13253: Bacardi Loves Hip Hop.

Advertising Age reported Bacardi enlisted Swizz Beatz and handed him a “Global Chief Creative for Culture” title. Wow, that’s an original idea. Wonder if Bacardi’s lead White advertising agency—BBDO—will count the move as a diversity hiring.

Bacardi Names Swizz Beatz ‘Chief Creative for Culture’

Celeb Won’t Appear in Ads, But He Could Influence Them

By E.J. Schultz

Bacardi Limited has named Swizz Beatz as its “global chief creative for culture.” But the celebrity music producer won’t be appearing in ads for the liquor marketer anytime soon.

The multi-year agreement covers Bacardi’s entire brand portfolio, which includes its namesake rum, along with Grey Goose, Martini, Bombay Sapphire and Dewars. “The goal is to develop partnerships, activations and ideas that further incorporate the Bacardi brands into the worlds of music, art and film,” Bacardi said in a statement. Swizz Beatz will also represent Bacardi brands at cultural events in the U.S. and in emerging markets, although details have not yet been released.

There are no immediate plans to put him in ads, according to a Bacardi spokeswoman. But the music maven could hold influence over Bacardi’s marketing. “As the Bacardi global chief creative for culture, I will be involved in all aspects of the product—from brand marketing and advertising to innovation and selling platforms—areas to which I will bring a new, fresh perspective,” he said in a statement. Bacardi will work with him to “forge deals with the most creative icons in sports, fashion, technology, art and film around the world in the coming months,” according to the statement.

Bacardi Limited CEO Mike Dolan stated that “consumers are identifying with brands that fit their lifestyle in culturally relevant ways and Swizz is the perfect partner to identify and forge these new consumer connections.” Bacardi did not release dollar terms of the deal.

Bacardi’s lead agencies are BBDO Worldwide for creative and OMD Worldwide for media. The Omnicom shops won the accounts in April 2015.

Under BBDO, Bacardi rum has pivoted away from ads that played up its heritage, while taking a more contemporary approach. Bacardi will “go harder at embedding our brands back into culture,” Mauricio Vergara, Bacardi Limited’s chief marketing officer for North America and the global lead for the Bacardi brand, told Ad Age last year. “We have one of the most iconic brands in the industry, but over the last few years we were not really connecting as effectively as we could with our target consumers and the new millennial.”

TV ads link the brand to house parties by showing drinkers partying in a house that is being towed on streets and highways.

12956: Chief Creative Officer Cannon.

CNET reported RadioShack hired Nick Cannon to serve as Chief Creative Officer. Seems like a logical move to complement the failing retailer’s decision to partner with Sprint, a company that could be dubbed “The RadioShack of Telecoms.” Cannon joins a parade of questionable creative lead appointments including will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Sean Combs and Jay-Z. Then again, clients continue to do a much better job of hiring minorities than White advertising agencies. But does it indicate celebrity status is a requirement for non-White people to be considered for senior-level positions in the field?

RadioShack hires Nick Cannon to lead its renaissance

Technically Incorrect: The rapper, actor and “America’s Got Talent” host is named RadioShack’s chief creative officer. Will the company rise again to glory?

By Chris Matyszczyk

I fear that for too many people RadioShack has become as prominent as actor Josh Hartnett (remember, from “The Faculty” and “Pearl Harbor”).

The electronics chain is still there, you assume, but you haven’t seen one in a long while. Perhaps, though, RadioShack has a remedy. It announced a startling appointment as its new chief creative officer: Nick Cannon.

The rapper, actor and “America’s Got Talent” host is a lifelong RadioShack aficionado. Indeed, he credits the brand with “fostering his creative spirit and interest in electronics.” At least, that’s what RadioShack said Wednesday a press release.

Michael Tatelman, RadioShack’s chief marketing officer, told me: “Nick will play an active role in the creative process and his innovation and creativity will continue to help us curate the in-store experience. He’ll also be developing an exclusive line of products, as well as help RadioShack continue to grow our educational and S.T.E.M (science, technology, engineering and math) initiatives nationwide.”

That all sounds like a task even bigger than winning a TV talent show.

The company filed for bankruptcy in February so that an investing firm could buy 2,400 of its stores. The new RadioShack, owned now by General Wireless Inc, says it has more than 1,700 company-owned stores and nearly 500 independent dealers.

RadioShack insists that with this hire it’s signaling that “RadioShack is back.” How much time will the busy entertainer and entrepreneur (his company is called NCredible Entertainment) dedicate?

“Nick’s goal is to be in Fort Worth working with the RadioShack team as often as possible,” Tatelman told me. Ah.

The tech world is strewn with the memories of stars appointed to add their creative wits without necessarily delivering the creative hits.

Perhaps the most celebrated was Alicia Keys, hired in 2013 by BlackBerry in a role similar to Cannon’s with RadioShack. Soon after her appointment, she was caught tweeting from her Apple iPhone. As was popular in those days, she claimed she’d been hacked. She left BlackBerry less than a year later.

Cannon does have tech credentials. He appeared on CNET’s CES stage last year and said he’s been a regular visitor to Las Vegas over the years. “I was a RadioShack kid,” he explained in that interview. “I would go to RadioShack every week. It was my favorite place. It was the place I got my first DJ equipment, keyboards, that’s where I would go buy RCA cables.”

To begin its quest for hearts and minds, RadioShack recently launched a website and had a Black Friday sale. But how much life does the brand still have? Despite this latest marketing effort, will it still be cannon-fodder?

10988: Where All The Black People Are.

Advertising Age published an inane cover story on the phenomenon of celebrities becoming global creative directors and brand ambassadors. See, Madison Avenue is wasting its time recruiting Blacks via urban high schools and inner-city outreach programs. Start scouting at the GRAMMYs and BET Awards.

10954: BlackBerry Calls Alicia Keys.

The Hollywood Reporter reported Alicia Keys dumped her iPhone to hook up with BlackBerry as its Global Creative Director—joining other notable recording-artists-turned-creative-directors including Sean Combs, Jay-Z and Will.i.am. Is it possible for a Black person to land a CD role without first winning a GRAMMY?

Canada’s RIM Unveils BlackBerry 10 and Alicia Keys as Global Creative Director

By Etan Vlessing

The pop sensation appeared on stage in New York City with Research in Motion CEO Thorstein Heins to unveil the new smartphone competitor to the iPhone and Google's Android software.

TORONTO – Canadians on Wednesday watched intently from the sidelines as Research In Motion CEO Thorsten Heins unveiled the homegrown do-or-die smartphone maker’s BlackBerry 10.

Canadian cable news channels switched to Heins and celebrity guest Alicia Keys — named as RIM’s new global creative director — unveiling the new BlackBerry smartphone and operating system during a glitzy New York City press event.

“Now we’re exclusively dating again, and I’m very happy,” Keys told the event after explaining why she briefly broke up with BlackBerry to date rival phones with “more bling.”

RIM will be hoping other creative types will follow.

Aiming to mirror the toy appeal of the rival Samsung and iPhone devices, the Canadian-based smartphone maker has signed a number of content partnership deals to enable video downloads and rentals of TV shows and audio on the much-delayed BlackBerry 10 platform.

To face down competition from Google’s Android software, RIM signed supply deals with ABC Studios, BBC Worldwide and CBS Corp., and Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group on the music side.

Other artists backing the BlackBerry 10 product include Doctor Who writer Neil Gaiman, who told the RIM presser via a pre-taped video that he will use the new smartphone to connect people around the world and “to tell some amazing stories and make fantastic art.”

5365: Off-Keys Remarks.

Keys messages in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Alicia Keys explained her comments regarding gangsta rap appearing in the latest issue of Blender magazine. “My comments about ‘gangsta rap’ were in no way trying to suggest that the government is responsible for creating this genre of rap music,” said Keys. “The point that I was trying to make was that the term was oversloganized by some of the media causing reactions that were not always positive. Many of the ‘gangsta rap’ lyrics articulate the problems of the artists’ experiences and I think all of us, including our leaders, could be doing more to address these problems including drugs, gang violence, crime, and other related social issues.” Regarding the AK-47 references, Keys said that pals nicknamed her AK-47 “as an acronym for Alicia Keys and a metaphor for wowing people with my music and performances, ‘killing ‘em dead’ on stage. The reference was in no way meant to have a literal, political or negative connotation.” Now if she could only explain her involvement with the dreadful Dove Fresh Takes microseries.

• The Coca-Cola Company announced its 1Q profit rose 19 percent. Even Alicia Keys can’t explain why.

5349: Teeing Up And Shooting Off.

Racists and Revolutionaries in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Not-so-ancient Chinese secret: Professional golf is filled with bias and exclusivity. The latest controversy involves former pro player and CBS announcer Bobby Clampett, who referred to golfer Liang Wen-Chong as “the chinaman” during a Masters broadcast. Clampett later remarked, “It has been a privilege to be here with you the last 2 days describing action of all of the players. In describing the Asian player Wen-Chong Liang if I offended anybody please accept my sincere apologies.” Jed Clampett and Granny deny having any association with Bobby Clampett.

• Alicia Keys showed her political side during an interview with Blender magazine. Her comments included, “‘Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince Black people to kill each other. ‘Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.” Additionally, the feud between Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur was ignited “by the government and the media, to stop another great Black leader from existing.” Keys also claimed she’s read Black Panther autobiographies and wears an AK-47 pendant “to symbolize strength, power and killing ‘em dead.” This should play well with executives at Unilever, who recently signed up Keys as a spokeswoman for Dove. Maybe it can be positioned as the Dove Keepin’ It Real Beauty Campaign.