15950: Turning, Twisting And Winding DE&I Discussions.

 

Digiday published an interview with Dentsu Creative SVP of DE&I Kai Devereaux Lawson that sorta underscores the Don Draper quote: “If you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation.”

 

That is, discussions about diversity in Adland tend to turn, twist and wind like a contortionist impersonating Chubby Checker at a pretzel factory.

 

Here’s a Reed Richards-Gumby-Tasmanian Devil examination of the interview:

 

• For starters, Digiday wrote, “Over the last two years, calls for diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the advertising industry have seemingly gone from a fever pitch to a dull roar.” Um, a muffled gasp might be the more appropriate descriptor, as most vocal advocates for change have figuratively received a knee to the neck.

 

• The interviewee stated, “Where we left off in 2020, the major conversation was about data. However, the challenge with only focusing on data is that it doesn’t tell the full story of what inclusion and equity actually looks like within an organization.” Um, the major conversation centered on White holding companies and White advertising agencies confessing—by sharing EEO-1 data—that historically underrepresented minorities are still woefully underrepresented in Adland. In fact, many openly acknowledged the systemic racism prevalent in their own organizations. Does the full story really need extra chapters and subplots?

 

• The interviewee also highlighted the recent launch of Dentsu’s creative review council, which is probably a committee of color charged with checking the work to ensure everything’s culturally competent. Um, it’s hardly original that a White advertising agency might take such performative and preventative measures—as even clients are starting to assess concepts through a divershitty-friendly lens. The Dentsu creative review council sounds like a formal replacement for asking the mailroom attendant and/or resident minority to weigh in on stuff.

 

• The interviewee touched on the shift from DE&I drones reporting to HR versus reporting directly to the CEO. Um, this is a global political and PR stunt where effectiveness is ultimately dependent upon the cultural cluelessness of the CEO—sorry, but the final maneuver typically involves delegating diversity.

 

• The interviewee repeatedly emphasized that diversity, inclusion and equity must mean more than numbers. Um, denying the numbers—and the reasons behind the numbers—led to the White elephant dominating the room. Sure, the standard issues such as retention and building inclusive environments demand action. But proof of progress starts with numbers.

 

Can’t help but wonder if all the turning, twisting and winding talk is the ruling majority executing a Don Draper move—changing the conversation by dodging, deflecting and denying direct diversity discussions.

 

The interviewee contends that the issue is complex. Okay, but be careful to avoid complicating matters. The solution is simple—it’s just that no one wants to do the hard work required to achieve success.

 

Why Dentsu Creative’s DE&I lead says focusing solely on numbers won’t solve advertising’s diversity problem

 

By Kimeko McCoy

 

Over the last two years, calls for diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the advertising industry have seemingly gone from a fever pitch to a dull roar. In response to the height of the Black Lives Matter movement and the push for social justice, advertising agencies prioritized hiring diverse talent, and hiring DE&I leads to hold themselves accountable. Many made pledges and promises to report those talent numbers annually. But, according to one DE&I lead, diversity statistics alone aren’t enough.

 

“Where we left off in 2020, the major conversation was about data,” said Kai Deveraux Lawson, svp of diversity, equity and inclusion for Dentsu Creative in the Americas. “However, the challenge with only focusing on data is that it doesn’t tell the full story of what inclusion and equity actually looks like within an organization.”

 

Last April, Deveraux joined Dentsu Creative as the agency’s first diversity lead, reporting directly to Dentsu Creative CEO Jon Dupuis and Dentsu Americas chief equity officer Christena Pyle. In her new role, Deveraux said she’s pushing for a new narrative around DE&I within the ad industry — one that looks to leverage both qualitative and quantitative information. For example, just one month after joining, Deveraux helped launch Dentsu’s creative review council, which aims to add a facet of quality control to the agency’s work, ensuring that it’s culturally relevant, accurate and authentic.

 

Digiday caught up with Deveraux to talk about her work at Dentsu Creative, what qualitative measurement looks like and why conversations about diversity need more nuance.

 

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

 

When you say agency DE&I statistics don’t tell the full story, what do you mean by that?

 

When we talk about representation, we’re oftentimes ignoring the fact that not everybody wants to self-identify, wants to candidly out themselves. Whether it be because they identify as having a disability, within a particular racial or ethnic community or want to identify their LGBTQ community identity. A lot of the time, the numbers we are able to share within organizations aren’t necessarily accurate, indicative of whether or not someone actually wants to talk about who they are.

 

So there’s a lack of nuance in reporting? Why do you think that is?

 

Because it is so complex. The reality is DE&I is not the catch-all for friendliness in the workplace. DE&I has a lot to do with our behaviors, personal experiences, trauma and how we perceive personal experiences. It’s so complex that it requires a lot of thought, studying [and] patience. I don’t think a lot of people make time, have time or emotional capacity to sit with the heaviness of what all of this means. That translates to what’s the easiest headline, and the headline is everybody was mad in 2020 about numbers. So, we’re only going to report about DE&I numbers.

 

What are some of the things you’ve done at Dentsu Creative to help change the narrative around DE&I?

 

One of the first things that we started doing internally was we launched our internal creative review counsel. It’s our way of quality, culturally controlling the work before it goes out to the clients. We call it cultural fluency, internally. That’s our way of making sure that we’re speaking to what we are producing in a way that makes sense to our audience, but also can be heard by our marketers. [With the] FTX Super Bowl spot, we were able to partner the creative review council, creative team, production and media teams and impact the work — going as far as to add feedback about what other innovators that weren’t men and weren’t white. We were able to partner with the creative team to add in a scene with Katherine Johnson, [one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist].

 

Since 2020, DE&I executives went from reporting to the human resource department to reporting directly to the CEO, including you. What has that meant for your role?

 

It completely shifts the priorities, access and people who are able to hear your voice. My own personal critique before transitioning into DE&I full time was that DE&I felt very surface level. It was primarily focused on setting up business resource groups. The primary partnership was between HR lead and diversity leader. That’s only one facet of the business. It’s now HR, finance, client, talent, all of these things, not just laddering into one source of accountability. It also allows for more transparent conversations about what you need, gets you directly to the source.

 

So what’s the resolve? How else can we measure changes in diversity without relying on numbers?

 

From my perspective, there are tons of other ways to determine where the opportunities are for more inclusion in a workplace that don’t necessarily have to be tied to our EEOC [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission], self-counted or self-identification numbers. For me, what is more indicative of whether or not an agency is doing well has to do a lot with how the people are feeling, how they are engaging. Your inclusion within your workplace is not indicative of how many people you have. People will still tell you they’re not seeing themselves in the meetings and they’re 100% right because it’s more than just a [key performance indicator]. It’s literally the qualitative experience.

 

My pushback continues to be, the numbers can be helpful. The numbers are going to inform us about what we need to be paying attention [to]. The numbers aren’t going to tell us whether or not people are feeling like they’re being treated fairly on a team, if people feel like their voices are heard when they’re advocating for more equitable practices in the work. Those, to me, are the pieces that make the day-to-day job more bearable. And those are not the things that we’ve been paying attention to. The last two years were just knowing how many people you’ve got.

15613: IPG Chairman & CEO Retiring & Tiring.

 

More About Advertising saluted IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth, whose retirement officially goes into effect on December 31. “My time as chairman and CEO of IPG has been a tremendous privilege,” said the 76-year-old executive. “I am most proud of the work we have done to help shine a light on equity and inclusion, as well as being a values and purpose-driven enterprise.” Um, given the IPG EEO-1 data presented in 2020, it’s right to say Roth’s proudest accomplishment is an absolute failure. But he’s sure to nab an ADCOLOR® Lifetime Achievement Trophy.

 

Michael Roth steps down as Interpublic boss

 

By Stephen Foster

 

Michael Roth is retiring as executive chairman of Interpublic (IPG) after nearly 20 years in what was once a very hot seat as Interpublic, the original ad holding company, wrestled with all manner of problems.

 

He handed over the CEO reins to long-serving deputy Philippe Krakowsky a year ago. Since then IPG has outperformed its peers in terms of organic growth and markedly narrowed the gap on its big US rival Omnicom.

 

Roth, 76, says: “My time as chairman and CEO of IPG has been a tremendous privilege. I am most proud of the work we have done to help shine a light on equity and inclusion, as well as being a values and purpose-driven enterprise.

 

“Operationally, we have evolved to meet the needs of an industry that is not only creative, but also increasingly about digital and data.”

 

“Philippe (Krakowsky) has been key to the efforts to move the company forward on all these fronts, working with me and the board to build a contemporary organisation that delivers high-value services for marketers. Our clients, people and shareholders are in very good hands going forward.”

 

Roth’s last big bet was the $2.2bn acquisition of data firm Acxiom, which seems to have been incorporated pretty seamlessly. IPG has arguably thrived thanks to its simpler structure, mainly built around creative agencies McCann and FCB and media shops UM and Initiative, although it owns scores of other businesses. It also created a strong footprint in digital with R/GA.

 

Roth, by accounts a pleasant man, has earned his time on the golf course. IPG will now appoint a non-executive chair to work with Krakowsky.

15047: IPG EEO-1 Data WTF.

Advertising Age reported a leaked staff memo showed the state of divertsity at IPG, where Blacks account for less than 3 percent of senior executives. Plus, IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth admitted, “We must do better.” Huh? This is the White holding company that has historically claimed to be “recognized for leadership in diversity and inclusion.” If a “leader” in diversity has such awful EEO-1 data, it’s no wonder Omnicom has kept its numbers a guarded secret. 

13727: P.S., HP BS.

Wanted to add commentary in response to a remark made by HP CMO Antonio Lucio during interviews at Cannes. While discussing the official memo Lucio sent to his White advertising agencies in August 2016, challenging them to improve their staff diversity, the CMO told Advertising Age the following:

By October we’re going to give you all of the numbers. What I can tell you right now is that in our lead agencies, the number of women leading the account has grown. The number of the women working in the creative department working on our account has grown where they were almost nonexistent. And in the media agency, the number of strategic resources leading our account, which in media is the most important role, has increased significantly as well. Our plan is that in October, by the one year anniversary of our call, we will sit down with all of the agencies and we’re going to do a white paper on the good, the bad, the ugly and the extraordinary.

Now, technically, Lucio only tasked his White advertising agencies with starting the inclusive revolution by promoting White women, as his comment above seems to indicate. At the same time, when Ad Age asked if the original request was exclusive to boosting female figures, Lucio clarified the intended goal by stating, “Women and people of color.” If Lucio does indeed share “all the numbers” as promised, it will be quite an accomplishment. To date, BBDO and Omnicom have steadfastly refused to disclose EEO-1 data to the public. So based on Lucio’s ability to keep his word, October could present an extraordinary trick or treat.

13612: Dawn Chambers, Endangered Species.

Advertising Age reported on figures from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission showing there are less than 100 Black women executives in adland. The report made no mention of the number of Black male executives in the field. If anything, the EEOC total underscores that the current diverted diversity drive—with everyone jumping onto the White women bandwagon—is the greatest example of unconscious bias today. That is, the industry pats itself on the back for promoting White women under the notion of gender equality while true diversity remains a dream deferred, diverted, delegated and denied. If the advertising industry stays true to form, expect the following solutions to ignite in the years ahead:

• Categorize receptionists, administrative assistants and cleaning ladies as executives

• Offer more Global Creative Director roles to female hip-hop artists

• Increase the number of Chief Diversity Officers

• 4As to launch MAEP—Multicultural Advertising Executive Program

• Cannes to introduce the Dawn Chambers Lion

There Are Fewer Than 100 Black Women Execs in Adland

IPG and Ad Club of New York Hold Summit on What to Do About It

By Lindsay Stein

The Advertising Club of New York and Interpublic Group are hosting the first Summit on Black Women in Advertising to start a discussion and figure out solutions around the fact that there are fewer than 100 black women executives in advertising, PR and related industries across the country.

According to new statistics from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, only 93 black female executives are in advertising, PR and related agencies with more than 100 people, out of 8,734 total executives. Additionally, of the 8,734 executives, 7,651 are white and 3,037 are white women.

The idea for “Their Truth: The Summit on Black Women in Advertising, Marketing and Media,” which will be held March 27 at The Paley Center in New York City, came from the fact that the industry doesn’t have any large scale focus on women of color, said Heide Gardner, IPG’s chief diversity officer. Ms. Gardner, who previously served as senior VP of the American Advertising Federation and was the founding executive director of The AAF Mosaic Center on Multiculturalism, said ColorComm has an emphasis on women of color, but it’s a young organization. The Ad Club of New York and IPG will also be supporting their efforts going forward.

“Women’s experience in the industry and the narrative have come primarily from white women in senior roles, but no one has provided a platform for us to hear from really accomplished black women and those are the stories that make all this real,” said Ms. Gardner.

She added that what shocked her the most from the recent findings is that there’s about 50 black women executives in creative agencies, 14 in PR and some disciplines that have zero. “We all know we have a challenge, but I don’t think people really know and the industry hasn’t generally followed the data,” said Ms. Gardner, “It’s important to bring this forward, and if they didn’t know before, now they will know.”

The EEOC research also showed that black women have the lowest upward mobility among other major demographics groups in advertising, PR and related fields, while black women in other professional services industries, such as legal, accounting and management consulting, have higher executive representation in leadership roles.

At the event, Tai Wingfield from the Center for Talent Innovation will present current research about black women professionals, and a panel will include black women trailblazers, such as Pam El, CMO of the NBA; Vita Harris, chief strategy officer at FCB; Jeanine D. Liburd, executive-VP of corporate communications and corporate social responsibility at BET Networks, and more. The event will also be streaming on Facebook Live for those who can’t attend.

“Obviously, we want to bring forward the issue and expose the industry to these amazing women and their stories, but we don’t want to just leave it at that,” said Ms. Gardner. IPG and the Ad Club New York is working with the Center for Talent Innovation to provide some solutions and a toolkit to the industry that “looks at key issues and specifics that can be undertaken by any organization, leader, manager and the talent themselves,” she said.

More importantly, Ms. Gardner said she thinks this event will “open the door to having discussions” with other holding companies and agencies to help figure out how everyone can work together to make a difference.

10014: Omnicom Shows Its True Color.

Read the MediaDailyNews article below. A MultiCultClassics commentary immediately follows.

NYC Pressures Omnicom For Workplace Diversity

By Steve McClellan

The battle over diversity in adland is heating up again in New York.

The city’s Office of the Comptroller has asked four holding companies — Omnicom, Interpublic Group, WPP and Publicis — to publicly disclose detailed submissions required by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to show just how diverse — or not — their workforces are.

According to a spokesman for the Comptroller’s office — which advises funds with investments in the ad companies — only Interpublic responded.

The Office of the Comptroller, headed by John Liu, is taking the fight directly to the shareholders of Omnicom with a shareholder proposal that would require the company to disclose the EEOC filings that annually report a comprehensive breakdown of the company’s workforce by race and gender across all employment categories. The shareholder proposal suggests that this data be presented either in Omnicom’s annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability report, beginning this year.

In his letter to Omnicom chairman Bruce Crawford, Liu wrote: “I am deeply concerned by the underrepresentation of minorities, particularly African Americans, in the advertising industry. These disparities, which can negatively impact individual companies and their communities, persist despite the many diversity initiatives highlighted by the major advertising firms, including Omnicom Group.”

“I am writing to request that the board of directors adopt a policy requiring Omnicom Group to disclose annually the [EEOC report that] details the composition of the company’s U.S. workforce by race and gender across employment categories.” Liu said such disclosure would allow shareholders to “evaluate and benchmark the effectiveness of the company’s overall effort to recruit, retain and promote minorities and women.”

Liu cited a 2009 study that showed that the “racial disparity is 38% worse in the advertising industry than the overall U.S. labor market.” The same study, Liu noted, also found that black college graduates in the business earn 20% less than their “equally qualified white counterparts.”

Liu added that it “is incumbent upon Omnicom to vigorously promote a more diverse workplace. Disclosure is a critical step in this process that will encourage management to integrate diversity into the company’s culture and strengthen accountability to shareholders.”

When Omnicom did not respond to the letter, Liu’s office opted to submit a proposal to shareholders — which according to Omnicom’s proxy materials will be voted on at the upcoming annual meeting May 22 in San Francisco.

The company is urging shareholders to vote against the proposal.

In its proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Omnicom argued that the EEO data does not account “for any company or industry specific factors. It is designed to yield generalized data across all categories of private employers rather than information specific to Omnicom or comparable companies in the advertising industry.”

As a result, Omnicom said, the EEO data “is neither informative nor is it a reliable measure of our commitment to equal opportunity employment. We do not believe that disclosing it will meaningfully further the goal of workplace diversity. To the contrary, this information, which is susceptible to misinterpretation, could be manipulated by those with interests adverse to Omnicom’s and harm the company.

The company also cited steps it has taken in recent years to promote diversity, including the formation in 2007 of The Omnicom Diversity Development Advisory Committee (“DDAC”) to enhance diversity at Omnicom. It also cited its hiring of a chief diversity officer and the formation in 2009 of the Omnicom Medgar Evers Associate Program, which provides financial support and has created numerous internships and other opportunities for students with diverse educational, socioeconomic, political and cultural backgrounds.

The company said it supports Adcolor, an industry coalition, which creates networks of diverse professionals and “champions” of diversity and inclusion. And its Diversity Initiatives Group meets monthly to “share best practices and develop tools to efficiently and effectively incorporate diversity and inclusion initiatives at Omnicom offices.”

It also cited its G23 group, a strategic insights organization founded in 2008 that focuses on the economic and social impact of women in the global economy.

A source at the Comptroller’s office said those efforts were commendable, but that “without some transparency and data, there’s no way to know if the efforts are effective or substantive.”

Meanwhile, “the door is open,” at IPG for a potential dialogue, the source added — but declined to elaborate on what IPG said in its response. IPG officials couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

It was unclear how the city would approach WPP and Publicis — which, like Omnicom, did not respond to letters from Liu. But given that the companies are both based outside the U.S., the New York Comptroller’s Office does not have standing to offer shareholder proposals.

The Omnicom response and recommendation to its shareholders is nothing short of obscene.

“We do not believe that disclosing [the EEOC information] will meaningfully further the goal of workplace diversity. To the contrary, this information, which is susceptible to misinterpretation, could be manipulated by those with interests adverse to Omnicom’s and harm the company.” Leave it to adpeople to be concerned about someone manipulating the truth.

And what’s with the defense featuring all the patronizing smokescreens?

The holding company proudly created The Omnicom Diversity Development Advisory Committee. Um, what do the committee members have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company hired a Chief Diversity Officer. Um, what does Tiffany R. Warren have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company launched the Omnicom Medgar Evers Associate Program. Um, what do program participants have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company sends money to ADCOLOR®. Um, first of all, Omnicom hired the organization’s founder (Warren), so of course it’s going to fund the minority enterprise. But what do ADCOLOR® Award Winners have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company points to its Diversity Initiative Group. Um, what do the groupies have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

Hey, what does the diversity-loving PepsiCo client have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

Most importantly, what does concealing the EEOC information say about Omnicom?

8559: More Publicis Pubullshit.

Adweek also reported on the gender discrimination lawsuit filed against Publicis Groupe by a former employee. In fact, Adweek actually provided more thorough and balanced coverage than Advertising Age—despite numerous typos and misspellings of the ex-employee’s name. Regardless, it’s pathetic for Publicis to state the company does not usually comment on pending legal affairs, and then follow through by declaring the EEOC’s dismissal of the charge “reflects the lack of merit to [the ex-employee’s] claims.” For added effect, Publicis even handed the declaration duties to a spokeswoman.

Gee, maybe the French conglomerate could ask former WPP Worldwide Creative Director Neil French to explain matters to a jury. Or better yet, round up the panel of female ad executives from the 2010 Advertising Week event who said glass ceilings are no longer a problem on Madison Avenue. Just be sure to include the responses from other female ad executives who ripped the panelists for being out of touch.

It should be noted that an EEOC dismissal doesn’t amount to much. The EEOC is like any bureaucratic and understaffed governmental agency. That is, it’s a mess. Filing a charge with the EEOC is legally required before filing a lawsuit. Any dismissive ruling by the EEOC, however, does not necessarily negatively impact the validity of a potential case. After all, the EEOC granted the ex-employee a right-to-sue letter. Anyone who is interested in learning more can visit the EEOC website for details.

It should also be noted that despite White women’s progress in our industry, they still lag behind White men in key areas such as salary and position. Too bad EEOC officials couldn’t find the time to walk the halls or check the accounting books at Publicis Groupe agencies for proof.

Hey, Publicis Groupe could instantly clarify the situation by simply offering a gender-based list of employees, indicating titles and salaries. The holding company will undoubtedly get their chief diversity officer on it right away.

Anyway, here’s the Adweek story:

Former Exec Sues Publicis for Sexual Discrimination

In suit, ex-employee claims women were underpaid, seldom promoted

By Janon Fisher

A former female executive of advertising giant Publicis slapped the French company with a $100 million federal sexual discrimination suit on Thursday, claiming women at the company are often underpaid and seldom promoted.

“A Publicis woman's place is in the back of the line, far removed from senior management positions, almost all of which are reserved for men,” claims Monique da Silva Moore, former global healthcare director for MSLGroup, a subsidiary of the ad company.

Da Silva Moore was forced out of the company during a reorganization in January 2010 after 13 years at the company's Boston office, where she acted as a PR agent for healthcare companies, according to court papers.

Following a three-month maternity leave in January, MSLGroup offered her a position in their New York City office. However, Publicis, she says, did not give her or her newborn and two children adequate time to relocate or provide for moving expenses. As a result, she claims, she was forced to turn down the position and leave the company.

Men and women without children who were forced to relocate because of the restructuring, she says, were given time for their move.

Even before the restructuring, Da Silva Moore claims that the gender gap was evident.

“Publicis's glass ceiling might as well be a cement wall,” she says in court papers. “Gender discrimination permeates Publicis’s entire PR practice.”

She says that the MSLGroup leadership team includes only two women worldwide.

Da Silva Moore, who said that she has won 22 awards, including the 2009 Silver Anvil from the Public Relations Society of America, also claims that she was paid less than her male counterparts in Atlanta and New York.

Although Da Silva Moore is the only plaintiff in the suit, other women say they’ve had similar experiences are named in the complaint. Her lawyers are seeking class action status for the case.

The Publicis subsidiary denied her allegations. “We generally do not comment on pending litigation, but we can say that the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dismissed Ms. Da Silva’s charge reflects the lack of merit to her claims,” MSLGroup said in a statement.

Her lawyers countered with their own spin. “The EEOC did not issue any finding concerning our client’s charge and did issue a right to sue letter. However, the EEOC’s investigation has no bearing on the litigation,” Janette Wipper, da Silva Moore’s lawyer, told Adweek.

7511: Mehri Salutes Black History Month…?

From Advertising Age…

Cyrus Mehri Filing EEOC Charges Against Advertising Companies
Move Seen As Next Step Toward Class-Action Lawsuit

By Kunur Patel

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Cyrus Mehri is one step closer to bringing a class-action suit against the ad industry for racial discrimination.

The civil rights lawyer told Advertising Age he is filing charges against ad companies with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. From here, the EEOC will investigate the charges of discrimination against agencies where the plaintiffs have been employed or applied for jobs. All filings are confidential; Mr. Mehri would not disclose the number of individuals, their identities or accused companies.

Considering the nature of the industry, it’s likely that both the holding companies and their individual agencies are being named.

In a statement, holding company Interpublic Group of Cos. said, “Diversity and inclusion will continue to be a significant priority for IPG. Our industry-leading [diversity and inclusion] programs are resulting in progress against this important business goal and we remain open to further dialogue with Mr. Mehri, though we are unaware of any developments relating to the EEOC.”

Representatives from holding companies WPP, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group did not respond before deadline.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mehri is free to continue building his class-action suit, regardless of the outcome of the federal agency’s inquiry, which could take months if not longer.

This development comes more than one year after Mr. Mehri and the NAACP announced the Madison Avenue Project, a report to lay the foundation for a class-action suit against the ad industry. The report found that ad agencies are guilty of “pervasive racial discrimination,” including black employees earning only 80% of the salaries of comparable white employees.

Since then, Mr. Mehri and his firm, Mehri & Skalet, have been investigating claims of race discrimination and interviewing potential plaintiffs.

“From my point of view, things are going at a good pace,” he said. “It’s a long road that has to happen person by person, piece by piece. The wheels are moving in the direction of something happening.”

At this point, Mr. Mehri sees two potential outcomes: a class-action suit or settlements between the agencies and individuals. But that will take time.

To compare, Mr. Mehri’s “Women on Wall Street” gender discrimination case against financial institutions took more than two years between the EEOC filing and the eventual settlement. Mehri & Skalet specializes in class-action cases—among the most notable was a suit against Texaco. In that 1990s case, a Texaco exec was famously caught on tape saying, “All the black jelly beans seem to be glued to the bottom of the bag.”

For the Madison Avenue Project, some industry vets worry that finding a similar “big smoking gun” will be tricky.

“It’s a very difficult thing to do, because bias is hard to prove,” said Hadji Williams, blogger and author of “Knock the Hustle.” “[The ad industry] is an at-will industry. It doesn’t have unions or hiring codes or contract bidding processes that they have to adhere by.”

“Everybody knows there are biases, but until you find a memo about a standard practice or someone on tape higher-up at an agency, it will be hard to prove,” he said.