Essay 1201

Comments posted in response to the AdAge article presented in Essay 1193…

> Technology has had a curious impact on our business. During the dot com boom, it lured talented young people from the ad biz in droves. In those days, it was hard to find anyone with little more than a pulse that really wanted to work in an agency. But today, post boom, technology now serves as the great leveler. And it may be the solution to the industry’s diversity problem. If they have the technical skills -- coupled with the creativity -- needed, the crop of kids coming out of schools like City Tech, should find the doors to be far more open than they ever were before. Our industry needs talented, driven people who want to work in the business. Diversity among them can only make the agencies themselves better at what they do. Anyone who doesn’t realize this need only look at the changing face of the people we’re all selling to in order to see this is true. — ATLANTA, GA

> I totally agree with the last comment that minorities are not looking for handouts. My question is to the senior creative director who has a very interesting comment on this topic. Would they go in front of a group of Board of Directors of a major brand and say, “the reason why there are not more minorities in the Ad industry is because they want handouts.” Again, it is only a matter of time before major brands will address this issue with major agencies. Comments like that I am sure will not be tolerated by large brands who answer to their shareholders. — new york, NY

> The person from Chicago is a better example of why minorities leave advertising. Who really wants to come into an industry that has a culture of hazing the new people? Then on top of that, you have to work with or for someone who believes that as a minority you want a handout. No one wants a handout — they want the same opportunity to shine others in this industry are given. Yet still nepotism is the norm in our business and companies wonder why all their people look alike and even worse...think alike. There are HUNDREDS of schools out there that have quality students that are diverse. Most are city schools. And unlike many that went to NYC or Syracuse, the students there are working to put themselves through school and actually know the value of hard work. They won’t be the ones to complain when planning is here and it’s time for 1 am nights. Funny, for an industry that is fixated on the changing demographics of the country, there seems to be a lot of push back in letting those same changes happen in the industry. — New York, NY

> Stamford is right. Minorities run screaming from the ad world. Have been doing so for 80 years now. Nothing else would explain the 95% white staffs... nationwide. After all, only Anglos would be willing to bring their ample talents to an industry, start at the bottom and work their way up, with a long-term vision of success. That’s the problem with minorities, Blacks in particular--always looking for handouts and quick fixes. That’s why I as a senior-level creative from ethnic and GM shops left. After 15 years. — chicago, IL

> City Tech is known for its computing and technology orientation, a lot different focus than the “portfolio schools” that teach softer creative subjects. You wonder if the future of advertising -- more interactive, more tech-driven, more direct, more “urban” -- fits better with the Brooklyn curriculum than with the Ivy League. — Brooklyn, NY

> Once again the advertising press takes a simplistic approach to the issues facing the industry. Is the problem that the industry isn’t more heavily recruiting from colleges like New York’s City Tech? Not by a long shot. The problem is that the most well furnished minds–from colleges such as Columbia to University of Chicago to UCLA–look upon advertising as a crippled industry that, compared with others, offers limited financial rewards, minimal respect from peers, and murky long-term prospects. Want to save the industry? Make the industry attractive for minority students (and all students) with the greatest potential and there will be no recruiting problem. — Stamford, CT