Advertising Age recorded New Year’s resolutions from a variety of “media, marketers and agency executives”—and a handful of the comments included DE&I navel-gazing. Yet there’s arguably not a single original—or actionable—thought in the bunch. For a field that prides itself on hatching breakthrough ideas and disruptive solutions, racial and ethnic equality continues to be an unsolvable puzzle.
Former US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles said, “The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.”
Given the repetitive resolutions that are annually uttered in Adland, it’s safe to say the industry has absolutely failed to realize diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and any other words patronizing poseurs want to add to the acronym.
If anything, the alleged leaders demonstrate award-winning creativity via their insincere excuses, diversionary drivel and outright lies. Granted, the awards are ADCOLOR® baubles, scammy Lions, trade organization trophies and assorted photo-op trinkets—but the recipients are still eager to collect undeserved recognition.
Of course, there will be no consequences to face for abandoning commitment to resolutions within weeks—just in time for Black History Month.
Here’s a sampling of the redundant remarks:
Jeri Devard, founder of the Black Executive CMO Alliance
“Keep the pedal to the metal on increasing the representation of Black leadership. If you have established goals, make sure that the consequences for non-achievement are consequential. Build out plans for brand prominence in the metaverse.”
Sophie Gold, founder and executive producer, Eleanor
“First, while I’ve been glad to see the numerous discussions on diversity led by agencies and brands, I believe it’s time we moved past the discussion phase towards more tangible action. Internal meetings and panel discussions are a nice starting point, but the racial disparities in our industry won’t improve until some real capital is put behind their pledges for change. Second, if you look at who is behind the Super Bowl ads this year, it’s mainly the same companies as last year, using the same directors. We all want to make work that is exciting and fresh but to do that we need to hire fresh talent. New voices will lead to fresher, more interesting work while going with what seems like the safe choice will lead to creative stagnation and eventually, creative contraction. Third, I would love to see the industry hire directors for a project based on creativity and talent alone, not because they have a similar ad on their reel. There is a major difference between lack of opportunity and talent. There are plenty of incredible up-and-coming directors, but they aren’t given the chance to show that talent because their previous work doesn’t meet some very specific criteria. Choosing a director should be about ability alone, not a simple matching game. This industry is full of hard working, intelligent, well meaning people, and I know if we can agree to real change, we can make even better work and our industry will be better for it.”
Kate Higgins, chief growth officer, Erich and Kallman
“What can we do to be better as an industry in 2022? Keep bringing more diversity into advertising. Be more inclusive to the minority groups that are already here by making sure they have equity and feel like they actually belong. I’d like to ask every single person in advertising to take an oath to be more inclusive. Often, we think it’s up to our bosses and agency leaders to fix big problems. Nope. Being more inclusive doesn’t have to mean rolling out an initiative that will cost lots of money and come from the C-suite. All of us as individuals can do something every day to help make a difference. Back in October for National Coming Out Day, I shared three easy, yet very important, actions that every straight person could take be more inclusive for their LGBTQ coworkers. Let’s build on that for the larger DE&I effort. Find one or two things you can do and start. Don’t get hung up worrying about being perfect, just do something. Every day. And if you are lucky enough to be at a company that is willing to do more, I have a suggestion. Start playing the long game and introduce this wonderful world of creativity to a whole audience that has historically not been included or introduced to advertising. Find a local high school or community college that is full of BIPOCs and start a relationship with them. Go meet them and introduce them to advertising, music, film, production, project management, whatever discipline you’re passionate about. The more we can include talent with different experiences and stories, the more our industry will flourish. I can’t wait to see how we do.”
Alia Kemet, VP, creative and digital marketing, McCormick & Co.
“Brand loyalty sits at the intersection of cultural relevance and data intelligence. Understanding both nuanced and broader cultural cues, while leveraging first party data, social media, search and consumer insights, allows marketers to make significant business impact by forecasting solutions for problems consumers have yet to discover. One of my 2022 resolutions is to use this point of intersection to transform processes and pipelines, while reimagining and enabling how we innovate, to create and deliver products and services people didn’t even know they needed but will love abundantly. If 2021 has taught us anything, it is that all plans need to be built with flexibility. The brands who were most successful understood this. They turned out of stocks into innovation opportunities, potential negative news into overcoming adversity, and budget cuts into scrappy winning moments. Don’t expect 2022 to be any more predictable than the last two years; instead lean into the unexpected because the new growth mindset is achieved through the ability to navigate and triumph in ambiguity. Sometimes the most valuable marketing gems are born from pressure and heat. I resolve to stay ready.”
JP Maheu, Twitter VP of U.S. client solutions
“Resolution No. 1: I resolve to meaningfully contribute to the industrywide effort to increase the volume of content developed by minority-led and minority-owned publishers. The consumers we all want to reach as marketers and advertisers consist of people with a range of lived experiences and a range of cultures. By increasing the volume of content developed by historically excluded communities, we can help make sure our work better reflects and represents the diversity of our consumer base. Resolution No. 2: I resolve to help the marketing community understand that there are a wide range of communities, interests and passions—gaming, personal finance, music, movies, astrology, makeup, skincare—that people connect to every day on Twitter. We’ll do a better job of making sure marketers see this and see opportunity for themselves in it.”
Andréa Mallard, chief marketing officer, Pinterest
“There are two things that are top of mind for me. First, inclusion: Advertising is made less impactful because of the relative absence of diverse creative voices. But there are leaders out there working to nurture young, underrepresented talent and helping them get into the industry. So hire agencies like OneBlockVillage in Detroit who are pulling top creatives from a local arts high school (and—I can personally vouch—delivering incredible work and thinking) while also giving these amazing students a taste of (and hopefully passion for) careers in advertising. Second, the metaverse: No marketing leader should sleep on this opportunity. Brands are already being built on the metaverse and innovation is accelerating. My newly licensed teenage son test drove a Hyundai in Roblox. My teenage daughter discovered Marc Jacobs for the first time in Animal Crossing. This is a more participatory rather than passive way to engage with brands and there’s real opportunity here for more creative, innovative, and expansive thinking.”
Ashish Prashar, global chief marketing officer at R/GA
“As leaders, we must capitalize on what we can control, helping people when it matters. Our industry can harness to help facilitate positive change. I want to help more marketing leaders use their resources to effect social change. We can begin with bringing in people who have been systematically harmed to impact issues oriented around justice or equity at hand. We need to start creating a powerful new narrative, and it’s our responsibility as a creative industry to question what ideas and values we are disseminating. As advertising and marketing leaders, we need to start playing an active role in the right side of history by doing right by society, right by people. Building a more human workforce means accepting individuals for who they are. I believe this is especially needed for formerly incarcerated individuals; our industry needs to hire them more proactively. If Black lives matter, we can’t work for the prison industrial complex or the police. I hope our industry takes a stand to support our colleagues, friends, and neighbors.”
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