16994: It’s No Surprise—International Women’s Day > Black History Month.

While brands deserted Black History Month, International Women’s Day experienced no such abandonment. From Google to Brown Bag Seafood Co.—and everything in between—the ladies got their flowers.

16993: DEIBA+ Cutbacks & Cutting Commentary.

MediaPost reported on how DEIBA+ cutbacks are leading to diminished consumer brand trust. The article touched a nerve with at least one reader, who posted a counterpoint. Check it out below.

 

Broken Promises: How DEI Rollbacks Are Deepening The Brand Trust Crisis

 

By Sarah Mahoney

 

Target's Black History Month items sparked outraged comments on social media, criticizing what many consumers see as brand hypocrisy.

 

A new study reveals that consumer trust in brands is eroding, with diversity rollbacks becoming a key flashpoint in an already widening gap.

 

Some 80% of those in Collage Group’s latest wave of data say inclusive marketing is equally or more important to them today than in 2020, and 39% say they’ve purchased from a brand expressly because that company’s ads represent diverse people in ways that seem authentic.

 

Since President Donald Trump’s re-election, many companies -- including Target, Walmart, McDonald’s, and Toyota -- have rolled back DEI initiatives. As a result, 30% of consumers (about 86 million people) plan to cut back spending on these brands.

 

That meshes with other research, including a recent Harris Poll published in the Guardian, which found that by mid-February -- even before boycott and Economic Blackout plans solidified on social media -- 24% of consumers said they’d already stopped shopping at their favorite stores.

 

And while there’s no conclusive data available yet that these efforts, including the recent Economic Blackout Day, are hurting sales, preliminary indications show these consumer-led boycott groups could hurt financial performance.

 

The uproar reflects problems that go much deeper than a single issue. “Many brands have been spiraling down a reactionary cycle for years,” the report says. Brands start with grand promises, retreat to moderate promises, then degenerate into empty promises. For consumers, that’s led to a parallel downward cycle of disappointment and backlash.

 

The result is a gaping trust gap: While 80% of consumers say brand trust is essential when making a purchase, only 40% believe brands and companies are trustworthy.

DEI isn’t the only measure of trust, or even a large one. A personal positive experience with the product or service is the essential way brands build trust, named by 61% of respondents, followed by friends and family recommendations (47%), timely and personal customer service outreach (39%), transparent business practices (37%), and fair treatment of staff (32%.)

 

A stated commitment to diversity was named by just 25%, with support for “social causes I care about” mentioned by 24%.

 

Before their DEI pullbacks, Walmart and Target had high trust levels compared to other retailers, with 83% of consumers saying they trusted Walmart and 82% saying they trusted Target, according to Collage.

 

In the weeks following announcements from both companies saying they would no longer support efforts promoting internal diversity and inclusion, Walmart has somehow managed to maintain more of that trust, with Collage’s measure of brand momentum among multicultural consumers up nine percentage points, and increasing by six percentage points among white shoppers.

 

Consumers believe Walmart is holding up its primary and highly transactional promise: everyday low prices.

 

For Target, the reverse is true. Consumers read the DEI retreat as an abandonment of core promises. Momentum among multicultural shoppers fell three percentage points and dropped seven percentage points among white shoppers.

 

“Target is stuck in a repeated, reactionary cycle of dramatic reversals,” the report notes, “with the latest policy changes, misaligned with established brand values, continuing the downward spiral. The brand is now extremely vulnerable to double backlash and accusations of performative allyship.”

 

Early in February, Target launched a Black History Month collection, drawing widespread hisses and boos on social media. “Did you think we forgot???” posted one critic. “Babes Babes it hasn’t even been a month.” Added another: “Anyways, y’all need anything from Costco?”

 

Collage says the findings underscore messages for all marketers, no matter where their corporate parent lands on the political spectrum. For those at companies that are standing by DEI policies, a list that includes Costco, Apple, Delta Airlines and E.L.F., it’s vital to do more than just stay the course. Collage says stepping up core brand value propositions, and increasing transparency efforts to reach out to multicultural growth segments, will all increase trust.

 

For those working at brands that have eliminated or watered down efforts, marketers need to “chart a new course.” That likely entails increasing efforts to track consumer sentiment, developing proactive response playbooks, and building new relationships with diverse creators.

 

Here’s the reply:

 

John Caldwell from JACaldwell Inc

 

This article tries to claim that consumer trust is eroding due to DEI rollbacks, but it contradicts itself and ignores the bigger picture of why people actually buy from brands. Right away, it pushes the idea that DEI is a key driver of trust when, according to its own data, only 25% of consumers consider a commitment to diversity important. That’s far behind factors like product experience (61%), recommendations from family and friends (47%), and good customer service (39%). If trust is really falling, it has more to do with companies failing to deliver value and consistency than rolling back DEI initiatives.

It also misuses polling data. Saying that 30% of consumers “plan” to cut back on brands that moved away from DEI efforts doesn’t mean they actually will. People often claim they’ll boycott something over politics, but when it comes down to it, price and convenience win. Look at Walmart—the article admits that despite its DEI pullback, trust in the brand has actually gone up among both White and multicultural shoppers. If these changes were really alienating consumers, Walmart should be losing trust, not gaining it. Meanwhile, Target’s struggles aren’t because of DEI rollbacks but because it’s been inconsistent in its branding and decision-making. The article even acknowledges that Target has gone through “dramatic reversals,” which makes it seem unreliable to customers.

Then there’s the attempt to use social media outrage as proof that consumers are turning on brands over DEI decisions. Twitter comments about Target’s Black History Month collection aren’t real market indicators. Social media outrage is mostly performative, driven by a small but loud group of people who often don’t even shop at the stores they’re complaining about. What actually moves the needle for companies is whether people are spending money, and there’s no real data showing that these so-called economic boycotts are having a meaningful financial impact.

At the end of the day, the article is trying to force a narrative that doesn’t hold up. Brands succeed when they stay true to their core promises, offer good products, and give customers a reason to keep coming back. Walmart proves that if a company delivers on what people actually care about—like low prices and reliability—then political posturing, whether for or against DEI, doesn’t really matter. Target’s decline has more to do with its business missteps than its stance on diversity. The real lesson here is that consumers reward consistency and value, not pandering or reactionary politics.

16992: Shortchanging The Shortest Month Of The Year.

Campaign published a February retrospective, declaring the 28 days were “power-packed in culture and entertainment”—even calling Black History Month a tentpole among the festivities.

 

Yet while the content spotlighted Black culture, Black icons, and Black-influenced experiences, nothing was directly tied to Black History Month.

 

In Adland, BHM stands for Blacks Hardly Mentioned or Blacks Highly Marginalized.

 

February was power-packed in culture. Here are the brands that took note.

 

By Jesse Kirshbaum

 

February was a particularly power-packed month in culture and entertainment. Obviously with tentpoles such as Black History Month, the Grammys, Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Weekend, Valentine's Day, Presidents’ Day and the big SNL50 extravaganza, there was a lot of media buzz and brand tie-ins. 

 

Apart from those usual suspects, here are five trends and break-out campaigns that stood out and why they matter.

 

New celebrity creative directors

 

A$AP Rocky was named Ray-Ban’s first-ever creative director, leading new projects at Ray-Ban Studios and shaping the brand’s image.

 

Why it matters: This is a trend we’ve seen where big lifestyle brands that are meaningful in culture engage talent to be in-house creative directors. We saw this in 2010 with Lady Gaga and Polaroid, and again in 2014 with Pharrell for Adidas and Rihanna + Fenty for Puma. It's a non-traditional way to work with an artist and leverage their influence. Brands win with this approach when there is authentic value alignment and they know how to properly harness talent’s creative vision. If the partnership feels forced in any way, it won’t connect with consumers.

 

The sneakers and music love affair continues 

 

Before Beats, Dr. Dre had his eye on creating sneakers, but business partner Jimmy Iovine convinced him the market was too crowded and to instead make speakers. Sneaker collabs continue to flourish in 2025.

 

This month alone, three sneaker deals popped up in music.  

 

• Adidas and Clipse 

 

• Converse and Tyler The Creator, Charli XCX, Vince Staples, Lill Yachty and more 

 

• Reebok x Tobe Nwigwe

 

Why it matters: Artist and sneaker alliances are still surging. Streetwear continues to play really well in pop culture, especially in hip-hop. This trend has been going since the days of Run-DMC in the ’90s and Adidas and 50 Cent launching his G-Unit Reebok sneaker in the early 2000s, and continues to be more relevant today.

 

Cutting through the cultural chatter

 

Pete Davidson appeared in a campaign for sustainable clothing brand Reformation as its “official boyfriend,” in which he is seen without all of his tattoos. The campaign garnered significant buzz and attention, driving organic media around his inkless look. A week later, Davidson appeared on live TV shirtless, tattoos intact, revealing that his bare new look had been a crafty ruse. 

 

Why it matters: The noise in the media landscape continues to grow and it’s a battle for attention. Marketers need to be increasingly clever to cut through the clutter. Reformation was able to achieve this with its inventive campaign, tapping Davidson, who is inherently endearing and known for his personal life being news-grabbing, especially whom he is dating. 

 

This campaign played on his two aspects of his personal brand: the sudden and complete disappearance of his tattoos, which has been a big part of his image, and referring to him as the “official boyfriend,” which left a lot of questions for the public. Both drove organic talkability with consumers and got the rumor mill turning, keeping this ad top of the news cycle.

 

Athleisure chess game 

 

Two big partnerships in February showed very different directions: Nike signed a partnership with Kim Kardashian’s Skims, creating a deeper direction into lifestyle and apparel. Meanwhile, Lululemon launched a campaign with race car driver Lewis Hamilton, its newest brand ambassador. 

 

Why it matters: These are two very different strategic visions for the athleisure category, driving conversation around what the best approach will be for the market. Will they work? That remains to be seen, but clearly different strategies are playing out for each brand and garnering a lot of commentary. 

16991: Cracker Barrel Hires More, Er, NVM.

Adweek reported Cracker Barrel named three new White advertising agencies to refresh the brand.

 

Good luck with that, Cracker.

 

Cracker Barrel Shakes Up Agency Roster Amid Brand Refresh

 

The chain has enlisted Blue Engine, Prophet, Viral Nation to continue a brand overhaul that began last May

 

By David Cohen

 

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store named three new agencies of record on Monday: Blue Engine, Prophet, and Viral Nation.

 

Communications firm Blue Engine will be Cracker Barrel’s AOR for public relations, experiential marketing, and partnerships.

 

Prophet will work on Cracker Barrel’s brand marketing efforts, such as brand communication, restaurant redesigns, brand marketing campaigns, and a redefined employee value proposition.

 

And Viral Nation will focus on social media, creating high-volume content to expand Cracker Barrel’s digital presence and evolve its position in culture.

 

The new agency roster comes as the homestyle restaurant chain continues a brand overhaul that began in May 2024.

 

Dentsu was named Cracker Barrel’s creative and media AOR at the beginning of 2021, after the company spent several years working with Havas Chicago.

 

UPDATED: Cracker Barrel continues to retain Dentsu companies Carat as its media AOR and Merkle to support its loyalty rewards program.

 

Cracker Barrel said its brand refresh, which kicked off in May 2024, is the most significant one in its 55-year history. It is focused on five areas: refreshing the brand identity; optimizing menu, pricing and preparation; enhancing store execution and the retail experience; expanding digital capabilities; and elevating the employee experience—“all while honoring the authentic hospitality and warmth that keeps guests falling in love with the brand,” according to a release.

 

Cracker Barrel currently has 660 locations across 43 states in the U.S.

 

“This is a beloved brand with strong emotional ties, so it was paramount that we selected the right expertise to help us define our evolved identity,” Cracker Barrel chief marketing officer Sarah Moore, who joined the company in July, said in a statement. “This collaborative team plays a key role working with our internal team to craft the next chapter of our brand story—one that resonates with loyal guests while welcoming new ones to our table.”

 

Cracker Barrel reported a 2.6% revenue increase in its fiscal Q1 2025 in December, reaching $835 million.

16990: BHM 2025—Post Mortem.

A few closing thoughts on Black History Month 2025 in Adland…

 

Brands, White holding companies, and White advertising agencies decreased BHM-related public acknowledgments, performative PR, and heat shields versus recent previous years.

 

It’s not clear if the decrease resulted from political pressure—or if enterprises simply took advantage of the social climate to excuse a lack of engagement.

 

It’s unlikely Adland completely abandoned the annual event. Rather, the “celebrations” became internal affairs, delegated to ERGs, CDOs, and resident representatives for the underrepresented—optional lunch-and-learns that staffers declined, talent exhibitions that received polite applause, and/or templated companywide emails that were unopened or immediately trashed. In these anti-DEIBA+ times, internal equals indifferent at best, and disinterested at least—with a growing legion of not-so-silent hostile resistors.

 

Will International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month be equally ignored? Unlikely, as White women still receive priority and privileged status on the DEIBA+ org chart.

 

As for BHM in Adland, it’s time to put twists on the popular clichés associated with the annual event:

 

It’s not just Black history, it’s, well, history.

 

Black History. Now ignored during February—and all year long.

16989: FYI IPG R/GA WTF.

 

Advertising Age reported IPG finally pruned R/GA, essentially giving the digital shop its independence back. A buyout group guided by R/GA leaders—and financially supported by a private equity firm—will take the company forward (or at least in different directions, opening the possibility for total failure).

 

Hard to predict how things will turn out, as IPG claimed R/GA had been a financial drag for years. Then again, IPG has not exactly been advancing in positive ways, and it’s now being acquired by Omnicom.

 

To compound the chaos, R/GA has experienced seismic shifts in leadership and vision, probably further complicated by dramatic changes in technology.

 

Time will tell if R/GA is getting a reboot—or just getting the boot.

 

IPG Sells R/GA To Private Equity Firm In Partnership With Agency Leadership

 

Truelink Capital will invest $50 million in an innovation fund to support the agency’s efforts

 

By Brian Bonilla

 

Interpublic Group of Cos. has completed its sale of R/GA to a management-led buyout group backed by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Truelink Capital. IPG, which had been shopping the digital agency around for over a year, announced the deal Monday morning. 

 

R/GA Global CEO Robin Forbes and Chair and Global Chief Creative Officer Tiffany Rolfe are among those part of the management-led buyout group, according to a joint statement from R/GA and Truelink Capital. R/GA declined to name the other members of the management group. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

 

The deal comes as IPG prepares to be acquired by Omnicom Group and is planning its own $250 million restructuring.

 

“This strategic move allows Interpublic to further sharpen our focus on our core strategic offerings,” IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky said in a statement. 

 

Truelink Capital will invest $50 million in an innovation fund to support the agency’s efforts in generative AI, talent, product development and future acquisitions, according to the joint statement.

 

“To us, it’s an opportunity to accelerate our world-class creative work through technology and design,” Rolfe said in the statement announcing the sale.

 

R/GA was founded in 1977 by Bob Greenberg and his brother Richard. It was one of the earliest digital agencies to break out in the advertising industry. Over the years, the agency has made its mark for work with clients such as Nike, Reddit and Verizon. Some of R/GA’s current clients include Google, Nike, Diageo, Eli Lilly, Samsung and TurboTax, for which it created a Super Bowl spot this year.

 

“Bob’s been a great advocate for this deal—and is excited about where we can take R/GA independently,” an R/GA spokesman said.

 

R/GA had been a part of IPG since 2001.

16988: Semi-Belated BHM 2025—TRG.

 

TRG also snuck in a Black History Month acknowledgement toward the very end of February, delegating the task to its Black ERG.

 

It’s BLK@TRG ERG BHM ICYMI.

 

No comment from Stan Richards.

16987: Belated BHM 2025—US Post Office.

 

Despite President Donald J. Trump issuing an anti-DEIBA+ executive order in January 2025, the US Post Office delivered a special commemorative stamp featuring Allen Toussaint for Black History Month.

16986: Ordering The End Of Government Recruitment Advertising…?

 

On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order titled: Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.

 

How exactly does the executive order impact recruitment advertisements like the ones depicted here—as well as multicultural marketing agencies tasked with producing such messages?

 

It could mark the end of crummy ads and crumbs.

16985: Semi-Belated BHM 2025—IPG.

 

IPG snuck in a Black History Month acknowledgement toward the very end of February, essentially delegating the task to its Black ERG.

 

It’s IPG ERG BHM BS.

16984: At The Intersection Of Advertising Executives & Used Car Salespeople.

 

Epsilon Individual Automotive offered a Presidents’ Day sale—yet no Black History Month promotion.

 

Not surprising when two of the least trusted professions collide.

16983: BHM 2025—Aunt Jemima.

Closing out a quiet Black History Month in Adland—and playing off the theme of African Americans and Labor—marks an appropriate moment to consider Aunt Jemima.

 

Aunt Jemima “retired” in 2020, appearing as a contemporary Black woman sporting pearl earrings, the final phase of her evolving persona.

 

The character was born in 1889 to promote the Pearl Milling Company. Despite the revisionist rebranding, the Aunt Jemima journey began with slavery.

 

Even in the 1950s, the official legend of Aunt Jemima revealed a victim of forced labor. She worked as a cook on Colonel Higbee’s plantation, delighting White men and women with her culinary genius.

 

After over 100 years of service, Aunt Jemima lost her job to a logo—during Black History Month to boot—as the original Pearl Milling Company was resurrected.

 

The iconic tale of Aunt Jemima is more than Black history—it’s American history.

16982: BHM 2025—For WPP, BHM = Black Health Misrepresentation…?

WPP presents a BHMish salute by spotlighting a healthcare heat shield—State of Black Health: What Now.

 

What’s the state of Black health—in terms of representation—at WPP? Recent admissions indicate an unhealthy state indeed.

16981: BHM 2025—AbelsonTaylor Group.

It’s been disturbing to see most White holding companies and White advertising agencies ignore Black History Month—especially in terms of deciding against publishing performative PR or contrived and clichéd campaigns.

 

Equally disturbing is seeing messages from the few enterprises that did acknowledge the annual event.

 

AbelsonTaylor Group—a pharmaceutical marketing firm—spotlighted its Black ERG and Black icons from Adland.

 

Side effects include drowsiness and nausea.