8913: Starting Fires.

Monday Morning MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Sen. John McCain started, well, a firestorm by blaming the recent Arizona wildfires on undocumented immigrants. “There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally,” said McCain. However, the politician failed to produce the substantial evidence. Maybe it was also set ablaze by undocumented immigrants.

• The Supreme Court issued a ruling that will limit the sex discrimination suit mounted against Walmart. Specifically, the legal effort cannot proceed as a class-action suit, which would have involved up to 1.6 million women. So Walmart’s lawyers and accountants will deliver on the company slogan—Save money. Live better.

6607: McCain Says, “Pardon That One.”

From USA TODAY…

McCain seeks pardon for boxer Jack Johnson

Sen. John McCain plans to offer a congressional resolution today calling for a presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, who became the nation’s first black heavyweight boxing champion 100 years ago, the Associated Press reports.

McCain says Johnson was done a “grave injustice” by a 1913 conviction for violating the Mann Act by having a consensual relationship with a white woman — a conviction widely seen as racially motivated, the AP says.

The Arizona Republican, a big boxing fan, has repeatedly said he was wrong in 1983 when he voted against a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., filmmaker Ken Burns and Johnson’s great niece, Linda Haywood, will join McCain at a news conference in Washington to unveil the resolution.

Similar legislation offered in 2004 and last year failed to pass both chambers of Congress, the AP says.

Johnson won the world heavyweight title in 1908 by beating Canadian world champion, Tommy Burns. That led to a search for a “Great White Hope” who could beat Johnson. Two years later, Johnson beat Jim Jeffries, the one-time American titleholder who had come out of retirement for a match billed as “The Battle of the Century.” Johnson’s victory triggered deadly riots.

He lost the heavyweight title to Jess Willard in 1915.

The Mann Act, which outlaws transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes, has since been heavily amended, but not repealed, the AP says.

Johnson fled the country after his conviction, but agreed years later to return and serve a 10-month jail sentence. He died in a car crash in 1946 at age 68.

6153: Conceding The Non-White Vote…?

The letter below appeared in the latest issue of Ad Age. A brief MultiCultClassics comment immediately follows…

McCain could have swayed blacks

RE: Al Ries’ “What Marketers Can Learn from Obama’s Campaign” (AdAge.com, Nov. 7). What many in the “mainstream” ad/marketing community fail to observe is that the Obama brand had “loyalty” in the African-American community that was not challenged by his competitor at all. Obama built on that brand loyalty by spending more than $4 million with our African-American-owned newspaper network nationwide, which his competitor did not do. In today’s marketplace, you can’t just let 90% of African-American consumers sit there and patronize your competition. With the right media choices, black consumers/voters can be swayed. For instance, a full-page ad in our newspaper network of 121 black newspapers highlighting Martin Luther King Jr., who was a Republican, could have at least been done by McCain.

Mark Kimber
Kimber Kimber & Associates
Black Newspaper Network
Fresno, Calif.

Kimber makes a few interesting points, but the idea of McCain running a Martin Luther King Jr. advertisement is probably not a good idea. After all, even Wikipedia notes the following:

“Former Presidential candidate John McCain voted against the creation of the holiday to honor King, and later defended Arizona Republican Governor Mecham’s rescinding of the state holiday in honor of King created by his Democratic predecessor. After his opposition grew increasingly untenable, McCain reversed his position, and encouraged his home state of Arizona to recognize the holiday despite opposition from then-Governor Evan Mecham.”

In McCain’s case, trying to link with the iconic civil rights leader would have appeared patronizing at best, and outrageous at least. If McCain hoped to connect with non-Whites, the self-proclaimed Maverick needed to show how his record has benefited such audiences. The decision to not run messages in Black newspapers spoke volumes on the reality. Advertising has never succeeded in creating complete fabrications, especially in the political arena.

6124: What McCain Means To Mad Ave.

In the end, Senator John McCain offered powerful lessons for the ruling majority on Madison Avenue:

• The standard advertising methods are outdated and no longer effective.

• Inconsistent, unfocused campaign messages won’t stick with the public, and they’ll inevitably ignore or reject you.

• Ultimately selecting a contrived and patronizing slogan—America First—doesn’t work either. Folks see right through it.

• Scare tactics don’t motivate people to embrace you. Ditto negative ads.

• You’ll never connect with the “Average Joe” audience when you’re a multimillionaire and multi-homeowner.

• Irrelevant line extensions (e.g., Governor Sarah Palin) usually fail big time and diminish the main brand.

• Building your position on past heroics may inspire feelings of nostalgia, yet rarely leads to sales.

But even after royally fucking things up, if you’re an Old White Man with political connections, you’ll still be allowed to keep your cushy job, obscenely huge salary and eight mansions.

6057: All Stock Photo Blacks Look Alike.

The folks positioned as John McCain’s pals are now helping Blacks lose weight.

6048: Got No Beef.

Falling and failing in a MultiCultclassics Monologue…

• Anticipated increases in food costs have restaurants planning to change menus and raise prices. Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. actually halted offering Double Cheeseburgers via a 2 for $3 promotion, swapping them for Jumbo Chili Dogs and Hot Ham ‘N’ Cheese sandwiches to keep from selling beef at a cheap price. Wendy’s ought to bring back its “Where’s The Beef?” campaign.

• PepsiCo 3Q profits fell 10 percent, prompting the company to announce plans to cut 3,300 jobs. The PepsiCo Chief Executive said, “While we can’t control the macro economic situation, we can enhance PepsiCo’s operating agility to respond to the changing environment.” Guess PepsiCo can’t control its vague corporate-speak either.

• Milwaukee reported the second highest rate of joblessness for Black men, and the country’s biggest employment gap between Black and White men. Guess that’s one more area Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain can concede.

5935: What Obama Teaches Madison Avenue.

The Franklin Blog noted two other blogs—FiveThirtyEight and Crooks And Liars—insisted Barack Obama must create better ads. Crooks And Liars wrote, “The Obama campaign needs to think a little more outside of the box. They should aim to produce ads that are either more creative/funny than a typical campaign ad, or more sincere.” MultiCultClassics posted initial comments at The Franklin Blog, and here they are again with elaboration.

Perhaps Obama realizes traditional ads don’t influence voters’ decisions. After all, has anyone ever cast a ballot because of a commercial?

It’s hard to recall positive and memorable TV spots for presidential candidates. The last one that comes to mind is Hal Riney’s “Morning in America” hyping Ronald Reagan. On the flip side, there are plenty of spots that result in ridicule and worse. How many parodies were inspired by Hillary Clinton’s 3 a.m. nonsense? John McCain has generated loads of problems for himself via broadcast bullshit. You’d think the Arizona senator would opt for direct mail and telemarketing versus continuing to set up people’s punchlines.

The truth—if such a thing exists in advertising and politics—is that Obama has been running great ads. But he’s using nontraditional ad techniques. His digital skills make McCain look downright analog. Plus, Obama lets influencers literally sing praises for him. Meanwhile, numerous recording artists have demanded McCain stop playing their tunes.

There’s been controversy with minority media feeling slighted by Obama. But why buy ad space when the publications put him on nearly every cover? That’s called free publicity.

Obama’s “Change” theme has been consistent and memorable. Could anyone recite McCain’s “Country First” tagline until maybe a week ago?

Obama has displayed an active dislike for the standard political games, and it appears his annoyance extends to the standard political ads. Like successful and breakthrough brands, Obama has established a leadership position without regular marketing schemes. TV spots are not the primary vehicles delivering his messages. And the “product” is ultimately selling itself.

There are lessons here for the ivory towers on Madison Avenue.

5918: Some Of My Best Friends Are Stock Photos.

Daily Koz noted stock photos were used to depict diversity in John McCain’s introductory bio video at the Republican National Convention. It’s amazing that the campaign missed the opportunity to use this guy.

Hat tip to Danny G.

5898: Hallmark Moments.

Not sure how Hallmark gets away with using these images. Are politicians in the public domain? Anyway, guess we can expect McCain and Palin cards soon—for retirement and new baby, respectively.

5896: Where’s The Political Party At?

From USA TODAY…

Study: Sharp drop in black GOP delegates

By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY

ST. PAUL — There are 36 black delegates at the Republican convention here — fewer than 2% of the total and a sharp drop-off from 2004, a think tank reports.

The GOP record was set with 6.7% black delegates in 2004.

The Democratic Party, which has targets for minority representation, said a record 24.5% of delegates at its convention last week were black. That’s about twice the percentage of blacks in the U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau.

Joanna Burgos, a spokeswoman for the GOP convention, said 13% of delegates this year are minorities. She said that’s double the total in 1996, and “we look forward to continuing and expanding these relationships.”

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which specializes in black issues and released the report, said Republican John McCain likely will end up with a historically low share of the black vote despite his outreach to groups such as the NAACP.

The chief reasons, the group said, are Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s enormous appeal to black voters and McCain’s “association with President Bush, an exceptionally unpopular figure” among blacks.

The report said McCain also is hurt because his home state of Arizona has few blacks and there are no well-known black elected officials to make his case.

GOPAC Chairman Michael Steele, whose group helps elect Republicans to state and local office, said the black community “has to get out of the mind-set that anything the Republican Party says is bad for them.” But Steele, who is black, also said that “black folks aren’t going to flock to the GOP unless they have something to flock to.” He said his party should build coalitions and relationships with black voters.

One black convention delegate, Robert Smith of Little Rock, said he was amused but not surprised at the tiny number of blacks. He said he is on a personal mission to win back blacks he says are “voting for Barack Obama out of ethnicity rather than principle.” If he’s successful, he said, “this will be the last time you see so few” blacks at a GOP convention.

5854: Going For The Gold—And Golden Arches.

Sunday Morning News in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team won gold medals by beating Spain 118-107. No word how the team from Spain—who sparked controversy with their slit-eyed tribute—will salute the U.S. champs.

• Alabama is going after fat state workers, mandating they must get fit within a year or else they’ll be charged $25 per month for health insurance that’s currently free. No word if the workers will be permitted to pay the amount with McDonald’s gift certificates.

• Madonna’s latest tour features a video presenting John McCain alongside images of Hitler. Not sure how many homes or bunkers Hitler owned.

5841: Political Diversity On Board.

From USA TODAY…

Board diversity expands political spectrum

By Del Jones, USA TODAY

At Marriott International, Chairman Bill Marriott has not only contributed the maximum $4,600 to Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign, he’s also an active McCain “bundler,” who has raised between $100,000 and $250,000 from others.

At the table at Marriott board meetings is director Debra Lee, chairwoman of BET Holdings, parent company of Black Entertainment Television. Lee not only has given the maximum to Democrat Barack Obama, but is a bundler for his camp and has raised nearly $100,000. The Marriott board is a conglomerate of political givers: four other directors to Obama and/or Hillary Clinton, three others to McCain and/or Mitt Romney.

For 20 years, large companies have recruited directors of color to their boards, and by doing so, they have installed into the corporate system an unforeseen byproduct: political diversity. Among the 200 largest Standard & Poor’s 500 companies, 78% have at least one African-American director, says executive search firm Spencer Stuart. Executive search firm Korn/Ferry International says that 78% of Fortune 1000 companies have a director who is a minority, up from 47% in 1995.

And while Obama has substantial support among white business leaders, too, the outcome of efforts at Marriott and elsewhere to diversify the board has meant that at most quarterly meetings, staunch Obama supporters sit congenially, but eye to eye, with those staunchly supporting McCain.

There are strange political boardfellows at Commonwealth Edison, The Gap, General Electric, McDonald’s, Time Warner and Wal-Mart, among others. Even Halliburton, where Dick Cheney was chairman before becoming George Bush’s running mate eight years ago, has on its board two Obama contributors, including Milton Carroll, African-American chairman of CenterPoint Energy.

Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris, an Australian citizen who can’t vote here, has contributed to McCain and Romney. Dow Chemical director James Bell, an African-American chief financial officer at Boeing, has contributed to Obama. At General Mills, white Chairman Kendall Powell is a McCain contributor. African-American director Dorothy Terrell, an accomplished technology executive, is an Obama bundler who has raised between $50,000 and $100,000.

Nationwide, about 90% of African Americans say they will vote for Obama, vs. 3% for McCain, according to the latest polling by Gallup. African-American directors appear almost as solid in their support, USA TODAY research finds. There are 191 African Americans on the boards of the largest 250 companies, according to Black Enterprise.

[Read the full story here.]

5827: The Cartoon Lady Doth Protest Too Much.

Complaining about the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Protestors wearing character costumes were arrested at Disneyland. The group was protesting Disney’s treatment of hotel workers, arguing for the health care benefits of 2,300 maids, bellhops, cooks and dishwashers. “Disneyland is being unfair with us because we’re fighting for our health care and they’re trying to take it away,” said one participant. “They’re trying to cut our hours and take away our seniority.” The protestors better hope the Disney negotiators don’t include all the evil queens and stepmothers.

• Now Jerry Lewis claims the gun cops found in his luggage at the Las Vegas airport last month was just a gift presented to him after the last Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon. Gee, and you thought Jerry’s Kids preferred receiving cash donations.

• Jackson Browne is suing John McCain for using his song, “Running On Empty,” without permission. McCain’s campaign created a commercial criticizing rival Barack Obama, and the tune was playing in the background. Browne joins ABBA and John Mellencamp, who also had to tell McCain to stop using their work in his campaigns. Maybe they can team up to create a music video blasting the Arizona senator.

• J.C. Penney 2Q profits dropped 36 percent. Walmart 2Q profits rose 17 percent. Limited Too has a limited time remaining in the U.S. market, as the retailer’s parent company plans to convert about 600 stores to its lower-priced Justice brand. That’s Too bad. Or maybe it’s Justice. Sorry, there are only Limited gags to milk from these news items.

5774: Cynicism And Racism.

Political moves in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said he would accept Barack Obama’s Senate seat if Obama is elected President. However, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gets to make the decision, and he’s not a big Jackson fan. Hey, maybe Rev. Jesse Jackson could put in a good word for his son.

• Barack Obama, responding to the Republican campaign’s accusations that he had “played the race card,” called the John McCain campaign cynical versus racist. “In no way do I think that John McCain’s campaign was being racist,” said Obama. “I think they’re cynical. And I think they want to distract people from talking about the real issues. … They’re very good at negative campaigning. They’re not so good at governing.” Only in American politics can cynicism potentially be worse than racism.

• A Black reporter covering the McCain campaign in Florida was allegedly singled out and instructed to vacate a media area in Panama City. The man was among at least three other reporters—and the only Black among the reporters—standing near McCain’s campaign bus. He was asked to present his credentials by security personnel, then told to leave without explanation. When another reporter asked why, she was also removed from the area. A McCain spokesperson later remarked, “At the end of the day, [the] reporter was in the wrong place. I do not know why the other reporters were not moved. The rest of the local press should have been moved as well.” Perhaps McCain’s people were playing the race credentials. Or just being cynical.

5766: Playing The Presidential Race Card…?

From MSNBC.com…

McCain camp: Obama playing race card

From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro

Earlier this morning, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis released this one-sentence statement: “Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It’s divisive, negative, shameful and wrong.”

The statement refers to this Obama line yesterday: “So nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face, so what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other Presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky. That’s essentially the argument they’re making.”

Obama’s remark yesterday seemed innocuous. In fact, it’s similar to what he has said many times before. “I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city,” Obama noted in last week’s speech in Berlin.

Perhaps more important, Obama’s remarks wouldn’t have been seen as playing the race card if Davis hadn’t issued this release. After all, the best way to play the race card sometimes is to accuse the other side of playing it.

But Obama’s remarks yesterday seemed like an obvious observation; Obama was very subtle. Davis, though, decided to use a sledgehammer.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton issued this statement: “This is a race about big challenges -- a slumping economy, a broken foreign policy, and an energy crisis for everyone but the oil companies. Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue, but he does believe they’re using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign, and those are the issues he’ll continue to talk about.”

“Well, I think it goes well beyond that,” Davis said. “First of all, that was one of three instances yesterday that Barack Obama said the same thing in three different locations in Missouri. Secondarily, his campaign actively has been feeding to journalists all night last night and all day today, the notion that somehow something we have done in our campaign -- of which I could not identify for you today -- was somehow, had racial overtones. Third, liberal blogs all around the country were actively pursuing this this morning, which I can only assume didn’t come out of the blue. And so, I just wanted to make it clear. And to be honest, I don’t know how else you explain the quote that you just played other than to believe that somehow Barack Obama was calling something we’d done racist or something we had done with racial overtones. Otherwise I don’t know what else he was talking about.”

5738: Cover-To-Cover Stupidity.

Covering the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Vanity Fair decided to fight satire with satire, producing a parody of the infamous New Yorker Obamas cover featuring the McCains. Look for Ebony to create a Cynthia McKinney Green Party cover, with the former Congresswoman sticking her fist into a U.S. Capitol cop’s face.

• NYPD officials are investigating an incident where the head of a Black doll was stuck on the radio antenna of an unmarked police car carrying a couple of White cops. Maybe the cops were showing support for Cynthia McKinney.

• Max Mosley won his lawsuit against a tabloid that exposed his S&M orgy with hookers. The News of the World claimed it was a Nazi party, but Mosley denied a political theme and will collect $120,000. Which should pay for a few more non-Nazi orgies.

• Ford posted 2Q losses at $8.7 billion, while Chrysler announced plans to dump 1,000 salaried positions. The New York Times 2Q earnings dropped 82 percent. You know things are bad when major corporations are doing worse than old dudes staging S&M orgies.

5127: Rock, Roll And Mariachi Bands.

That’s entertainment in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• John Mellencamp told John McCain to stop playing his tunes. Now another rocker asked Mike Huckabee to delete his music from the campaign’s playlist. Tom Scholz, the man behind 1970s rock band Boston, wrote a letter to Huckabee telling the candidate to cease using “More Than A Feeling,” also informing the Governor that he’s supporting Barack Obama. No word yet if Scholz will receive “Peace of Mind” or be “Feelin’ Satisfied.” However, given his support for Obama, Scholz could offer to give Huckabee “A Man I’ll Never Be.”

• G-Unit rapper Tony Yayo is not a child beater after all. Yayo had been accused of roughing up the 14-year-old son of a rival producer. But Yayo’s co-defendant in the case took full responsibility—and Yayo’s lawyer claimed he was actually seeking to defend the attacked boy during the 2007 event. In the end, Yayo received 10 days of community service for admitting he got out of his ride and glared at the kid. Well, if glaring is now a punishable offense for rappers, look for communities to be serviced like never before.

• A new Nielsen Company survey showed Latinos are almost twice as likely as Whites to lose TV service when the transition to digital broadcasting happens next year. Look for a public awareness campaign to be launched starring telenovela celebrities.

5105: Teeth, Dentures And Biting Remarks.

Digesting the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• An ancient tooth found in Greece has paleontologists believing Neanderthals were much more mobile than once thought. “Our findings prove that … their settlement networks were broader and more organized than we believed,” said one researcher. Following the final analysis, Chuck Norris will probably request that the tooth be returned to John McCain.

• Nobel Prize author Doris Lessing believes Barack Obama would be assassinated if he were elected as president. During an interview, the writer remarked, “He would probably not last long, a Black man in the position of president. They would kill him.” Lessing did not elaborate on who might do the deed. Despite the fact that the writer is 88 years old, Chuck Norris probably wholeheartedly agrees with her.

• PETA is protesting KFC again, this time because State Rep. Charles Siler is seeking to make fried chicken Kentucky’s official picnic chow. “If the state legislature moves forward with this one, then they should change Kentucky’s state bird from the cardinal to the debeaked, crippled, scalded, diseased, dead chicken,” said a PETA vice president. Sorry, KFC probably already has the copyright to that image.

• Polaroid announced plans to completely drop instant film products. The company already quit making instant film cameras for consumers a year ago. Wonder how long before Polaroid instantly vanishes altogether.

• Hillary Clinton officially responded to MSNBC anchor David Shuster’s remarks that the senator’s campaign “pimped out” Chelsea Clinton. “I am a mom first and a candidate second,” said Clinton. “I found the remarks incredibly offensive.” Clinton also write a letter to MSNBC honchos that stated, “Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or halfhearted apology is sufficient.” Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has no problem pimping out hubby Bill for campaign efforts.

• The mother of Michael Jackson’s kids is upset over photos of the children without their signature veils. “The veils were my idea, not Michael’s,” said Jacko’s ex-wife in an interview. “I had kidnap threats when they were babies. I did not want them to be recognized. I’m not happy they’ve been photographed without the veils.” Um, wish the woman would don a veil herself.

5101: Going Postal.

Checking the mail in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• When John Mellencamp fights authority, authority doesn’t always win. The rock star’s publicist sent a letter to John McCain’s people wondering why the presidential candidate was playing Mellencamp’s tunes at campaign events. Mellencamp, after all, is hardly a Republican; plus, the singer had supported John Edwards. “Are you sure you want to use his music to promote Senator McCain’s efforts?” asked the letter sent to McCain’s campaign. “Logic says that the facts might prove to be an embarrassment, were they to be circulated widely.” Following receipt of the note, a decision was made to stop playing the songs. And McCain’s popularity will likely skyrocket as a result.

• Hadji Williams wrote an open letter to Nina DiSesa, responding to the McCann Erickson chairman’s recent Adweek column. Wonder if Williams and DiSesa share the same tastes in music.