17182: Gordon Ramsay Will Work For Food…?

 

BBH London is responsible for this Burger King UK campaign starring Gordon Ramsay.

 

No, the new Wagyu burger was not made by Gordon—because he’s probably busy cooking up menu items for his own burger chain.

16561: BHM 2024—BBH.

 

It’s probably not a BHM stunt, but is this internship promotion from White advertising agency BBH an indicator of progress—or performative propaganda?

 

After all, it’s hard to forget how BBH handled the 2009 Diversity In Advertising Career Day, setting up an empty table with a sign requesting candidates drop off résumés.

 

So, is the BBH Barn demonstrating an authentic attempt to reach out to non-Whites—or will “Black sheep” literally be herded into a manure-filled facility for faux friendliness?

16453: Continuous Incontinence From Culturally Clueless Character.

Sir John Hegarty posted commentary at LinkedIn, comparing the business and branding of Reebok versus Nike. His conclusion: Continuity beats reinvention.

 

The statement also applies to the perspectives held by Hegarty—and the White advertising agency he founded—regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

16313: Audi UK Drives Diversity In Reverse.

 

Audi UK presents its electric vehicle propaganda as a tale of progress, drawing parallels to how BRIT award-winning singer/songwriter Jorja Smith drove to success. According to the carmaker’s self-promotional hype, the “Driven by Progress” campaign forwards the Audi “Living Progress” philosophy.

 

Okay, except the concept was executed by BBH London—and work that’s arguably multicultural (and definitely appropriating Black culture) being awarded to a White advertising agency hardly qualifies as progressive. Indeed, it’s another example of accelerating systemic racism.

10663: Confronting Bullshit With Wit.

Sir John Hegarty suggests confronting prejudice with wit.

 

Okay, that’s an irresistible comedic setup.

 

The DEI efforts at BBH are a joke.

 

Hegarty is a culturally clueless clown.

16013: Heineken Hearts Hip Hop.

BBH Singapore and Leo Burnett Vietnam are among the agencies responsible for this concept-free cartoon campaign for Heineken. There’s an old advertising line attributed to David Ogilvy—which is typically extended—that reads: “When you have nothing to say, sing it. When you have less than nothing to say, let a kid sing it.”

 

Today the line should read: “When you have nothing to say, sing it. When you have less than nothing to say, let a hip-hop artist rap it.”

 

15621: Overreaction Of The Week.

 

Advertisers and White advertising agencies spend waaaay more time and money on Black Friday campaigns than Black advertising campaigns.

 

(Which makes Google and BBH all the more annoyingly offensive…)

 

15619: Black-Owned Friday—Brought To You By White-Owned Factories.

 

Advertising Age spotlighted the second annual Google holiday heat shield—Black-Owned Friday—including an interactive video created by BBH USA that promotes Black businesses. Hyping Black-owned businesses is hardly original. But coming from Google, the hype is hypocritical. Coming from BBH, the hype is heinous. In short, a White mega-corporation presents patronizing pap for people of color—and hires a White advertising agency to produce it. What better way to demonstrate respect for Black-owned businesses…?

 

Oh, and the campaign features T-Pain as a rapping elevator attendant. Is that a salute to Mad Men’s Hollis?

 

You Can Shop In Google’s Video For ‘Black-Owned Friday’

 

Google and agency BBH USA launch shoppable video and search tools to support Black-owned businesses

 

By Parker Herren

 

Editor's Pick

 

For the second year, Google swaps its celebration of Black Friday for “Black-Owned Friday” with shopping. Last summer, as brands rushed to respond to protests over racial injustice as well as statistics indicating over 40% of Black-owned businesses closed due to the pandemic, Google launched its Black-owned business badge and later that year, “Black-Owned Friday” with U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. and agency BBH USA.

 

For its second year, Google’s “Black-Owned Friday” centers on a shoppable music video featuring artists T-Pain and Normani, directed by Daps, who’s created videos for Migos, Iggy Azalea, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar. Singer Tanerélle plays a shopper who becomes inspired to get off her couch and do some bargain hunting when she sees an infomercial segment, starring comedian Desi Banks. What she discovers is not only a world of over 100 products from over 50 featured Black-owned businesses, but an entire “Blade Runner”-esque galaxy of Black-made goods.

 

T-Pain appears as a rapping elevator attendant, the guide for Tanerélle’s journey, and Normani joins Desi Banks in his faux-infomercial, humorously disrupting lyrics both informative and inspirational such as “it’s about time to start helping each other and that’s that, whatever you need, you can get that Black and that’s facts” and “God didn’t make a mistake, that’s why he painted you strong.”

 

While watching the video on the campaign’s landing site, each of the products featured, from shoes to art to cosmetics, line up across the bottom of the screen with an image, title and price. Clicking on the product populates additional information, like the seller, and a button that links directly to the Black-owned business’s website.

 

“I was thrilled when Google reached out about the second annual Black-owned Friday,” wrote T-Pain in a campaign blog post. “And I was especially excited to write a new track to celebrate Black-owned businesses.”

 

Google’s badge campaign allows shoppers to search for Black-owned businesses near them or online year-round. Especially for the shopping-based holiday, Google hopes to promote economic equality for marginalized business-owners. According to BBH, last year’s campaign received half a billion social impressions, 300% increase in online conversation involving Black-owned business and a shop featured in the campaign experienced 3000% sales growth.

14699: SAG-AFTRA & BBH Not BFFs—Just BS.

Adweek reported BBH lost its battle against SAG-AFTRA, which featured reprimands for the White advertising agency from A-list celebrities including George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Octavia Spencer. Guess Sir John Hegarty’s alleged resemblance to Clint Eastwood didn’t help.

Ad Agency BBH Loses Fight Against Actors Union SAG-AFTRA

Strike attracted celebrities including Tom Hanks and George Clooney

By Patrick Coffee

Publicis Groupe’s BBH agreed today to abide by recently renegotiated commercial contracts and cast only union actors in its ads, ending a nearly two-year battle with actors union SAG-AFTRA.

The announcement followed a May 15 decision in which administrative law Judge Kenneth W. Chu of the National Labor Relations Board ruled against BBH, finding the ad agency had violated two sections of the National Labor Relations Act when it decided in November 2017 to stop recognizing the union as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of commercial actors.

Nearly one year later, the agency released a statement confirming its plans to withdraw entirely from the contract that shapes relationships between the companies that produce ads and the talent that appears in them. At the time, BBH argued it was “not well-served by a contract that was designed for a traditional media landscape” and newer shops that never signed on operated at an advantage in an era when clients increasingly want digital content produced more quickly for less money.

In his decision, Chu wrote that BBH violated the section of the Labor Relations Act that covers bargaining in good faith with employees’ union representative when it refused to negotiate a new contract in December 2017.

BBH argued that “the union does not enjoy majority support because no permanent employees exist in November 2017,” therefore it did not have to recognize the contract that had applied since the agency opened its first U.S. office in 1998. But Chu ruled against the company, finding that BBH “employed numerous [actors] during the material time with an average of more than one employee in each production” and should remain bound by the contract, which is generally renewed every three years.

Chu’s ruling orders BBH “to recognize and bargain with the union [and] notify the union in writing of any changes made in the unit employees’ wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment after Nov. 21, 2017.” He also ruled the agency must “restore all benefits, wages, hours and other terms and conditions enjoyed by the unit employees prior to Nov. 21, 2017.”

“Our goal from the start was to produce high-level, cutting-edge creative work for our clients on a level playing field in a fast-evolving industry,” said BBH New York managing director Brett Edgar in a statement. “We lost the battle, will respect the ruling, and move on. We thank our clients for their unrelenting support throughout this process.”

This development comes three months after SAG-AFTRA and the ad industry, as represented by the Association of National Advertisers and American Association of Advertising Agencies, reached a new agreement on contracts that they said is a better fit for the digital age.

When discussing the new contracts, Lori Hunt, SAG-AFTRA executive director of commercials, corporate/educational and non-broadcast contracts, told Adweek, “Our concern is focused now on BBH because they illegally withdrew.”

The union staged protests at BBH’s offices in New York and Los Angeles, and the cause drew the support of celebrities including George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Octavia Spencer and Jennifer Aniston, who united under the hashtag #AdsGoUnion. Union groups also picketed a BBH Samsung ad shoot in Brentwood, California earlier this year to protest the use of non-union actors.

The fight also grew personal, with SAG-AFTRA targeting BBH chairwoman Sarah Watson by calling her “hypocrite of the week” for serving on the Time’s Up Advertising board while her agency was “depriving [actors] of union guarantees of safety [and] healthcare.”

“We’re pleased that BBH has returned to their longtime status as a SAG-AFTRA signatory. Since the inception of our relationship nearly 20 years ago, we have partnered effectively to provide the best talent in the world to BBH clients while ensuring fair compensation and safe working conditions for SAG-AFTRA members,” SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris said in a statement. “Now, with our new 2019 Commercials Contracts, we are thrilled that BBH can take full advantage of the transformative compensation models in this groundbreaking agreement to better compete in the constantly evolving advertising industry.”

Spokespeople for BBH and SAG-AFTRA declined to comment beyond the quotes in today’s release.

14517: Striking Back And Striking Out With Alex Bogusky.

CPB+ Chief Creative Engineer Alex Bogusky created a video series to attack JUUL for its deceptive promotional tactics, and the latest installment is explained as follows:

After two videos calling bullshit on #JUUL’s marketing, Alex found out he fucked up. First instinct was to hide it but instead he’s outing himself and looking for advice from the community. Let’s turn this into something good.

Whatever. But why is Bogusky rocking a BBH t-shirt? Is he supporting the White advertising agency in its battles with SAG-AFTRA? Maybe Bogusky should donate his JUUL loot to the media artists union. Hey, MDC Partners could use the cash too.

14489: BBH’s Outstanding Performance For Fake Dedication To Diversity.

Hey, did any BBH-created commercials air during the Screen Actors Guild Awards broadcast? The White advertising agency actually deserves a trophy for acting like they care about diversity.

14487: SAG-AFTRA Strikes Out With Its Anti-BBH Campaign.

It’s sad how SAG-AFTRA is promoting its strike against BBH—viewed as a premier creative White advertising agency—with some really contrived and crappy advertising.

14304: SAG-AFTRA VS BBH.

Advertising Age reported SAG-AFTRA called for a strike against BBH after the White advertising agency cut its ties to the actors union. Ad Age wrote that BBH argued the SAG-AFTRA contract “was outdated and not adapted to a digital-first environment.” Um, couldn’t that statement also be applied to any White advertising agency, including all BBH offices in the U.S. and beyond? It’s still odd how BBH can get away with its statements and actions when no other shops in the Publicis Groupe network have joined the contract rejection. Plus, are BBH clients approving the move? Seems like the strike is too narrowly targeted. Maybe the SAG-AFTRA could add grievances by accusing BBH of underutilizing actors of color.

SAG-AFTRA calls for strike against BBH, alleging ‘exploitative practices’

By I-Hsien Sherwood

The national board of actors union SAG-AFTRA voted unanimously today to authorize a strike against BBH. The union is instructing its members not to work for the agency, which employs on-air talent in its work for clients like Sony, Amazon, Google and Netflix. Among other complaints, SAG-AFTRA has accused BBH of paying as little as $150 to union members who auditioned with a live bear, according to Variety.

The move comes two weeks after BBH itself ended its nearly 20-year relationship with the union. “BBH’s decision to abandon their commitment and responsibilities to our collective bargaining agreement by shooting non-union is not only unethical, it undermines a working actor’s right to fair wages, health care and on-set safety,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris in a statement Thursday.

For its part, BBH says the agreement was outdated and not adapted to a digital-first environment, where social media personalities can often make more popular content than paid performers. The agency “is not well-served by a contract that was designed for a traditional media landscape,” BBH posted earlier this month in an open letter to “the talented actors” who work with it, noting that “many of our peer agencies are not signatories, making it hard to compete sustainably in a way that benefits our clients.”

In response, SAG-AFTRA has pointed to options like the Low Budget Digital Waiver, which excuses agencies from minimum rates on productions under $50,000.

The last agency to feel the full wrath of SAG-AFTRA was Droga5 in 2015, when the union called out the agency for exploitation of talent, a charge Droga5 denied. The independent shop has never been a signatory to a contract with the union. Neither have agencies like 360i, 72andSunny, R/GA and Anomaly.

The strike is in effect only for BBH and does not include other Publicis Groupe agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett. BBH did not immediately return a request for comment.

14294: BBH BK BS.

Campaign reported on a new Burger King campaign from BBH London, who “won” the account sans a pitch. The dreadful work stars BK UK CEO Alasdair Murdoch promoting a contest that invites people to post videos of themselves eating and reviewing an imaginary sandwich. Wow, what a breakthrough concept. Is BBH London following the lead of its U.S. sister shops by refusing to hire union talent for advertising? Will BBH even bother showing up to review the entries?

Burger King hands UK creative to BBH without a pitch

Bartle Bogle Hegarty has created a competition-led campaign for Burger King, after the agency was appointed to the fast food brand’s UK creative account earlier this year without a pitch.

By Simon Gwynn

The win sees the Publicis Groupe agency once again involved in the fast food sector, after KFC moved its creative account from BBH to Mother last year.

BBH was approached after a change of management at Burger King UK by private equity group Bridgepoint Capital, which acquired the franchise late last year.

Burger King’s UK chief executive, Alasdair Murdoch, who features in its campaign, and marketing director Katie Evans joined the business in February. Evans took over from Renato Rossi, who moved to Miami to lead marketing for the brand in North America.

Evans was previously marketing director at upmarket rival Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

The brand is today launching “The opportunity you haven’t been waiting for”, a nationwide search for the first person to try the new Crispy Chicken Burger. Playing with the apparently poor perception of the chicken options in Burger King, the contest will pay the (un)lucky winner £20,000 for trying the product.

Murdoch himself announces the search in a video and post on LinkedIn.

The campaign was created by Fred Rodwell and Andy Parsons at BBH, and runs across online display, social, press and out of home. To enter, consumers have to post a video of themselves eating, and giving a review of, an imaginary Crispy Chicken burger, with the hashtag #20Kfirstbite.

On top of the cash prize, the winner will also appear in the first TV ad from BBH, which will launch on 3 October.

Evans said: “We are delighted to have BBH on board. Their inspiring portfolio of work and experience in our sector gives us real confidence that they understand our brand challenge and how we need to engage and resonate to build brand growth in the UK.”

Ian Heartfield, chief creative officer at BBH added: “The chance to rebuild an iconic brand, one that’s famous for ground-breaking, disruptive work, is every agency’s dream brief. We’re pumped that Burger King have chosen us to help reinvent their entire customer journey, and bring the fight to the McOpposition.”

14287: BBH BS 2 SAG-AFTRA.

Adweek reported the U.S. offices of BBH have cut ties with leading actors union SAG-AFTRA—right around Labor Day—so the White advertising agency will cease being a signatory to the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract. The shop published a letter to “the talented actors who work with BBH US” to explain what motivated the move, claiming it was a business-based decision to stay competitive with other White advertising agencies that are not signatories, as well as to work in the best interests of their clients. The explanation sounds like a load of sheep shit, as sister firms within the Publicis Groupe network haven’t joined BBH in separating from SAG-AFTRA. Then again, the actors letter is a bit more respectful than BBH’s communication with minorities at the Diversity in Advertising Career Day in 2009.

Publicis’ BBH Withdraws From SAG-AFTRA Contract After Actors Union Threatens to Strike

Agency posts letter to talent on website

By Patrick Coffee

The U.S. offices of Publicis Groupe-owned BBH have ended their relationship with leading actors union SAG-AFTRA, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Effective immediately, the agency is no longer a signatory to the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract, which requires all participating agencies—and, by extension, their clients—to cast only union actors in their campaigns. BBH also posted a letter regarding the decision on its website, addressing “the talented actors” who have appeared in its ads.

This move comes approximately one month after the union threatened to call a strike against the agency in a note that accused BBH of “disputing its status as a signatory” to the same contract and called upon its 150,000-plus active members to report any violations on the agency’s part. Additionally, the union said, “BBH believes it is free to disregard the terms of your contract, including contributions to your Pension & Health benefits, minimum compensation, and the responsible use of your image, voice and performance.”

At the time, national executive director and chief negotiator David White told Adweek he hoped to “get [BBH] to the bargaining table and bargain a fair deal with them” after the agency reportedly attempted to “unilaterally repudiate the contact.” He also noted, by contrast, that the union eventually developed a “great relationship” with Grey after accusing the WPP agency in 2016 of using its own in-house production studio to circumvent union rules.

BBH, like most legacy agencies, had been a signatory to the SAG-AFTRA contract since opening its first U.S. office more than 20 years ago. One major reason advertisers have often negotiated with the organization, which was formed by a 2012 merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is that it is the largest actors union and represents a considerable majority of available talent. Yet many younger and more digitally-oriented shops like Droga5 never signed on—and this fact has not gone unnoticed. In 2016, the union staged a protest at Droga5’s New York headquarters, ran sponsored posts and bought an ad on AdAge.com arguing that the agency was engaging in “exploitation” of commercial talent.

One source at a separate agency told Adweek that many younger creative agencies—especially those that often work with influencers or create short-form, social-friendly campaigns—avoid SAG-AFTRA in the interest of lowering production costs. White argued that the union allows for “a great deal of flexibility” with its partners, and last year the organization did grant a waiver to signatories for digital productions with budgets under $50,000. But BBH’s letter states that the agency is increasingly unable to compete with rivals that are not bound by the agreement in question.

SAG-AFTRA often encourages its members to protest, most recently calling for them to voice their displeasure with the NBA, the Honest Company and several talent management firms for reportedly violating the terms of the commercials contract. It is unclear whether the organization will make good on its plan to launch a strike against BBH, whose L.A. office works with a variety of prominent entertainment companies.

“BBH’s decision to end its contractual relationship is unacceptable and will not go unchallenged,” said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris in a statement. “The union will use every available resource at our disposal as well as leverage our 160,000 professional performers to bring BBH back to the table.”

SAG-AFTRA helps to provide actors with work assignments in addition to health insurance and other benefits. In exchange, members must agree to work only with companies that have also signed the contract or risk expulsion from the group.

BBH representatives declined to comment beyond the letter itself, which is reprinted in full below.

MESSAGE TO THE TALENTED ACTORS WHO WORK WITH BBH US

BBH US is privileged to work with the creative community’s best of the best. We thank you for being our partner in the work we love, using our combined creative power to produce ambitious ideas for ambitious clients. Your involvement in our work is crucial to delivering the high-caliber products our clients have come to expect from us.

It’s precisely because we respect your contribution that we want to communicate directly to you about why BBH US has decided to exercise our legal right to not renew our participation as a signatory to the SAG-AFTRA contract.

In short, we are hired to operate in the best interests of our clients, and part of that is being able to deliver the greatest level of flexibility and value for the work we do. We are simply looking to level the playing field for all of us. The current contract was put in place nearly 20 years ago, when the internet was in its infancy and the advertising world was a vastly different place, with vastly different economics. The cutting-edge work we do at BBH US across all mediums is not well-served by a contract that was designed for a traditional media landscape. The need for speed, agility, and greater efficiencies in how we produce work has become increasingly important in today’s market. Many of our peer agencies are not signatories, making it hard to compete sustainably in a way that benefits our clients.

We immensely value the creative talent we work with, and this decision does not change our commitment to fair wages and working conditions. We simply need the flexibility that this current contract does not allow in order to continue to do great work with great actors, both SAG-AFTRA and non-SAG-AFTRA talent alike.

It is unfortunate that the current SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract has placed signatory agencies at a competitive disadvantage. In withdrawing as a signatory, BBH US can operate in precisely the same manner as its peer agencies, providing work opportunities to performers across the full spectrum of the creative community.

While this was a difficult decision, it was one we had no choice but to make. We look forward to continuing to collaborate on work for some of the most innovative marketers in the world.

Sincerely, BBH US

13746: Absolut BS From BBH.

Campaign spotlighted a new Absolut advertisement—created by BBH London—that really underscores how Absolut has gone from iconic, breakthrough advertising to awful bullshit. Absolut Global Communications Director Gaia Gilardini explained the campaign launched with Pride in London, but its message goes beyond LGBTQIA acceptance and inclusion. “We wanted to bring to life one of our core values and beliefs, which is that everyone should be free to love who they choose,” said Gilardini. “It uses a kiss as a metaphor for this expression of acceptance. But it’s a broader idea of acceptance—it’s not just tied to sexuality. Freedom to love who you choose goes further than just sexual preference.” Huh? To declare the vodka brand’s core values and beliefs include “that everyone should be free to love who they choose” sounds like, well, not sober thinking. The sentiment certainly isn’t among the values stated at the company website. And, sorry, but the orgy-like behavior depicted in the video makes the characters look as if they’ve had one Absolut Vodka Martini too many. Drink responsibly, but feel free to engage in irresponsible, unsafe sexual behavior. What makes it all even more obscene is that the “free to love who they choose” concept is reflected by BBH London in ways that run counter to the Absolut spirit of acceptance and inclusion. That is, BBH London exercises its right to freely choose whom to love by exclusively hiring a specific type of people. White people, that is. Acceptance and inclusion are MIA at BBH.

13619: Seamless & Culturally Clueless.

Adweek spotlighted a Seamless commercial that celebrates the diversity of New York City and its food scene. However, NYC diversity is not reflected by BBH New York, the White advertising agency responsible for the campaign—as well as responsible for perpetuating exclusivity in the industry. Bon Appétit!

13313: Don’t Think Much Of Gallop.

Advertising Age published a painfully lengthy portrait titled, “Cindy Gallop Doesn’t Care What You Think”—which is fine, as most clear-headed citizens don’t care what Cindy Gallop thinks.

Gallop is among the more prominent White women bandwagon enthusiasts. Don’t mean to be a female provocateur basher, but prominence doesn’t translate to credibility, despite the adoration of her +46,000 Twitter followers.

For example, Gallop gulped, “I really want to push back against the narrative that women opt out. No woman has ever said, ‘No, don’t pay me more money.’ No woman has ever said, ‘No, I don’t want to be the one in charge so I get to decide how I experience all of this.’” Um, yes, they have. In fact, plenty of women have declined a higher pay scale or bigger title for reasons covering everything from work-life balance to simply seeking to reduce exposure to the insanity generated by the industry. Sorry, but Gallop sounds like a Boomer dinosaur when spewing such uninformed proclamations. It’s true that no woman has ever said, “Please discriminate against me, subject me to sexism and inappropriate behavior and/or pay me less money than male counterparts for equal work.” Yet many have opted against advancement. Women today have greater choices and lead multi-faceted lives. Plus, the industry today is not nearly as attractive as the post-Golden Age of Advertising that Gallop experienced.

Ad Age wrote, “The push for 50-50 gender balance for employment, at all levels and within all departments, is [Gallop’s] goal.” Why is it that White women (or biracial women, as in Gallop’s case) can get away with demanding percentage increases, while minorities who make such requests are vilified as racial quota revolutionaries and Affirmative Action activists?

Ad Age also wrote, “Ms. Gallop believes once an agency has as many women as men in all roles, the issue of sexual harassment goes away. ‘You instantly manage out all of those issues. Because there isn’t the bro-y atmosphere that encourages men to only see women in two roles: secretary or girlfriend.’” Wow, what bizarro universe is Gallop living in? First, expecting equal gender numbers to eliminate sexual harassment is tantamount to believing a Black U.S. President erases racism. By golly, we’ll soon be dancing in a post-racial and post-sexual harassment society! Second, accusing men of viewing every female associate as a potential administrative assistant or girlfriend is pretty ignorant. In contrast to minorities, White women in our industry are not relegated to the roles of receptionist, cleaning lady, security, mailroom attendant or Chief Diversity Officer.

Plus, why is Gallop suddenly such a fiery change agent? Her professional legacy to date hardly warrants the label of diversity champion; rather, she’s a diverted diversity champion. Did BBH transform into an inclusive Mecca under Gallop’s watch? With all due disrespect, Sir John Hegarty displays the classic symptoms of White privilege and cultural cluelessness. And BBH is a no-show at the parties for progress. It would help Gallop’s cause if a few good adwomen acknowledged her as their inspirational mentor, crediting her with their ascension in adland. Are there any minorities in the field who directly benefited from Gallop’s original or born-again benevolence?

Is Gallop to diversity what Donald Trump is to democracy? On the one hand, rabble-rousers are always welcome to condemn the exclusivity festering on Madison Avenue and beyond. At the same time, is Gallop really the figure everyone wants to lead the charge? And to put it all into perspective, Trump boasts +11.1 million Twitter followers.

In the end, Gallop—like Trump—has not earned this blog’s vote. Which is fine, since Gallop doesn’t care.

13293: Putting The BS In CBS.

Adweek reported CBS Entertainment President Glenn Geller admitted his network must do better with diversity, as five new shows feature White men. Hey, when it comes to diversity and inclusion, CBS is still doing waaaaay better than WPP, IPG, MDC, DDB, FCB, JWT, BBH, W+K, BBDO, CP+B, GS&P, GSD&M and every other SOB on Madison Avenue and beyond. Ironically, CBS employed iconic graphic designer Georg Olden from 1945-1960.

CBS Chief Says Network ‘Needs to Do Better’ When It Comes to Diversity in Its Shows

Fall slate has 5 new series starring white guys

By Jason Lynch

In one of the most contentious sessions of the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour so far, CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller was repeatedly questioned about the lack of diversity in his network’s fall slate, which features five new shows starring white men.

“We’re very mindful at CBS about the importance of diversity and inclusion,” said Geller. “We need to do better, and we know it.”

Geller repeated some version of “we need to do better” at least seven separate times in response to questions from reporters about his fall shows, which star Matt LeBlanc, Kevin James, Michael Weatherly, Dermot Mulroney and Joel McHale.

“I am acknowledging we need to be do better,” said Geller, who said the cast ensembles overall are more diverse than in previous seasons. “That is our commitment to diversity. Those aren’t just words. That is real action.”

Geller’s words seemed to ring hollow a day after FX CEO John Landgraf told TCA reporters that in the space of several months, his network had made a concerted effort to correct its lack of female and nonwhite directors. As a result, more than half of FX and FXX’s episode directors are now women or nonwhite.

“I think we have made that commitment” to improving diversity as well, insisted Geller. He said CBS has fared better behind the camera, with directors and writers, but struggled when asked why all of his new showrunners were white men. “Sometimes our showrunners are diverse; sometimes our showrunners are not diverse,” he said.

In part to blunt some of the criticism that the network knew would be coming from reporters, Geller had announced CBS added 16 new regular cast roles to new and recurring series, 11 of which were people of color. “We are not trying to make up for something,” he said.

CBS, which finished No. 1 last season in total viewers and in the 18-49 demo, has five new dramas this season “from very procedural genres” including crime, medical, legal and adventure. “Each has the potential to reach the broadest audience possible,” said Geller.

Geller praised The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’s “daring and creatively impressive two weeks of live shows,” and noted that they generated the show’s two biggest viral clips to date: Jon Stewart’s surprise guest appearance and Laura Benanti’s impersonation of Melania Trump.

“Chris Licht has been an outstanding addition as showrunner of the Late Show,” said Geller. “We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished here.”

CBS will continue Late Show’s live-show momentum by broadcasting it live three times in the fall: following the first and third presidential debates (on Sept. 26 and Oct. 19), and after the vice presidential debate on Oct. 4.

In other CBS late-night news, James Corden’s next Carpool Karaoke passenger will be Britney Spears. Her segment will air on The Late Late Show With James Corden on Thursday, Aug. 25.

Geller said summer drama Zoo has been renewed for a third season, which will air next summer. The series is “very popular on Netflix and with international audiences,” said Geller. No decision was made about underperforming BrainDead and American Gothic.

Big Brother was renewed for two more seasons to be broadcast in the summers of 2017 and 2018. That’s in addition to a digital-only series of the show that will air on CBS All Access this fall.

CBS is jumping into the true-crime genre kickstarted by Making a Murderer and The People v. O.J. Simpson with The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey, as original investigators and other experts re-examine the case. The six-hour docuseries debuts Sunday, Sept. 18, the night before the new season kicks off.

The Big Bang Theory is the No. 1 comedy on TV, but the cast’s contracts are up for renewal after the coming season. Geller, however, isn’t worried. “We are very confident that everyone involved wants more Big Bang past year 10, and I know [studio] Warner Bros. will make those deals,” he said.

After letting Supergirl fly to The CW for Season 2, the network hasn’t closed the door on that genre. “If we heard the right superhero pitch and we thought it was for us, we would absolutely buy it,” said Geller.