Steve Stoute, one of the top-ranked executives in the music business, is Founder and CEO of Translation LLC, the leading brand-marketing firm that dramatically alters the way blue-chip marketers and superstar artists connect with consumers.  Responsible for unforgettable ad campaigns for companies like Reebok, Hewlett-Packard, McDonald’s Wrigley, MAC, Chevrolet and State Farm which starred the likes of Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and Lebron James, Steve Stoute has been hailed as an advertising and communications genius.

An unapologetic, authentic and practical visionary in the vein of Gladwell, Stoute explores and connects with the new generation of people who find commonalities in shared values and interests rather than race.  His compelling new book The Tanning of America is a guide for individuals, companies and organizations looking to get ahead in today’s marketplace and understand the rules of the new economy. Stoute explains, “My ultimate goal in writing The Tanning of America is to put an end, once and for all, to the boxing of individuals based on color.  ‘My Adidas’ proved that.  The fact that the music, the language, the style and even the belief system of hip-hop culture have gone global, spurring the next wave of tanning around the world, proves it.  Color is no longer a determining factor in how people think.”

MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath expounds, “Young people champion and embrace the multicultural beauty and power of today’s America.  Nobody gets this – or what is means for marketers, taste-makers, the culture at large – better than Steve Stoute.”  Through his Tanning of America message, Steve Stoute has created award-winning campaigns that meld products with consumer consciousness, (“I’m Lovin’ It” for McDonalds), connect traditional products to consumers in a new way (personal agents for State Farm), or revolutionize the way products are sold (Mary J. Blige’s My Story perfume for Home Shopping Network).  Bestselling author, film subject and CEO Chris Gardner (The Pursuit of Happyness) hails The Tanning of America as a ‘must read’.