A closer examination of the Wunderman Thompson Health patronizing promotion detailed in the previous post—We Love You to Health—has inspired further diagnosis.
First of all, We Love You to Health does not have a corporate sponsor. Actually, it does—and that’s what makes matters peculiar. The stunt is part of an initiative dubbed Health4Equity, brought to you by WPP. Campaign stated that We Love You to Health was bankrolled by a WPP Racial Equity Program grant.
Based on reports, the campaign is ultimately tied to the 2020 WPP promise to invest $30 million over three years “to fund inclusion programs within the holding company and support external organizations fighting racism.” Hell, maybe it was also subsidized by the White holding company’s general diversity budget.
In short, Wunderman Thompson Health and WPP hatched a tax-deductible heat shield that even allows them to generate self-promotional hype—as well as submit the work for award shows. It’s a win-win scenario for White people.
And it’s a safe bet that any WPP Racial Equity Program grant far exceeds the crumbs that a minority-owned advertising agency might have received to execute a similar scheme.
For Wunderman Thompson Health and WPP, We Love You to Health professes self-centered love—and represents crafty self-interest.
1 comment:
WPP's Racial Equity Programme is primarily designed to keep its clients money for diversity in the hands of WPP, and out of the hands of any outside, diverse entities.
If you look at the full list of the 9 projects they're funding, much of the diversity comes by paying WPP to build and recruit Black talent in the United Kingdom, various parts of Africa, and Brazil. That's great for diversity on a global stage, and will eventually give the visa holders WPP typically brings into the US a huge leg up.
But in the United States, it's yet again presuming there are no adult professionals worthy of support or promotion, and instead targets Black and brown high school students, which has traditionally been the most popular initiative for white agencies that want to punt the diversity issue several years down the road while not making any meaningful changes in the here and now.
All of the money, power and accolades of diversity schemes like this are a closed WPP circle that feeds, benefits and pays WPP.
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