As Florida Standoff Continues, Disney Ad Chief Rita Ferro Calls On Upfront Buyers In New York To “Lean Into All Aspects Of Diversity”
deadline.comRita Ferro, Disney’s ad sales and partnerships chief, urged media buyers at the company’s New York upfront Tuesday to “lean into all aspects of diversity” with their marketing commitments. “Multicultural is mainstream,” she said. “When people see themselves on the screen, it stays with them.
It builds community and fandom. You saw it in the opening sizzle,” a video reel featuring titles like She-Hulk, The Little Mermaid and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. “We have the best storytelllers who understand culture and how we talk to communities in relevant ways.” Not surprisingly, Ferro didn’t refer specifically to anything outside Disney, but her remarks came as the company continues to joust with Florida Gov.
Ron DeSantis. While one key battleground has been DisneyWorld and control of the surrounding Reedy Creek Improvement District, the company has also become a convenient target of the governor’s culture-war broadsides.
When the company was being led last year by CEO Bob Chapek, its handling of Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” legislation prompted internal backlash and also enabled DeSantis and other conservatives to tag the company as “Woke Disney.” Ferro acknowledged Disney’s current chief, Bob Iger, who was not in attendance at the upfront, as well as top exec trop Dana Walden, Alan Bergman and Jimmy Pitaro.
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