16216: Jo Muse (1951-2023).

From Adweek…

 

Jo Muse, Father of Multicultural Advertising, Dies at 72

 

By Kyle O’Brien

 

Jo Muse, founder of the first multicultural marketing agency died on April 9 at the age of 72. He was passionate not only about pushing boundaries in creativity but also about ending what he saw as segregation of the advertising industry. Because of that legacy, Muse was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2022, one of many honors for Muse.

 

Muse broke barriers and continued to open doors to many people of color and women. He believed everyone with talent deserved a seat at the table. He co-founded Muse Cordero Chen, the first true multiethnic agency, when he, David Chen and Mavis Cordero were pitching the same client in 1987. But the seeds of that event were planted long before, when he graduated from the advertising program at Michigan State University in 1972.

 

“I was actively discouraged from pursuing employment at a traditional advertising agency. At the time, African Americans did not work in general marketing and advertising,” he wrote in the Michigan State alumni newsletter. “Like the Negro Leagues were to Major League Baseball, African Americans seeking employment in advertising had to take their game elsewhere.”

 

Muse knew that if he was to change that dynamic, he would have to start his own shop.

 

Rather than separate agencies siloed into separate markets, Muse Cordero Chen could target Black, Latino and Asian consumers. The idea worked, even if, as the New York Times called it, it sounded like a high-concept sitcom: “An advertising agency run by a Black entrepreneur, an Asian journalist and a Colombian would-be opera singer.”

 

At the center of Muse Cordero Chen’s approach was something Jo called the “Zones of Commonality”: it hired diverse people and cast individuals from ethnic backgrounds. “We wanted to reflect the end consumers our clients wanted to reach,” Muse had said.

 

Muse Cordero Chen became Nike’s first-ever ethnic agency in 1990. The agency focused on issues that were roiling the Black community at the time, including family values. One controversial print ad showed silhouettes of two basketball players talking about the dual sides of their fathers. “My dad runs around,” one boy says, while the other responds, “My dad runs 4 miles a day.”

 

Muse had a commitment was to diversity across the industry. His goal was to foster talent that was so good, alumni could go anywhere in the business. He particularly focused on creatives, and women of color. One of the greatest compliments he received was when Dan Wieden of Wieden+Kennedy told him that he could hire any of Jo’s people.

 

His employees were incredibly loyal, with many of them staying at the agency for a decade or more.

 

“He taught us so much. He showed us that creative brilliance has no gender or racial biases,” said his son, Jordan. “Most importantly, he showed us that race was an illusion. What’s real is how people act, feel and relate to each other. We will miss him deeply.”

 

While he didn’t push for his children to go into advertising, both of his children worked with him for a period of time. Jordan, now executive partner and head of account leadership at The Martin Agency, was admitted to the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement in the same year Jo entered the Hall of Fame. His daughter, Aireka, is a creative director, screenwriter and the founder of her own agency, A + B.

 

Muse sold his agency, by then Muse Communications, to Will Campbell of Quantasy after years of partnering together. Many of the Muse employees remain at Quantasy. “Jo’s legacy will always be embedded in the work we do,” Will says. “Jo was a brilliant ad man who understood culture and advertising like none other. Along with that, he was a compassionate and funny teacher, supporter, business partner, and mentor.”

 

After he retired, Muse hosted a podcast called Musings with Jo Muse, and served on the board of the Center Theatre Group. He wrote his first novel, “Mixed Blessings, Is Race Real?” and was working on an autobiography called “From Mississippi to Madison Ave.”

 

A family statement said: “Jo Muse was our guiding light and our immeasurable center. We have lost our father, husband, Papa Jo, brother and best friend.”

12633: How Jimmy Smith Made It.

From The Los Angeles Times…

How I Made It: Advertising veteran Jimmy Smith

By Ronald D. White

The gig: Advertising veteran Jimmy Smith, 53, has orchestrated award-winning work for brands including Nike and Gatorade, the latter involving the adoption of the more edgy “G” in packaging and marketing the sports drink. Since 2011, Smith has been chief executive and chief creative officer of Amusement Park Entertainment, which he founded with advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group, to develop “branded entertainment” — industry lingo for making the product or brand the centerpiece of an app, game, event, television show or movie, rather than creating an ad that viewers can ignore.

Another gig: Smith has added more traditional advertising and marketing back into his playbook. His businesses will operate as part of a larger company called simply Amusement Park, formed with longtime executives from DGWB Advertising & Communications. Smith is chairman and chief creative officer of the new firm. Partners Mike Weisman, Ed Collins and Jon Gothold have taken on the jobs of CEO, president and executive creative director, respectively. The venture operates out of offices in Los Angeles and Santa Ana, where DGWB has occupied the town’s historic city hall. Combined, the businesses have nearly 90 employees.

Parental influence: Smith, born in Muskegon, Mich., points to the determination of his father, James, to leave factory work and run his own business, eventually acquiring a restaurant franchise. “It was the first time that I could remember of a black person owning something in Muskegon,” Smith said. “It stayed in my head that I could do that too.” His mother, Evelyn, was a teacher and his language guide. “I couldn’t speak or write or do anything, from a very young age, without being corrected on the right way to do it by my mom, in a healthy way.”

Becoming “Bewitched”: Branding and advertising was an early career idea, Smith said, that he got from “Bewitched,” a sitcom that ran from 1964 to 1972 about New York ad exec Darrin Stephens. In the show, Stephens marries a witch, Samantha. The only drawback was having an evil witch — Endora — for a mother-in-law. “Darrin’s wife was beautiful,” Smith said. “He had a big house and if it wasn’t for Endora, it seemed like a pretty easy gig.”

Fallback plan: Smith attended Michigan State from 1981 to 1984. He majored in advertising but still entertained his childhood dream of becoming a professional basketball player. Michigan State has one of the nation’s most successful men’s basketball programs. “After I was cut from the Michigan State basketball team three years in a row,” Smith said, “I thought, ‘OK, I think I need to make this advertising thing happen.’”

ABCs of advertising: “I went to New York, Detroit, Chicago, anywhere I could go to get a job interview.” At Chicago’s Burrell Advertising (now Burrell Communications), one of the largest multicultural marketing firms in the world, Smith forgot the name of the person he was supposed to see. Despite the mix-up, Smith got the job. There he met a young co-worker named Lewis Williams, now Burrell’s chief creative officer, who “taught me the ABCs of advertising,” Smith said. “The main thing he taught me was huge. ‘They try to act like it’s a secret. They act like it’s rocket science. Advertising is not rocket science.’ That gave me confidence. It allowed me to feel comfortable any time I was presenting an idea.”

Becoming a mad man: The business “was intimidating because mostly they don’t like what you are presenting,” Smith said. “You go in and get to be humiliated. It’s personal. It’s mine and my team’s idea and they are just putting bullet holes in it. That is the way it is in advertising.” Smith built his name as he moved from agency to agency, including Wieden + Kennedy, where he was a writer and creative director for the Nike account; BBDO, where he was executive creative director; and TBWA\Chiat\Day’s L.A. office, where he was Gatorade’s group creative director.

Appealing to all: Having been told that his ad ideas were “not black enough” or “too black,” Smith said he liked the atmosphere at Muse Cordero Chen in the 1990s. There, he said, one “could walk down halls and hear Mandarin at one moment, Spanish the next, someone else speaking Japanese. If you are only a black agency, then your ideas are only going to come from that culture, same thing if you are at a white agency. But if you mix all of those cultures together, that’s where the most powerful ideas are going to come from.”

Diversity: Smith said he has tried to foster creative freedom in his diverse team, which draws from the worlds of sports, art and entertainment. “Find that coach who is going to give you the green light, who understands what you do, the value that you bring,” he advises.

Family affair: Smith’s wife, Smoke, works at Amusement Park Entertainment, as do their sons, Sequel, 28, and Jarrel, 27. Work is never far away, even when he and his wife manage to get away to a concert. “When I’m at the concert, it’s always, ‘Maybe I can use Lil Wayne in that,’ or some other idea. You can’t help it.”

10817: Honda Revving Review.

Advertising Age reported Honda is putting its $700 million U.S. account in review after 26 years with RPA. However, multicultural assignments—handled by Muse Communications and Orci—will not be affected. So there will be no Corporate Cultural Collusion for now. But wait and see if that changes should a new agency network emerge victorious. It also begs the question, if RPA is profiting with $700 million of business, what are Muse and Orci getting paid? It would be astonishing if both agencies combined collected $70 million from Honda. Hell, $7 million would be hard to imagine. One thing is certain: the amount is probably closer to $7.00 than $700 million.

Honda Throws $700 Million Creative, Media Account Into Review

Agency of 26 Years RPA to Defend Business as Opportunity Knocks for Rivals

By Alexandra Bruell

A huge auto-account shakeup is under way as American Honda Motor Co. throws its $700 million U.S. creative and media accounts into review for both its Honda and Acura brands, Ad Age has learned.

For 26 years, the automaker has worked with RPA on creative and U.S. media buying and planning, and the agency will participate in the review process. Honda told Ad Age the review is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013 and noted that it does not include multicultural assignments, which are handled by Muse Communications and Orci. Roth & Associates is supporting the reviews.

“Both the Honda and Acura brands are rolling out incredibly strong new products. In the face of a changing media landscape and a hyper-competitive marketplace, our challenge is to create dynamic marketing campaigns that connect and engage consumers with our products and our brands,” said Michael Accavitti, VP-national marketing operations, in a statement. “The review we have initiated will lead to a strong, long-term strategic plan for our brands.”

When he joined Honda last year, Mr. Accavitti told Automotive News there was no need to put RPA’s business up for review, saying an agency review would be, “completely unproductive and unnecessary.” He said, “RPA is an extension of the Honda family.”

As recently as August, he praised RPA’s Super Bowl work to Automotive News and said, “I am not a fan of airing differences with agencies in the press. If I have an issue with ad agency, I will call them.”

He added: “RPA has very capable individuals. We just needed to have a common understanding of what the objectives were, and they’ve been able to come up with good creative. Continuous improvement is the name of the game.”

RPA, whose roster is dominated by Honda—its website lists only a few other clients, including Intuit, La-Z-Boy and Farmer’s Insurance—referred calls for comment to the client.

Though potentially crushing news for RPA, the Honda review could mean opportunity knocking for media and creative shops to pitch the biggest auto review since GM reviewed its multibillion-dollar business last year.

According to the Ad Age DataCenter, the Honda brand spent $513.5 million on U.S. measured media in 2011, a 2.9% increase from 2010, while Acura spent $193 million, a 1.9% increase from 2010. Total U.S. marketing spending was $1.14 billion. Globally, the company reported ad expenses of $2.46 billion in the year ended March 2011. It was an improvement compared with the $2.12 billion it spent in 2010, but still less than the $3.01 billion it spent in 2009.

RPA is closely associated with the account, which it received in 1986 from Needham Harper after the “Big Bang” merger with Omnicom’s DDB (Volkswagen’s agency at the time) as part of a rollup with BBDO (then an agency for Chrysler).

Honda’s review comes on the heels of the automakers’ best ever November in terms of U.S. sales, according to Auto News.

American Honda sales this year are up 24% through November, although those numbers are skewed due to last year’s tsunami in Japan sharply crimping Honda’s inventories. The automaker just posted the best November U.S. sales in its history. The Honda and Acura brands should combine to finish the year selling around 1.4 million units in the U.S.

But Honda has grander volume aspirations. Honda Motor CEO Takanobu Ito wants Honda’s North American sales to increase to 2 million in the near term from 1.7 million units presently. Former American Honda sales boss Dick Colliver had a similar goal for the U.S. sales arm in the early 2000s, and never came close—sales peaked at 1.55 million units in 2007 before the recession took down the industry.

Contributing: Mark Rechtin, Automotive News,

10170: AMC Series The Pitch—Episode 7.

MultiCultClassics is pleased to resume reviewing AMC series The Pitch without actually watching the show. In fact, this commentary will be posted before the episode airs.

The upcoming competition features Womenkind battling DIGO. Ever heard of the shops? Didn’t think so. Hell, DIGO doesn’t even make the first page of results of a Google search. The place did, however, post an incomprehensible explanation on why its staffers chose to participate on the program. The only semi-interesting bit is the revelation that agencies receive $15,000 for playing. Guess that’s the new going rate for an adperson’s self-respect. Hell, Joan Holloway held out for full partner status and a 5% stake in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce—and the bidding originally started at $50,000 in 1960s currency.

Herein lies another reason why The Pitch deserves its ratings death spiral. Specifically, audiences won’t care about a series if they don’t care about the characters. On other reality TV contests, the competitors appear over a bunch of installments, allowing viewers to get to know them. In contrast, The Pitch presents nobodies in 45 minutes or less—and unattractive nobodies to boot.

Jo Muse was right. The flavor is vanilla.

10169: Culturally Clueless Comments—Episode 1.

(MultiCultClassics presents a special series: Culturally Clueless Comments—a collection of real comments from around the World Wide Web.)

This installment of Culturally Clueless Comments spotlights responses to the Advertising Age piece on Muse Communications’ White Space spot.

Cea Larkin of Omaha, NE:

What is the message of this spot exactly? What is the agency trying to convey? That blacks are suppressed in creative industries and it’s the white folks’ fault... again? What are “they” supposed to do, quit their jobs? Apologize for being employed? Or successful? I guess as a creative myself, I would have spent the budget a different way? Isn’t the black community getting tired of being portrayed as angry and violent? I don’t see life this way...Black, White, Latino, Asian, Arab, Gay, Physically or Mentally Handicapped...how about Single White Male Under 30? Or Single Black Male Under 20? Single White Mom over 50? Single Black Mom under 30? Dyslexic, Autistic...I could go on and on with the profiling. You want what I got? Work hard, keep throwing your hat in the ring and eventually someone will jump on your idea...why? Because you are a minority? No. Because it was a good idea that made them money...An ad like this in a period of time of our history with the first African American President?...The CCO stating on the show that the “flavor in the room is Vanilla”? ...When I go to a Jay-Z concert and write a review, should I aid in the race rivalry by stating, “I felt like a marshmallow in a chocolate pond”? ...Try classing up your message a bit...Perpetuating the very attitude you are trying to use as a platform of suppression doesn’t work...Advertising 101...I found it boring...Good for you for finding a “15 minutes of Fame” spot though.

Thanks, Cea. Say hi to all your pals in Omaha, Nebraska—hometown of Bozell.

Blue TheImpala of Rankin, NU:

Smartest comment on here: ‘Minority’ doesn’t equate to ‘black.’ Disgusting.

Is it just me or does the actor in the ad seem really aggressive? Like a complete uber-bitch. For a moment I thought she was going to start ‘chicken-heading,’ call everyone ‘crackers’ and then raise her fist and say something about the ‘panthers’…

So why would I hire someone like that for my ad agency? Seems like more of a liability if you ask me.

And just for the record…I’ve worked with creative directors from all corners of the planet. Accounting folks. Copywriters. Graphic designers. If you’re looking for racism in any industry, you’ll find it.

Whether it is real or not is the question.

Um, it’s hard to take seriously someone questioning whether or not something is real when they sign off as Blue TheImpala from Rankin, Nunavut.

10152: An Open Letter To Jerry Stoner.

Goddammit.

MultiCultClassics knew it would regret the decision to actually watch another episode of AMC series The Pitch. This blog does not, however, regret its review of the Bozell versus Muse spectacle. Plus, MultiCultClassics stands behind its opinions of the drama.

Yet there are aftereffects that must be categorized as annoying and offensive—and these matters warrant attention. Specifically, the online comments at the AMC blog and Agency Spy show a pattern of ignorance ignited by Jo Muse’s observations about the JDRF clients and Bozell team.

To recap, after the briefing at JDRF headquarters, Muse called his partner in Culver City to discuss the meeting. During the conversation, Muse remarked that the clients and competitors were very “Midwestern”—and he even used the words “White” and “vanilla” to describe them. Critics have branded Muse a racist, and Bozell Executive Creative Director Jerry Stoner has joined the debate. Responding to Muse’s phone chat, Stoner typed, “It bothered me. … So sad the ‘race’ issue played a role. Honestly, I never thought about it. For me, it was about helping JDRF. I was born in Detroit and to some extent understand the problem, but it had [no] place in this pitch.” When a woman argued that Muse was not being racist, Stoner replied, “Mr. Muse made the ‘Vanilla’ comment. Perhaps you can explain that.”

OK, Mr. Stoner, MultiCultClassics will attempt to explain that to you and anyone else requiring the social tutorial.

For the record, this blog does not know Jo Muse or Jerry Stoner. Additionally, the following opinions are based on personal speculation rooted in having spent too many years in the advertising industry.

On The Pitch, Mr. Stoner appeared to be a reasonable, thoughtful and God-fearing man. So MultiCultClassics will try to appeal to his intellectual side.

To begin, Mr. Stoner is strongly encouraged to pick up a copy of Corporate Tribalism by Thomas Kochman and Jean Mavrelis. Reading the book will enlighten him on the nuanced and blatant differences between Whites and Blacks in corporate scenarios. Refusing to read the book will demonstrate that Mr. Stoner is a culturally clueless jackass. The ball is in your court on this one, Jerry.

Stoner and Muse have been in the ad game for roughly the same amount of time. However, it’s safe to say that the two have vastly distinct careers and experiences. MultiCultClassics will bet that Stoner has never:

• Faced racial discrimination from clients and peers

• Been asked by a client to explain what’s “Black” (or “White”) about a campaign concept

• Had a client refuse to let him work on a project or piece of business because he’s White

• Been shut out of pitches because of his agency’s racial or ethnic identity

• Consistently dealt with budgets far lower than the industry standard

• Been the only White guy in the agency—or even in the room

• Received instructions from a client to do something musical

• Been mistaken for a mailroom attendant, janitor or security guard

• Had to produce a colored pool-out of the White agency’s big idea

The list could go on, but everyone—including Stoner—will hopefully get the gist. Now, MultiCultClassics will bet that Muse has encountered everything noted here. Regularly.

Mr. Stoner, when you walk into a conference room and see the clients and competitors are all White, you don’t flinch. Honestly, you never think about it. You’re right at home. But Mr. Muse has spent his career handling multicultural marketing—and coping with the list above. He’s used to engaging with diverse groups in inclusive settings. Hence, he might notice. And he might share his observations with his partners. It’s no big deal to him. It shouldn’t be a big deal to you.

When reviewing The Pitch installment starring Bozell and Muse, MultiCultClassics wondered, “Are there any minorities at Bozell?” A visit to the Bozell website revealed the image below:

A visit to the Muse website revealed the images below (sorry, MultiCultClassics couldn’t fit the entire staff into the collection):

So what’s more disturbing? A guy who notices he’s in a room full of White people, or a guy who doesn’t notice he’s in an agency full of White people—when our industry has been seeking to embrace diversity for over 60 years?

MultiCultClassics ripped Muse’s shop for its performance on The Pitch. But this blog has always known Jo Muse is a staunch advocate for diversity. As Muse pointed out, his was the first multicultural shop to target Blacks, Latinos and Asian Americans. Some may recall the agency used to be known as Muse Cordero Chen & Partners. Anyway, the point is that Jerry Stoner beat Jo Muse on a reality TV show; however, when it comes to important stuff in the real world, Jo Muse kicks Jerry Stoner’s ass 24/7. It’s no contest.

Does that start to explain it to you, Jerry?

P.S., You might be interested in picking up a copy of this book too.

10151: One Blog’s Opinion On The Pitch.

The accusations of racism compelled MultiCultClassics to overturn the decision to avoid watching AMC series The Pitch—and thanks to digital technology, the latest episode of the reality TV show was actually viewed.

The faceoff between Bozell and Muse definitely spotlighted all of The Pitch’s problems previously presented by this blog and critics at large. Sources have griped the producers and editors make participating agencies look bad. MultiCultClassics contends the editing only dramatizes the competitors’ true strengths and weaknesses—and this week’s installment was no exception.

The Bozell-Muse showdown underscored two points worth examining:

1. The lack of level playing fields between White shops and minority shops

2. The self-sabotaging attitudes prevalent at minority firms

In the real world, account reviews are typically held between similar agencies. Hell, it’s one reason why minority shops are always iced out of the festivities. Not sure who elected to pair these shops. Maybe the rural-urban angle seemed intriguing. More likely, the move indicates The Pitch’s producers just don’t understand the ad game.

To be blunt, Bozell against Muse equals the San Antonio Spurs versus the Los Angeles Clippers—or maybe the former New Jersey Nets. BTW, that’s a huge compliment to Bozell, as the place is not exactly championship material. If the advertising industry were the NBA, Bozell would be the Harlem Globetrotters. No disrespect to Muse, but a fairer matchup would have been Bozell and GlobalHue, Burrell, Carol H. Williams or commonground.

Bozell boasted greater experience, resources and talent. The Omaha team tapped multiple executives from multiple departments, and wound up producing multiple, multi-channel concepts. The Culver City crew appeared to have one copywriter and an art director with a Creative Director title—and they shat out a lame mood board. Sorry, but the duo was not very good. Need proof? Bozell beat them with its back-up campaign. Ouch.

This blog once suggested that The Pitch should force White shops to toil under the substandard conditions minority shops routinely face, while allowing the minorities to enjoy the Caucasian benefits. That didn’t happen here. Rather, it was a clash between unequal adversaries, resulting in a blowout. A bona fide laugher. Can’t fault Bozell for anything—they simply brought their game.

Kudos to Executive Creative Director Jerry Stoner for leading his players to victory, despite having to cope with a douche bag Social Influence Director and a shrewish Managing Principal. The work was hardly stellar; in fact, the TOD notion was dumb, and BeTheVoiceOfOne appeared to be a conservative evolution of the client’s original position (there were foam “number one” hands at the briefing). Regardless, Stoner was savvy enough to keep the second concept alive, and he knew how to make authentic connections with the clients and his partners, demonstrating the skills of a wily veteran. As mentioned above, The Pitch dramatizes true strengths and weaknesses, and Stoner has plenty of strengths.

OK, time to consider the second underscored point involving the self-sabotaging attitudes prevalent at minority firms.

Most below-the-line enterprises—from digital to direct marketing—exhibit second-fiddle/redheaded-stepchild tendencies, and minority shops fall into the low self-esteem mix. Indeed, the racial and ethnic components arguably compound the situation. And Muse clearly displayed the unfortunate phenomenon.

After the briefing, Jo Muse was already conceding defeat, declaring he “didn’t win the chemistry game.” Online comments charged Muse was being racist when saying he was unable to portray “a Midwestern White guy or White girl” persona—as well as his “vanilla” observation. The conversation was private and code, and Whites will be hard-pressed to comprehend it. Additionally, in certain ways, Muse was correct. The clients and competitors were painfully White (are there any minorities at Bozell?). Not convinced the mutterings qualify as racist; however, it felt defeatist. On this stage, the Muse team would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their campaign. The agency should have focused on big ideas. Instead, Muse members were whining about being outside of their comfort zones and areas of expertise. Um, why the fuck did you sign up for The Pitch? Did Muse envision battling a peer minority shop?

Creative Director Marcus Moore is probably super-talented, yet he wasn’t ready for the challenge. Bringing in a presentation coach was ridiculous, and further exposed the self-sabotaging behavior. Direct the energies on refining the campaign, not the side antics. A pitch requires utilizing the best presenter, and if Jo Muse questioned Moore’s abilities, the Chairman should have found another person more qualified or handled the job himself.

Ironically, the Muse team did not look rehearsed or polished during the final presentation. Moore’s opening MLK quote might have been interesting if the phrase had relevance to the campaign. It did not. Most importantly, One Less Prick was sophomoric, contrived and completely out of character for JDRF and its audience. Muse lost the minute the mood board was unveiled. Hell, they lost by opting to pursue the theme line at all.

Despite formidable odds, Muse could have put on a winning performance. Diabetes is a major concern for minorities. Muse could have leveraged its prowess targeting multicultural segments into a broader context. The research people could have uncovered fresh insights for the JDRF folks. The creatives could have fought harder and made it an all-hands-on-deck affair. Did Muse exert more sweat on White Space than the televised task? The agency should have re-read Craig Brimm’s Manifesto for inspiration.

Sadly, Muse teammates figured they had lost from the start. In contrast to Bozell, the Culver City shop lacked leadership, unity and confidence in the work. Self-sabotaging and defeatist attitudes become self-fulfilling prophecies.

It would be a tragedy if bigots used The Pitch to advance opinions that minorities are professionally inferior. To repeat, other minority shops could have trounced Bozell. If LatinWorks or Grupo Gallegos joined the bout, the potential and possibilities would be obvious and evident. Diversity must still be confronted in the advertising industry. The real issues won’t be solved on reality TV.

Oh, and MultiCultClassics won’t waste 45 minutes on The Pitch again.

10149: Chatting About Racism On The Pitch.

The online chat for last night’s episode of AMC series The Pitch has inspired a whopping 44 comments so far. Not sure if that’s good or bad; last week’s episode collected 122 comments. Worth noting are a few statements depicted above, charging racism from Muse Communications. Plus, it appears that White Space did not air after all.

10142: The Pitch Is Still Striking Out.

Despite a momentary interest in catching how Muse Communications fared in the competition, MultiCultClassics will continue reviewing AMC series The Pitch without actually watching the show.

After all, what’s the point? Seeing local, lower-tier advertising agencies duke it out for potential contract assignments—under ridiculous timelines—is the entertainment equivalent of, well, examining the real campaigns produced by these mediocre shops.

According to the press releases, Omaha-based Bozell bested Culver City-based Muse Communications for a job with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Whoop-dee-damn-doo. There will doubtless be critics ripping the minority agency, secretly thinking the outcome proves non-White agencies and executives are inferior to the Old White Guys. Don’t buy the bullshit. The only thing proven in this scenario is that a minority shop is just as capable of generating bad ideas as a White shop. No revelation there. If anyone needs verification that White agencies churn out lousy work too, simply observe the commercials running during daytime TV. Or even primetime, for that matter.

This week’s creative confrontation highlighted the offensiveness of The Pitch’s core premise. That is, doesn’t the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation deserve better than the half-assed and quickly conceived efforts of so-so agencies? Hell, Don Draper and crew staged a more compelling presentation for Jaguar—and the talent at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has always been suspect. Maybe Jo Muse should have offered to sleep with the client à la Joan Holloway.

No word yet on the impact of airing the White Space spot. The YouTube counter indicates over 4,000 views for the video, which is probably more eyeballs than The Pitch regularly attracts. It’s tough to mount a revolution when dealing with low audience ratings.

10128: White Space Misses Target…?

At The Big Tent, Advertising Age Editor Ken Wheaton spotlighted the Muse Communications White Space video, which prompted a mini-debate in the comments section.

Russell Bynum of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wrote:

It is 2012 and this fight has not [begun] to be over. The minority consumer needs to understand [its] purchasing power and refuse to shop at companies that will not hire black-owned and operated ad agencies. This industry is made up of mostly small shops that are more likely to hire those who look like them. Diversity must be intentional and must be driven by the client. The industry has no compelling reason to do it.

Mark Robinson of Ridgefield, Connecticut, countered by stating:

Minority consumers don’t “need to understand” anything. Please don’t put the burden of fixing this problem on their shoulders. They didn’t create the problem. Likewise, ad agency diversity should not be driven by the client. That simply positions a positive (diversity) as a negative being imposed on the system. Madison Avenue loves deflecting responsibility and action onto others. Ad agencies need to learn and grow and wake up and recognize that diversity is smart and in their self-interest.

Both Bynum and Robinson make valid points, although they’re regurgitating perspectives that have inspired little to zero meaningful change over the past 50+ years.

Attempting to ignite the ire of minority consumers has never gained much traction. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have not shown sustained interest in launching boycotts or protests. Plus, the industry remains private and hidden from the public, hampering any effort to rouse the masses.

The typically smart Robinson appears a tad delusional in thinking Madison Avenue should gain professional and spiritual enlightenment on its own. In contrast to other fields like, say, professional sports, the ad game doesn’t have official ruling bodies with the authority to mandate action. The concept of self-regulation is a joke. And again, because the industry operates in privacy and anonymity, the public is oblivious to the problems. On the Darwinian chart, Mad Men have not evolved a bit in regards to diversity—and there are no signs that progress is on anyone’s to-do list.

All of this makes one wonder about the potential effectiveness of the White Space spot. For starters, running a commercial on a program with low ratings is rarely a good idea—despite the fact that Muse may be getting more play on the message via outlets such as Ad Age and Agency Spy versus AMC. But what audience is White Space really targeting? Will the communication truly resonate with White adpeople? Hell, will the industry majority even understand it? On the other hand, will any non-advertising viewers comprehend what’s being stated?

Stay tuned.

10122: Musings On Muse’s White Space.

In its next episode, AMC series The Pitch will feature Muse Communications as the first non-White agency to appear on the program. Don’t bet on the reality TV show incorporating the suggestions of this blog. Regardless, Muse is taking advantage of the opportunity to make a statement with White Space—which is scheduled to air during the upcoming broadcast. The spot is already creating some White noise at Agency Spy, where the comments display all the stereotypical cultural cluelessness ignited by discussions on diversity.

7222: Muse Musings On Diversity.

At The Big Tent, Ken Wheaton noted that Jo Muse released a report on Corporate Diversity Communication. Forget the irony that it’s a White Paper. Go check it out now.

6868: Project MC Projects Its Voice.

From Adweek.com…

Project MC Talks, Hopes for Action
New initiative will be supported by a social network and plans to approach the ANA

By Andrew McMains

NEW YORK Jo Muse expected a few hours of venting at the launch meeting of Project MC, an initiative designed to define the role and importance of agencies that specialize in marketing to African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics. Instead, said Muse, lead organizer of the initiative, he got a full day’s worth of gripes related to such shops feeling marginalized by clients and general-marketing agencies.

Also, opinions varied among the 23 participants at the spring meeting on key issues such as whether minority shops should regularly compete for general-market assignments. To weigh issues and opinions—and foster a greater sense of community within the group—Project MC is turning to social networking for help. In mid-July, it will start a social-networking group on Ning.com that will feature a blog and enable executives from minority shops to share knowledge, find talent and debate hot-button issues.

“This community that we’re creating is going to be an opportunity for the founders [of Project MC] to articulate points of view, [identify] resources and opportunities and [open things up] to a broader view of people,” said Muse, CEO of Muse Communications, a multicultural shop in Hollywood, Calif.

Social networking “is a good idea,” said Vicky Wong, president of Dae Advertising, an Asian-American shop in San Francisco and a Project MC participant. “How much time people have to engage in that, we’ll have to see.”

In addition, Project MC hopes to meet with executives from the Association of National Advertisers soon to express ongoing concerns about clients cutting back on minority-targeted efforts and general-market shops treading on speciality shop turf.

Project MC includes CEOs from African-American agencies such as UniWorld Group, Carol H. Williams Advertising and Burrell Communications Group; Hispanic shops like The Vidal Partnership and La Agencia de Orci & Asociados; and Asian-American shops such as PanCom International. The group also includes leaders from the American Association of Advertising Agencies and general-market shops Wieden + Kennedy and Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of a minority population surge in America—at the end of 2007, minorities represented 34 percent of the U.S population, up from 30 percent in 2000. Also, the ad industry again finds itself under scrutiny for its relative paucity of African-Americans, this time via civil rights attorney Cyrus Mehri and the NAACP.

A major topic of conversation within Project MC revolves around the pitfalls of being a specialist among generalists and whether specialists should regularly vie for general-market work. Some participants favor the latter, while others argue that you can’t have it both ways, even if general-market shops encroach on minority-market ground.

That said, minority agencies have created work—albeit from minority-market briefs—that has become mainstream. In 2006, for example, Hispanic shop Conill Advertising produced a spot for Toyota that ran on the Super Bowl. Also, spirits marketers from time to time employ minority shops as lead agencies. But those instances are relatively rare.

“If anything, the exceptions suggest that there is a common ground and that [it] isn’t exploited to the degree it could be,” said Muse.

Project MC’s short-term goal is to produce a guide for multicultural shops to most effectively operate in this economy that will be presented at the ANA’s Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in October. Long term, Muse hopes the effort will attract more participants and ignite a dialog that will continue within the Ning.com group.

The bigger challenge, of course, is turning dialog into action. “It’s a good start and I do hope to see some meaningful tactics or actions,” said Wong. “Otherwise, it’s just talk. I don’t think that’s productive. We can always talk at parties. There’s a group together, [so] you want to achieve something.”

6474: Muse’s Musings On Diversity.

From AdAge.com…

How to Win the Diversity Battle
If You Want Results, Reinvent Yourself and Spend Time Out of Your Comfort Zone

By Jo Muse

Make no bones about it: Advertising is a career for the strong of mind and spirit, and for those who think winning should occur swiftly and without great ceremony. I learned what it takes to be successful in this crazy business from my teenage years in Southwest Detroit. At least, that’s where I learned what it took to act hard, fight dirty, and win street fights with death blows and large doses of bravado. But with the problems multinational-holding-company executives are facing, it seems the masters of the advertising universe, and everything that’s sweet in it, are getting punked by some crafty New York street fighters.

Being an adman, I would like to see my guys emerge victorious. To do that will take shifting their perspective and relearning how to fight like they mean it. So in the spirit of winning the diversity war, here are five things advertising-agency-holding-company CEOs can do to handle this diversity business overnight.

1. FIRE YOURSELF!
Well, not really. Just your tendencies. Reinvent yourself as a man of courage and great conviction. If your shareholders had a CEO who really got that treating diversity as a business issue is the right approach, some of the insane internal pressures to fix the situation would be eliminated.

If you have a good eye for global populations, national race and ethnicity concentrations, and consumer-market indices, you could wake up tomorrow and say something like, “I love the smell of diversity in the morning.” Then grab your general’s helmet and head to the office with a new sense of accountability and personal responsibility. Your staff would rise to the occasion, because the general gave the order. And if your agency won or saved an account because of some brilliant, yet darker-skinned idea maven, the business case for diversity in your business would have his name in the byline. That is an instant change any CEO can make. It just takes a commitment to action, and taking credit for something everyone knows is right: employment fairness. And having a deeper value for the idea that diversity of thought leads to creative brilliance anyway.

No doubt doing what I’m suggesting seems unnatural and perhaps too liberal, but I’m sure that during your finest hour, you, too, had learned more from stepping out beyond your comfort zone than staying inside it. Today’s world requires more than the insulated environment you’ve grown used to. It requires stepping into a fight instead of walking away from it.

Doesn’t it seem just a little odd to you that one woman, Nancy Hill, president-CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, stood up for you at the latest hearing, and the tone and texture of the problem seemed to shift. You, in your current moral and spiritual composition, are a poor match for the courage, nerve and passion of a New York City Council. Get off it. Now is the time to find in yourself the moral fortitude to match up with those who stand against you. Step away from the safety of the crowd you now stand in. Approach the accusers with the power of your conviction and the will to make change where you stand.

It may not be Global Holding Company CEO 101, but it is what’s wanted and needed for your organization and the industry.

2. STOP FEARING YOUR CLIENTS.
At least don’t be so pathetic about it. Clients like to see courage, too. I haven’t met one yet who didn’t want his agency to make him look like the great innovator. You know, that kind of corporate greatness that causes promotions or creates distinction in the executive suite. Oftentimes they don’t know how you did it. You just have to actually show some leadership—instead of waiting for the opportunity to serve them by just taking orders. What if a senior executive for a multinational holding company told a client that diversity was good for the business—not based on some sort of Harvard Business Review case study, but because he felt in his personal experience it was the right thing to do.

You should also have a pretty focused plan for how the agency would go about doing it—without lowering standards or doing less-than-excellent work. It bothers me a lot that some of us think that skin color (or where someone went to school) determines great effort and accomplishment. Nonsense. A great idea has never cared what color its parents were. And the guy who says this first and means it is going to see his stock price rise exponentially. Tell your clients what you stand for.

Fearlessly.

The mistake many CEOs make is not recognizing that what the Human Rights Commission is looking for is a little accountability. That’s why Nancy Hill did us all a huge “solid” by showing up at the hearing and speaking honestly and passionately about inclusion and the opportunity we all have to make a difference.

If a few of you invested some skin in this game of advocacy and stood up for accountability in open court, the world you live in would change around you. Top-notch CEOs at some world-class companies have done just that and turned things around. Terrance Lanni of MGM Mirage stood up and said things would change. Rick Kovacevich of Wells Fargo said his company would commit to supplier diversity. Lee Iacocca stood up for the New Chrysler. All these men took a stand, and things changed. Be the man, and your world will step up to your promise. And your clients will admire your gumption and courage.

3. LEAVE HOME!
I know the country’s nice. And the uptown flat is even better. But it helps determine the kind of culture you manifest in your workplace at large. Do agency executives live in a corporate culture that values diversity? Of course not! Most of you guys who run ad agencies don’t live among the average, multicultural consumer. You live largely isolated from people of color. And you bring that isolationism to work every day.

Spend more time out of the executive dining room and more time at the deli counter looking, feeling, and, yes, smelling some of the customers that help pay for those million-dollar cribs on the hill.

If you really want diversity in the company to be valued, you’ve got to bring that value in. The culture of most advertising agencies is already bent against it. There are wonderful ways to show cultural respect and multicultural intelligence and still be a fine advertising agency. Just ask somebody in any shade of black, brown or yellow—preferably someone who isn’t already in advertising. They’ll have lots to say. Write it down and work on a response and plan to change the culture of your organization.

I suggest doing this before the agency starts hiring a bunch of underqualified black people, and then watches them fail just to prove that they shouldn’t have been hired in the first place.

4. STOP HIRING MINORITIES!
Is it possible this is what got you into trouble from the start? Someone told you it was good to hire more minorities, and it just felt wrong—unfair to people who aren’t minorities. I bet that’s how it began. In many urban centers in America, non-minorities are fast becoming the minority. What I mean is that the quest for qualified talent is not about race, ethnicity or being a minority. It’s about talent, pure and simple. Not only are qualified people of color out there, they are available and looking for opportunities to excel in the advertising business. To discover people of color, all we have to do is stop seeing differences and look for commonalities. I suspect someone told you guys that it’s hard to find qualified minorities. They were just making excuses for not looking in the right places. Try looking for qualified and passionate people, wherever you can find them. I run one of the most multicultural advertising agencies in the business, and I haven’t looked for a minority yet. Well, maybe a few white males from Ivy League schools on occasion.

5. GO BACK TO WORK.
Not to the boardroom or shareholder meetings. I’m suggesting you go back to your chosen profession before you made the big time. Was it media? Creative? Account management?

Try going back to the basics of the business and experiencing what makes the business one of the coolest places to work on the planet.

Once you’re back in touch with the brilliance of the business, take a trip to a historically black college or university or an urban college and give a speech for the Advertising Education Fund. You’ll learn something. Jerry Della Femina once said that being in advertising was the most fun you can have with your clothes on. He’s right. We have to do a better job of letting students in on the secret. Don’t worry about the fact that your skin color will probably be in contrast with that of the student body. Watch their faces. They will be looking at you with all the wonderment and excitement that comes from a student when he or she meets an inspired professional. Most CEOs give talks to shareholders and look almost dead doing it. These talks should be invigorating.

You can make a difference in diversity of employment immediately, one school, one student at a time. Have your agency’s senior executives do more campus visits as well.

Find the right advocate for diversity in your organization—and not a black woman. For goodness’ sake, choose an executive from the boys’ club who not only knows what must be done but knows how to speak the language of those who have not taken to the notion of diversity. The conversion must flourish within the white-male ad community, not outside it.

Those are my five things a CEO can do to instantly change the ad business as we know it. It isn’t hard stuff. It just takes a manner of conviction and action that currently isn’t being commanded in the executive suites of some of the finest advertising organizations in the world. Shame on you for letting a few slick, passionate politicians get the drop on you in a dark alley. I thought you guys were better than that. This game of persuasion is about walking the walk, talking with moral authority, and then throwing a chair or two in the mouth of the charging crowd. When they spread, run like hell.

Jo Muse is chairman-CEO of Muse Communications.