For American Express, raccoons
manage Ellen's make-up

For Commercial Closet's third annual AdRespect Honors, ABSOLUT VODKA and American Express will be recognized for excellence in their inclusive portrayals of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, reports Adrants.

The ceremony is expected to take place on November 15 at 8 PM, at TheTimesCenter in New York City.

The New York Times will be sponsoring the event.

Commercial Closet houses an archive of over 4,000 gay ads spanning 33 countries and 85 years.

The third annual AdRespect Honors will also feature the debut of the AdRespect Scores, a new standard for gauging the quality of gay marketing initiatives. The 0-100 scale determines how well and how often a firm advertises to the gay community.

According to the 2007 Gay Consumer Index released by Community Marketing, Inc., the median income for gay male couples and lesbians is $130,000 and $96,000, respectively.