9316: Contextual Cluelessness.

Advertising Age presented “Why Omnicom Opts Out of Digital Spotlight”—beside a banner ad featuring DDB Chairman Bob Scarpelli in The Yahoo! Futurist Series, which promises to show where digital advertising is heading.

9078: Speaking French With Modern Mad Men.

Sorry for the Lobsters and beating a dead horse, but wanted to briefly re-examine Neil French and the alleged gender discrimination on Madison Avenue.

To briefly recap, French made sexist comments when asked about the lack of female creative directors during a professional engagement in 2005. French has consistently insisted that he was joking, and that anyone attending the event would have realized it (although a number of people reportedly exited in the middle of French’s presentation—and Nancy Vonk clearly was not amused). According to various sources, French said women usually leave the industry “to go suckle something,” and added, “You can’t be a great creative director and have a baby and keep spending time off every time your kids are ill … Everyone who doesn’t commit themselves fully to the job is crap at it.” French has never denied making these statements, and even defended his position in a later interview by saying, “A belligerent question deserves a belligerent answer. The answer is, They don’t work hard enough. It’s not a joke job. The future of the entire agency is in your hands as creative director.”

At the time of the incident, French was the Worldwide Creative Director for WPP, and he inevitably resigned when the proverbial shit hit the fan. But to be clear, his comments were grounds for dismissal, as one could easily argue that such declarations would create a hostile and discriminatory work environment for women. As WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell recently admitted about his company, “We don’t recruit people very well, we don’t assess them very well, we don’t give them feedback very well.” It would not help the hiring efforts to also be known as a female-unfriendly enterprise.

Given the continuing controversy surrounding gender imbalance on Madison Avenue, at least in regards to creative directors, one must wonder if the people in power (i.e., White men) really think there is an issue. Why? Well, consider this. If French had made the exact same comments and replaced women with Blacks or Latinos, he would have been branded as the Michael Richards of the industry, and probably shunned and condemned by everyone. However, a number of prominent admen have come forward to praise French and his book, including Mike Hughes, David Droga, Mark Tutssel, Bob Scarpelli, Lee Clow, Jeff Goodby and Graham Fink.

So is there a problem with the “dearth of dames” leading creative teams and departments? Or deep down, do modern Mad Men support French’s viewpoint along with his book?

7441: The Cultural Competence Contest.

In 2006-2007, MultiCultClassics posted Parody Ads to spotlight the lack of diversity on Madison Avenue. The original series played off iconic campaigns.


In 2007-2008, MultiCultClassics posted Parody Diversity Recruitment Ads from major advertising agencies.


In 2008-2009, MultiCultClassics posted Tagged Diversity Recruitment Ads. The series embellished real corporate diversity messages, pointing out the contradictions and hypocrisy of advertisers pontificating on inclusion while partnering with advertising agencies where exclusivity reigns.


In 2010, MultiCultClassics introduces a transformational concept. It’s time for Madison Avenue to get actively involved.

The MultiCultClassics Cultural Competence Contest

Goal: Create a Diversity Recruitment Campaign for Madison Avenue.

Diversity in the advertising industry remains a dream deferred, delayed and denied. Now you have the equal opportunity to bring change to Madison Avenue once and for all. Simply design a campaign to inspire and ignite inclusiveness in our ranks.

Scope of the entry is at the entrant’s sole discretion. There are no budgetary, media or creative restrictions.

Rules: Contest open exclusively to U.S. White and General Market Advertising Agencies. White senior management executives must be intimately involved with your agency’s entry, preferably leading the initiative. Sorry, no minority or multicultural agencies allowed. Additionally, no Chief Diversity Officers, Diversity Committees, ADCOLOR® Members, Mailroom Attendants, Receptionists, Janitorial Crews or Security Staff permitted to participate. Minorities may be ultimately integrated into the effort, but you must not delegate diversity to the resident non-White person in your office.

Given Madison Avenue’s historic sluggishness on diversity, entries must be submitted by January 1, 3010, or before Cyrus Mehri issues subpoenas, whichever comes first.

No entry forms to fill out or fees to pay. Once you’ve hatched an idea, contact MultiCultClassics via the comments process.

Good luck!