direct-to-consumer sales, and continues to employ an omnichannel approach to marketing that reflects its roots in teleservices and direct mailing. The company was also an early adopter of telemarketing, fax ordering, and online sales, and today engages customers through direct mail, online marketing, and retail stores. In the mid-1990s Omaha Steaks expanded its corporate sales unit and created a separate corporate catalog that was intended to serve corporate buyers who were already customers. In 1958, Omaha Steaks ran its first ad for mail-order steaks in The New Yorker, and has since become the longest-running advertiser in that publication. In 2014 an Oregon man brought a class action suit against Omaha Steaks for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 after receiving unwanted robocalls from the company. The suit was settled for $2 million in 2016. Chef James Beard served as a spokesperson for the company in the 1970s and cookbook author Merle Ellis served as a spokesperson in the 1980s. In 2010, Omaha Steaks was granted a trademark for the phrase "The Official Sponsor of Tailgating." In October 2020, Omaha Steaks announced that chef David Rose would serve as the company's executive chef and spokesperson, and also consult on product development. Cookbooks In 1997, Frederick J. Simon, the great-grandson of Omaha Steaks founder J.J. Simon, wrote The Steaklover's Companion, a cookbook created in collaboration with American celebrity chefs. The book was intended to be the first in a series, and another, Beef For All Seasons, was published the following year. Since then Omaha Steaks has published numerous cookbooks, including The Great Gathering Guide and Cookbook, Omaha Steaks: Let's Grill and Omaha Steaks: Meat. Philanthropy Omaha Steaks and the Simon family support local and national charities and arts organizations, as well as education scholarships. Organizations supported by the company and family have included Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Film Streams, Santa Fe Opera. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. The company also works with the disaster relief organization Mercy Chefs, Feeding America, and Food Bank for the Heartland. Works or publications Television Omaha Steaks on CNBC The Big Idea (12/5/06) Omaha Steaks on Hell's Kitchen (December 10, 2014) Cookbooks Harrisson, John, and Frederick J. Simon. Omaha Steaks: Let's Grill. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2001. Harrisson, John, and Frederick J. Simon. Omaha Steaks Meat. New