Tuesday, November 16, 2010

8166: Delayed WTF 11—HumanKind Kinda Bullshit.


Over the past few months, MultiCultClassics has been occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occurred without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

Leo Burnett honchos Tom Bernardin and Mark Tutssel recently released “HumanKind” with hype that included:

HumanKind is a book about people, purpose, and changing behavior, and is a firsthand look at marketing that serves true human needs and not the other way around.

HumanKind provides entree to the moment of germination within the inner sanctum of one of the advertising industry’s most creative shops through interviews, conversations, transcripts, and images.

HumanKind is fully illustrated and includes a step-by-step demonstration of how Leo Burnett is applying its unique approach to forever redefine the very nature of communications itself.

Ultimately, it’s people—not advertising agencies—who create great “people’s brands.” Brands like McDonald’s, Coke, Nintendo, Fiat, Kellogg’s, and Blackberry. Leo Burnett has always chosen to put people first, and to apply a people-centric approach to brand building it today calls HumanKind.

Welcome, to a HumanKind communications company. And welcome to the story that explains it all.

Okey-doke.

Forget that Leo Burnett is best known for creating non-human critters like the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Jolly Green Giant, the Keebler Elves, Tony the Tiger and countless others.

Forget that Leo Burnett clients like McDonald’s and Philip Morris have contributed to worldwide problems with obesity, cancer and heart disease—killing lots of humans.

It would be nice to know how the HumanKind communications company is doing with diversity. Are humans of every kind represented at this wondrous agency that “has always chosen to put people first”—or does Leo Burnett apply the standard White people-centric approach to staff building?

After all, how can you generate global and great “people’s brands” when the ideas are coming from an exclusive group of people?

Oh, if only Leo Burnett would use its proprietary tactics to develop a diversity recruitment campaign for the industry to change behavior and serve true human needs.

Now that would demonstrate HumanKindness.

(P.S. The excerpt below is odd. The graphic list includes Xenophobia, yet conveniently excludes terms like Discrimination and Racism.)

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