already know, a more diverse workplace produces a more dynamic corporation better capable of serving a more global clientele in an ever-changing marketplace," she said.

NYUL, one of the oldest civil rights organizations serving the New York City area, established the Champions of Diversity awards in 2004, inspired by an outpouring of support from corporate America for the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding basic principles of affirmative action. To qualify for the honor, award recipients had to illustrate their commitment to diversity in four major categories -- corporate leadership, employment policy, supplier relations and corporate giving.

About Interpublic

Interpublic is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include Draftfcb, FutureBrand, GolinHarris International, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, Lowe Worldwide, Magna, McCann Erickson, Momentum, MRM Worldwide, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Leading domestic brands include Campbell-Ewald; Campbell Mithun; Carmichael Lynch; Deutsch, a Lowe & Partners Company; Hill Holliday; ID Media; Mullen and The Martin Agency. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.

About the NYUL

The New York Urban League was founded by a group of prominent New Yorkers concerned with the poor state of blacks migrating to New York City from the south. From its inception it provided employment and connections for migrating blacks bridging the adjustment from the agricultural/rural life to the industrial urban center. Each decade following, "The League” provided critical services such as emergency aid for the unemployed during the Great Depression; formed the Committee for Interracial Voluntary Hospitals to provide care and work in local hospitals; negotiated the opening of employment for blacks in the airline, brewing, and baking industries; created "Street Academies” which became a national model for high school students; published the first State of Black New York report; and created its signature events including Frederick Douglass Dinner, Whitney M. Young Jr. Classic, and Champion of Diversity Breakfast among many other milestones.