17094: Protests, Politics & People-Powered Proactivity.

 

Adweek reported on how Los Angeles-based Latino advertising agencies are responding to the current protests and political proceedings, providing support to coworkers, clients, and communities.

 

The engagement likely presents a sharp contrast to the responses of White advertising agencies in LA and beyond.

 

‘This is About Humanity’: How LA’s Hispanic Agencies are Responding to ICE Raids 

 

As fear spreads across Los Angeles, multicultural agencies are offering safety, support, and a message to brands: now is the time to show up

 

By Audrey Kemp

 

Downtown Los Angeles is under curfew as military vehicles rumble down Olympic Boulevard and protests continue across the city.

 

At LA’s ad agencies—particularly those led by and built to serve the Hispanic community—the fear is both intense and deeply personal.

 

Since June 6, when the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched coordinated raids across LA and into Orange County, dozens of undocumented immigrants have been detained at worksites including warehouses, car washes, and Home Depot parking lots.

 

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets, protesting what they describe as racially motivated attacks on Hispanic and immigrant communities.

 

In a federal intervention not seen since the 1992 Rodney King riots, National Guard troops have been deployed—without the governor’s request—to support ICE operations. As of Friday morning, June 13, President Trump has maintained temporary control of the National Guard in LA, after an appeals court ruling the night prior. Officials have indicated that the military-backed raids could continue for up to 60 days.

 

“They are us,” said Marina Filipelli, CEO of LA-based creative agency Orci, of those being detained. “They are our neighbors, our friends, and our family members. It’s really close to home.”

 

The situation, she said, has “shaken us to the core.”

 

“This is about humanity,” Filipelli continued. “Everyone deserves, in our country, to be treated with a certain level of respect and with due process.”

 

Here’s how LA’s advertising scene is responding to the situation on the ground. 

 

Addressing staff needs

 

When the raids began, Orci, which was founded by Mexican American immigrants in 1986, immediately addressed staff and offered the option to work remotely, despite the agency’s two-day in-office policy. Those who wanted to come in were invited to an open forum to talk about how they were feeling.

 

“We’ve always heard from people that come from other agencies or other workplaces that when these things happen, [they] feel very alienated when they go to work,” said Filipelli.

 

Acento, another LA-based agency founded by Mexican immigrants, is also allowing employees to work remotely, as many have to cross curfew zones or navigate public transit to get to work. The agency has an internal channel where team members share news and resources, and which offers safe space to connect. 

 

“We enjoy that kind of culture of flexibility, but also mutual support,” said Acento CEO Donnie Broxson.

 

Casanova//McCann, based in Costa Mesa, has remained open, but employees don’t have to come in. While most staff are legal residents or citizens, many still carry paperwork with them daily. 

 

“We’ve continued to remind people: keep your paperwork with you at all times,” said CEO Ingrid Smart. “It’s sad that we have to do that, but better safe than sorry.”

 

Smart, who owns the now-independent agency, which is certified as both minority- and female-owned, said Casanova is offering counseling support, mental wellness perks, and even a sound bath to help staff cope. 

 

“Our vision is to be the most caring agency, and we have to prove that to our employees on a daily basis,” she said.

 

At Relevant+, a Hispanic-owned media agency in LA, staff are being offered fully paid mental health days. The agency also shared know-your-rights guides and immigrant protection resources from trusted organizations, including the Immigrant Defense Project and Informed Immigrant.

 

“We didn’t want anyone to ‘power through’ this moment,” said CEO Jonathan Patton. “We wanted them to feel seen, supported, and held.”

 

Engaging clients and community—and speaking out

 

Acento has been bracing for this moment since Trump returned to the oval office January, Broxson said. 

 

Prior to the raids, the agency had already begun advising clients—including LA Metro, Banner Health, and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E)—on how to adjust their marketing campaigns to communicate safety and care in light of heightened fear among immigrant communities. 

 

The agency advised clients to adjust in-market messaging to emphasize security and proactively assure people that their brands were supportive to immigrants, and not a risk.

 

“The fear pervades all aspects of your life,” said Broxson. “It impacts your purchase decisions… We had already started adjusting our shopping and purchasing habits based on an uncertain economy and the tariff war. It adds an extra layer.”

 

Other agencies are supporting their communities. Orci, for its part, is matching employee donations to organizations like CHIRLA, which helps detainees and their families. And Casanova//McCann is encouraging staff to use their three paid annual volunteer days now, while also developing a community-focused pro bono initiative.

 

For Relevant+, standing up is about speaking up. The agency underscored its mission to empower the U.S. Hispanic community in a LinkedIn post that emphasized how many of its team members come from immigrant families shaped by sacrifice and that cultural advocacy is core to its identity.

 

“When dignity is on the line, we don’t look away,” the post read. “It’s not about left or right. It’s about human rights.”

 

“This particular wave of ICE raids felt especially cruel,” Patton added. “And what hit even harder was the silence that followed.”

 

Staying resilient

 

While agencies are doing what they can to support their talent in a turbulent situation, they underscored the role brands can play in showing up to support diverse audiences.

 

“This work can’t just exist when it fits a campaign cycle,” Patton said. “If you claim to stand with these communities, that has to mean something when it’s uncomfortable, when it actually costs something.”

 

Filipelli agreed: “To target U.S. Hispanics as an audience, to sell them products and services, but then turn your back on them when they’re being vilified in certain ways… just doesn’t sit quite right with me.”

 

As the protests continue on, all four agency leaders underscored the unique resilience of immigrant communities during times of crisis. 

 

“The immigrant mind is resilient, is strong, is fearless—and we are staying strong for our people and our consumers,” Smart said. “And we’re not going away anytime soon.”

16350: RTO = Return To Oppression…?

 

The Los Angeles Times published a report on how remote work offers a reprieve from racism—prompting Blacks to resist, reject, and/or hesitate to respond to RTO requests. Meanwhile, more White advertising agencies are mandating staffers return to offices—where the underrepresented can expect a return to offensiveness. Looks like the corporate concern for employees’ mental health only applies to the exclusive majority. Welcome back.

 

Remote work gave them a reprieve from racism. They don’t want to go back

 

By Samantha Masunaga

 

As LeRon Barton weighed his options, he realized what he had to do.

 

If he took a pay cut of $5,000, he could have a fully remote tech job that would let him roam the country and give him the flexibility he craved. Or he could keep his salary and stay at his current job — a network engineer position based at a San Francisco hospital that required occasional site visits and kept him tethered to the region.

 

Patients at the hospital sometimes gave him funny looks when he came to check their room’s Wi-Fi, recalled Barton, who is Black, and staff members questioned his competence. Working remotely during the pandemic showed him a whole different lifestyle: no commute, more time with his family and a break from the onslaught of microaggressions and other racist behavior he’d had to endure.

 

Barton chose the pay cut.

 

“You’re totally out of the rigamarole,” said Barton, who is now a writer and technical project manager at a Southern California tech company. “And just the quality of life has improved drastically.”

 

It’s a sentiment expressed by many Black workers and other people of color who found that remote work lessened the racism they faced on the job.

 

But it forces workers to make a difficult choice — prioritize your mental health or endure for the sake of your career. Remote job opportunities are shrinking as more companies require that workers come back to the office. And even in hybrid workplaces, remote employees can be at a disadvantage for career advancement since managers sometimes forget about them or assume they are less productive than their in-person peers, a concept called proximity bias.

 

“Jobs are built on social capital. We could miss out on those happy hour opportunities,” Barton said. But he’s willing to sacrifice the in-office networking. “Honestly,” he said, “I would trade that in for my peace of mind.”

 

Throughout the pandemic, survey after survey showed what some workers of color have known for years: Workplace politics and discrimination can make the office an undesirable place to be.

 

In 2021, just 3% of Black white-collar “knowledge workers” wanted to return to full-time in-office work, compared with 21% of white ones, according to research from Future Forum, a project backed by instant messaging firm Slack. The research found that hybrid or remote work arrangements increased Black workers’ feelings of belonging at work and boosted their ability to manage stress.

 

Part of the push for remote work can be explained by the preferences of millennial and younger workers, who want the freedom to choose where they do their jobs, said LaTonya Wilkins, founder and chief executive of Change Coaches, a leadership development firm focused on workplace culture.

 

But how supervisors evaluate workers is also a factor.

 

Career coach Jermaine L. Murray said many of his clients, relatives and friends have expressed their reluctance to return to the office. Clients of all races have told him they prefer remote work, but his Black clients have more frequently emphasized that continuing to work from home allowed them to avoid office politics.

 

“It almost felt like the distance allowed for a more objective environment,” said Murray, founder of JupiterHR, which provides career development services.

 

With remote work, the data confirm whether workers are getting their jobs done, and there’s less room for co-workers to take undeserved credit since there are fewer opportunities to socialize on the job, he said. Clients whose companies are switching to hybrid work are looking for other jobs, Murray said. And because of the sluggish economy and cooling labor market, he said, they’re “quiet quitting” their current positions rather than leaving immediately.

 

Opportunities for remote-only jobs, however, are starting to shrink.

 

In April, about 11% of U.S. job postings on LinkedIn were for remote work, down from a peak of nearly 21% in March 2022, according to a May report from LinkedIn. Such jobs were in high demand: Nearly half of job applications via the website in April were for fully remote positions, and only one-third were for jobs without remote or hybrid options.

 

“Professionals that have the opportunity to be in these remote environments and not experience microaggressions at work or not do as much code-switching or all of those things have now said, ‘Oh, that was great for my mental health’ or, ‘It helped me be a little more authentic at work,’” said Andrew McCaskill, a career expert with LinkedIn. “And a lot of employees and workers just don’t want to give that up.”

 

For one 35-year-old paralegal from the Midwest, remote work is now a must.

 

“As a Black employee and someone who is neurodivergent, it’s just better for me,” said the paralegal, who asked that their name and gender not be published for fear of harming future employment opportunities. “I’m able to be more productive. I’m able to focus better. I get so much more work done here in my own space where I’m able to be who I am and think.”

 

Previous jobs often involved being the only Black worker in the office and being judged based on social interactions, the paralegal said.

 

If the paralegal was quiet and focused only on work, managers said to stop being antisocial and hard to approach. On bubbly or chatty days, the paralegal was admonished for not doing enough work. If the paralegal participated in a passionate conversation around the water cooler, criticism would soon follow: Don’t be so aggressive.

 

“There’s never really a happy medium,” the paralegal said. With remote work, however, those problems are eliminated, and the paralegal can focus solely on getting the job done.

 

Management experts argue that remote work opportunities have implications far beyond individual work experiences and affect corporate culture as a whole.

 

Eliminating remote options can also hurt companies’ ability to recruit a diverse workforce. With remote positions, companies can hire people living in geographic areas that are more diverse than the communities around their headquarters.

 

“Companies have to recognize that if they really want to meet their commitments to diversity and inclusion, one of the best levers they can pull for that is remote work,” said McCaskill of LinkedIn.

 

Employers considering a return-to-office mandate should make sure they are giving workers a reason to be in the office, which can make in-person work more purposeful and give fewer opportunities for microaggressions, said Wilkins, the Change Coaches CEO.

 

In a hybrid situation, managers need to make sure employees working remotely are not left out or inadvertently penalized by proximity bias, she said. Part of that could include creating opportunities for employees to get exposure and recognition for their work even if they are remote and destigmatizing mental health support, management experts said.

 

As senior director of talent strategy at UC Irvine, Kimberly D. Jones made sure to have candid conversations with employees about their concerns regarding a return to the office. One employee shared experiences with her that predated Jones’ arrival at the department and explained how those situations contributed to their anxiety about being at work.

 

Jones said she addressed the issue with the employee and the leadership team and now checks in with that employee regularly to make sure they feel comfortable at work. She also makes a point to walk through the work space and greet everyone in the morning, in part to get a sense of the office dynamics and in part to make herself available to any employees who might have concerns.

 

“You have a responsibility as a leader to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and can be successful,” Jones said.

 

Women of color especially face difficult situations at work.

 

Professor Joan C. Williams and her collaborators have built a database of more than 18,000 people as they research the intersection of racial and gender bias in white-collar professions. In almost every dataset she’s seen, women of color report the most bias and the least workplace fairness, she said.

 

Particularly telling is a survey question that asks respondents whether they have access to career-enhancing work. Nearly 90% of white men say yes; for women of color, that percentage sinks as low as 50%.

 

“No matter what industry they work, no matter what company … it’s unbelievably consistent,” said Williams, who is a professor at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and founding director of the university’s Center for WorkLife Law.

 

Structural engineer Rapunzel Amador-Lewis has gotten used to being one of very few women, much less women of color, at her workplaces.

 

She remembers being told by a well-meaning male mentor at her first job that as a female engineer, she’d have to “run 110 yards to score a touchdown.” After men at work sites called her “honey” and assumed she was there to deal with office matters rather than inspect their work, she started bringing along a male co-worker — and although that cut down on harassment, the men sometimes assumed her co-worker was the engineer, not her. Her confidence in her skills and abilities was misinterpreted as arrogance and documented as such in a performance review.

 

“I have never had a woman engineer to report directly to,” said Amador-Lewis, who immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area from the Philippines as a child in 1985. “I’ve had peers, one or two peers every now and then, but I’ve never had a mentor, a female mentor, especially not a woman of color mentor.”

 

Eventually, Amador-Lewis started her own consulting firm and began working from home to better balance her personal and work lives. It took a lot of effort, but she relished being her own boss, she said. She later went back to corporate staff roles at engineering firms but said she left her last job over negotiations to add more remote days to her schedule and resistance to changes she wanted to make to the corporate culture, dynamics and inclusion in the workplace.

 

Would she ever go back to in-person work? She doesn’t love the idea.

 

“If I find enlightenment somewhere,” Amador-Lewis said with a laugh. She is currently taking a sabbatical and embarked on a 107-day cruise around the world with her husband while figuring out her next steps.

 

Maybe she’d accept a hybrid schedule, she said. After all, remote work allows her to take care of the chronic migraines she’s suffered since 2013 and helps her balance her caregiving responsibilities for her husband, who has had seizures. “I would never 100% do in-office again.”

 

Barton, the technical project manager, is also adamant about the benefit of remote work. Despite the shrinking pool of remote job opportunities and the possibility for remote positions to come with smaller salaries, he knows what’s most important to him.

 

“What do you value?” he said. “Do you value your sanctity or do you value the dollar?”

14741: For Good Times, See The Work Of Ernie Barnes.

From The Los Angeles Times…

Ernie Barnes’ ‘Sugar Shack’: Why museum-goers line up to see ex-NFL player’s painting

By Makeda Easter | Staff Writer

At the California African American Museum’s retrospective dedicated to late artist and former NFL player Ernie Barnes, “The Sugar Shack” is an undeniable star.

Visitors often form a line around the painting, said the show’s curator, Bridget R. Cooks, associate professor in the departments of African American studies and art history at UC Irvine. They all wait for their moment with Barnes’ work, a piece that entered pop-culture consciousness after appearing on the 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and as the cover art to Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album, “I Want You.”

“The Sugar Shack” transports viewers to a jubilant black club. Vibrant, dancing partygoers and musicians fill the 3-by-4-foot canvas. Most have their eyes closed, a signature in nearly all of Barnes’ paintings, referring to his oft-stated belief that “we are blind to each other’s humanity.”

As a neo-mannerist who referenced the late Renaissance period of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, Barnes painted the figures in “The Sugar Shack” as exaggerated and elongated forms, one man’s arms joyously nearly reaching the top of the canvas, another woman’s curvy legs stretching halfway across the dance floor. Barnes’ expressive style helps viewers identify with the rhythm and sensuality of the painting, Cooks said.

One central figure in the painting is a woman in a yellow dress and white shoes, dancing at the front of the tall stage, her back to the viewer. She’s a character who appears in artworks throughout Barnes’ career.

It’s easy to get lost in the revelers, but a closer look reveals unexpected details. Nestled in a corner between the stairs and the stage is a black man in a blue uniform, sitting with a newspaper at his feet. Unlike the rest of the figures on the canvas his expression is downcast. He seems to be an outsider.

Cooks isn’t certain if he’s working security or if he’s an off-duty policeman relaxing with the music. But she compared the figure to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1981 work “Irony of the Negro Policeman.” “He’s representing law and order and we don’t think about the police being, especially today, friends of the black community,” Cooks said.

Barnes was born into a working-class family in segregated Durham, N.C., in 1938. He painted “The Sugar Shack” from a childhood memory — sneaking into the Durham Armory, a venue that hosted segregated dances and that still exists today. “This was a place where you could go as a black person and see Duke Ellington and see Clyde McPhatter,” Cooks said. Barnes, who died in 2009, recalled in a 2008 interview that the experience was the “first time my innocence met with the sins of dance.” After being drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1959, Barnes played professional football for teams including the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers until 1965, before pursuing his passion for art.

In the early 1970s, Barnes settled in L.A.’s Fairfax district. He became interested in Jewish culture and was impressed with how much the community knew of its history, Cooks said. “And he really wished that black people had the same type of cultural education.” Inspired by the “Black Is Beautiful” movement, he premiered his exhibition “The Beauty of the Ghetto,” 35 paintings depicting everyday scenes from black life, in 1972.

His work during the time, including “The Sugar Shack,” was about “showing blackness as beautiful and even exaggerating form,” Cooks said. “It’s not about trying to hide the curves of your body or the facial features that you have. It’s about showing them, even exaggerating them and making it not even just OK but something to really be celebrated.”

“The Sugar Shack” ascended into pop culture by chance.

After Barnes played a game of basketball with Gaye, the soul singer caught a glimpse of Barnes’ painting in his car. “He went crazy and he was like I have to have this,” Cooks said.

Barnes augmented the painting to include references to Gaye’s music, and the work became the cover of his “I Want You” album in 1976. That same year, Barnes painted a “Sugar Shack” duplicate, which is on display at CAAM. According to a note written by the artist, he created the second painting because the first “moved around, uninsured” and out of his control.

In the 1970s, producer Norman Lear commissioned Barnes to create original paintings for the Jimmie Walker character J.J. in “Good Times,” the sitcom about a black family living in a Chicago housing project. In later seasons “The Sugar Shack” was the backdrop for the show’s credits.

The painting became part of American national memory, something of a mythical object, Cooks said. The curator believes Barnes would have found “The Sugar Shack” selfie lines at CAAM to be meaningful.

“It’s wonderful to see how much respect the painting commands,” she said. “People really understand this is a painting that in some ways belongs to everyone.”

12777: Invisible Black Women Artists.

The Los Angeles Times commented on the underrepresentation of Black women artists in local art museums. Surely the 3% Conference can solve the problem.

Black women artists in L.A. museums: Good news at Hammer, but representation remains weak

By Carolina A. Miranda

This year has seen a spate of solo museum exhibitions of work by black artists in Los Angeles: Mark Bradford and Charles Gaines at the Hammer, Noah Purifoy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and William Pope.L and Kahlil Joseph at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Last week, I spoke with African and African American art historian Steven Nelson about these exhibitions and what shifts they might represent at the institutional level.

One thing we both noted: a glaring lack of major museum solo exhibitions featuring the work of black women artists.

There is, however, some hope on the horizon. In October, the Hammer Museum will be displaying an exhibition of work by Nigerian-born artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby, organized by Hammer assistant curator Jamillah James. Crosby is known for intensive collages — employing photographs, photo transfers and bits of African lifestyle magazines — that depict intimate domestic scenes.

This is a big deal. I poked around online exhibition archives to see the frequency with which black female artists have gotten shows at Los Angeles’ big three museums (Hammer, MOCA, LACMA — the city’s three biggest museums regularly showing work by contemporary artists) over the last several years. The numbers leave something to be desired.

The last time a black female artist had a solo museum show at one of the big three was in 2013 when Shinique Smith had an exhibition at LACMA. Smith’s show wasn’t at the museum’s main campus, but rather LACMA’s satellite exhibition space at Charles White Elementary School in the MacArthur Park/Westlake area. The install combined works by Smith with pieces from LACMA’s permanent collection — and Smith did some super cool projects with Charles White students — but certainly, the artist’s visibility was muted by the remote location.

All of this means that, including Crosby’s upcoming show at the Hammer, there will have been a whopping two solo shows by black female artists at L.A.’s big three over a six-year period. The last time a black female artist headlined a major exhibition in Los Angeles was when Kara Walker had her solo at the Hammer in 2008 … seven years ago.

Prior to that, there was a project installation by Brenna Youngblood, also at the Hammer, in 2007, and an exhibition of work by Lorna Simpson at MOCA in 2006. And that’s pretty much it for the last nine years.

So here’s hoping some L.A. curator somewhere has Betye Saar on the speed dial. As Nelson mentioned in our conversation, Saar has been working in L.A. for half a century. Seems like she, along with so many others, might be due for a show.

“Hammer Projects: Njideka Akunyili Crosby” opens Oct. 3. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.

12270: Messing With Mariachi Bands.

From The Los Angeles Times…

Mariachi Plaza development plan worries L.A. musicians

By Esmeralda Bermudez

The mariachis of Los Angeles have flocked to their plaza for nearly 80 years — to sing, to hustle for work, to pass the time.

In the last decade, they’ve seen the Boyle Heights square transformed: Their favorite doughnut shop went away, and a Metro Gold Line station was built, along with a sleek stage. The Boyle Hotel, where so many musicians have lived, was given a face-lift.

The changes brought some inconvenience — drilling, dust and construction scaffolding — but the renovations, many said, have been worth it. There are big concerts now, and lots more visitors.

But the latest plan to remake Mariachi Plaza, this time into a modern shopping center, has the community worried that the mariachis’ livelihood and their cultural center could be threatened, even wiped out.

The proposal calls for a significant overhaul of the corner of 1st and Boyle streets. Buildings that now house an ice cream shop and a restaurant, among other businesses, would be torn down and two new structures would be built: one an eight-story building with six levels of parking and two floors of medical offices, and the other three stories housing a gym, restaurants and stores.

“Everything will change,” said Arturo Ramirez, president of the Los Angeles United Mariachis Organization. “What we want to know is, what will happen to us? We’re a community, and this is our home.”

Mariachi Plaza is the historic gateway to the neighborhood, a quaint and beloved space that resembles Mexico’s famed Plaza Garibaldi.

Here, musicians from across Los Angeles have gathered since the 1930s in hope of being hired by someone in search of a full band, trio or solo singer.

Front and center in the square stands a ceremonial cobblestone kiosk, a gift from the governor of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Along the north end, the plaza’s backdrop includes low-slung buildings housing several mom-and-pop establishments that operate in sync with the mariachis.

They provide meals and outdoor seating for musicians, pass out the mariachis’ business cards and feature images of musicians on murals splashed across their walls.

“We all know each other,” said Armando Salazar, who has owned Restaurant Santa Cecilia for 23 years. “If this change happens, rents will probably go up, and only big chains and corporations will be able to move in.”

The development plan, still in the beginning stages, is being orchestrated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns most of the land.

The agency faced a public backlash last month when it submitted the project for initial approval. Mariachis and business owners said they were kept in the dark before the move, and they called for major changes to the plan.

The musicians would prefer a development that brings more mariachi-friendly business: restaurants and shops catering to Latinos.

“Why would a gym want to have anything to do want with mariachis?” Salazar said.

Metro officials, who said that the bidding process had limited them from releasing information, promised to conduct plenty of community outreach in the months ahead.

“The perception is that this proposal is fully cooked and there’s no room for input, but that’s a big misunderstanding,” said Jenna Hornstock, Metro’s deputy executive officer for countywide planning and development.

Because of complaints, the agency has delayed moving ahead with the proposal until February.

In Boyle Heights, a tight-knit community known for its ability to organize, the development plan probably will continue to generate criticism. Residents along 1st Street already were on edge about potential gentrification creeping in from downtown.

In an effort to smooth over community fears, the project developer has said that the mariachi tradition is precisely what attracted the firm to the site; the proposal submitted to the county, Arturo Sneider of Primestor Development added, was simply a first step.

“Our goal is to find out what the community needs the most and what’s feasible,” Sneider said.

But whatever the final plans look like, the mariachis will remain the heart of the square.

“They will continue doing exactly what they do — looking for work and playing music,” Sneider said. “We just look forward to elevating what’s already there.”

12234: Are L.A. Agencies More Diverse?

Adweek published an interview with David&Goliath President Brian Dunbar, who made some interesting statements regarding diversity in Los Angeles and the advertising agencies in the area.

Adweek asked, “How does the city of Los Angeles inform agency culture?” Dunbar replied, “L.A. is a very culturally diverse city and I think the cultural makeup of the agencies reflects that. It certainly does at David&Goliath. I see a lot more diversity here than I have at other agencies in my career and I think that helps make the work more interesting. We also have Hollywood, the music industry and Silicon Beach that help strengthen our connection to pop culture and technology.”

The David&Goliath website does show the place may have more diversity than the average White advertising agency—although it is hard to tell if the minorities play roles equal to or greater than the typical D&G employee. Presuming they do, Dunbar might be accurate in his diversity declarations about his own shop. But it’s tough to agree L.A. agencies as a whole are more diverse than the rest of the industry. Surely organizations such as the 4As and AAF would have recognized the positive differences and suggested professional best practices to emulate the Californians. Technically, New York City, Chicago and Atlanta are diverse, yet each city’s advertising agencies do not reflect the area’s populace. Plus, L.A. agencies would be trumpeting their inclusiveness to the rest of the industry, especially when accusations of exclusivity are hurled at adland.

Dunbar seems like a decent bloke with good intentions. And if he does have the secret formula to help diversify the ad industry, he needs to share it with the rest of us.

12171: Clippers Vanilla TV Spot.

The new White advertising agency for the Los Angeles Clippers—RPA—unveiled its first TV commercial sporting the tagline, “Be Relentless.” Okey-doke. It’s the standard sports anthem message, featuring standard sports filmmaking. Why is advertising for local professional sports teams so tired and predictable? Seems like the Clippers have more uniqueness to offer than this, especially given the kind of spots Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have delivered for other advertisers. The suggestion to hire a minority AOR was ignored, yet what does RPA really bring to the table? The place isn’t even headquartered in Los Angeles. While the commercial is professionally executed, it presents a vanilla and white-bread concept. And in the end, being relentless is pointless if the squad can’t beat the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs.

12079: Get Bitch Off The Bus.

From The Los Angeles Times…

Metro yanks Fox TV show bus ads branded as racist, offensive to women

By Soumya Karlamangla

An advertisement for the new Fox television show “Red Band Society” was abruptly pulled from Los Angeles Metro buses Thursday after activists complained it was racist and offensive.

The ads for the series that premiered this week show actress Octavia Spencer next to the words “Scary Bitch.” Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Mark Littman said the agency decided to remove the ad because that label “denigrates women.”

“That speaks for itself,” Littman said. “That was not acceptable.”

The ads, which have been up for five weeks, will be removed from 190 Metro buses as soon as possible, said Metro spokesman Dave Sotero.

The announcement was made Thursday at a Metro committee meeting where a few dozen protesters showed up to speak against the ads. Among them was Jasmyne Cannick, who said the nickname perpetuates negative stereotypes about black women.

“I don’t know if I find it more offensive because I’m black, or more offensive because I’m a woman,” said Cannick, 36. “I sometimes think our city forgets that there are black people that still live here and call Los Angeles home.”

A Fox spokeswoman said in a statement that network executives were notified Thursday morning of the concerns around the ads and “immediately offered to remove the language.”

“Metro Los Angeles ultimately decided to take down the ads, and we respect that decision,” the spokeswoman said. “We sincerely apologize if the copy was offensive to viewers.”

Littman said though the decision was made public Thursday, Metro chief executive Art Leahy had chosen Wednesday to take down the ads after hearing about the complaints. Littman said CBS Outdoor, which handles the agency’s advertising contract, usually flags possibly questionable ads for review, but these were not flagged.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who also serves on the Metro board, said at the Thursday meeting that he wanted the ads taken down, and that the agency needs to tighten its advertising policy. Garcetti requested that Metro staff report back to the board on ways to avoid a similar situation in the future, said Jeff Millman, Garcetti's spokesman.

12039: RPA LAC AOR.

Advertising Age reported the Los Angeles Clippers named RPA as its AOR, allegedly after a review involving unidentified agencies. Ad Age noted the review took place after the Donald Sterling debacle, which might have inspired the team to seek a new branding direction to distance itself from the racist happenings. Apparently, no one considered MultiCultClassics’ suggestion to select a minority agency to handle the account.

So what is known about the inclusiveness and cultural competence at the winning White advertising agency? Hard to say. The RPA website proclaims, “We champion Whitespace.” Yikes. Maybe Donald Sterling got a vote in the final hiring decision…? Additionally, there’s a section on diversity; however, it mostly features content that doesn’t specifically show the actual diversity at RPA. Instead, there’s a lot of blah-blah-blah including the contention that “diversity and inclusion are our top priorities,” the sponsorship of minority internship programs in the community and partnering with the AAF’s Mosaic Center, the 4As and ADCOLOR®. The photo accompanying RPA internships seems pretty Asian-friendly. Oh, and RPA has a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. But overall, there’s no strong evidence of a bona fide progressive culture. In fact, the culture section looks rather vanilla.

Los Angeles Clippers Name RPA New Agency After Review

Team Sought Help for Brand After Sterling Scandal

By Maureen Morrison

The Los Angeles Clippers have named RPA the team’s new agency after a review that came on the heels of the scandal around racist comments from now-former owner Donald Sterling.

RPA will be responsible for strategy, creative, media planning and buying, digital and social marketing, as well as branded entertainment. Ultimately, the agency will be responsible for producing work that helps reposition the team’s brand after the Sterling fiasco this spring.

The review began this summer and was conducted by Pile & Co. HeilBrice, an independent agency in Irvine, Calif., had been working with the Clippers since 1999.

“The Los Angeles Clippers will start the 2014–2015 season with a new creative platform that will be promoted across media channels,” the team said in a statement. “ Exact timing is still being established, but a campaign will most likely start in late September or early October.

RPA will help the franchise become “a first-class sports and entertainment brand,” said Kirt Danner, senior VP-group account director at RPA, in a statement. “The soon-to-launch campaign will help the franchise stand out and seize this unique opportunity to gain a competitive edge and increase its fan base.” A spokesman for the Clippers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When the request for proposals was sent out to agencies, it did not contain much detail in terms of why the team is looking for a new agency, but it seemed that the team was seeking to distance itself from the Sterling scandal and refresh its brand. According to the RFP, the team sought agencies with relevant experience in “rebuilding an established, well-known brand” and able to expand a client’s target audience and create sales-driving retail work.

The NBA banned Mr. Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million after recordings of the owner spouting racist epithets became public just as the team was trying to mount a playoff run. Mr. Sterling’s estranged wife, Shelley Sterling, struck a deal in May to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for a whopping $2 billion after she conferred with a team of doctors who determined that Mr. Sterling was mentally unfit. Mr. Ballmer was confirmed as the new owner in August.

RPA recently was named the agency for oil company Arco, and began a campaign in July. In August, the agency lost the digital Honda account to a Publicis-Razorfish team after a review that began in January. RPA, whose relationship with Honda is approaching the three-decade mark, still handles Honda creative, and kept that account after a review that wrapped up in March 2013.

The Clippers, according to Kantar Media, are not hefty measured-media spenders. The team spent $433,500 in 2013, down from $615,100 in 2012.

11994: Mariachi Marathon Miffs.

From The Los Angeles Times…

Promoter of Mariachi 5K run in Boyle Heights faces backlash over theme

By Esmeralda Bermudez

The mariachi of Boyle Heights mostly live by a golden rule: No event is a bad event.

They play for funerals and quinceañeras, foreclosures and sex change celebrations.

But Sunday’s Mariachi 5K — where some runners undoubtedly will show up in mariachi garb, big sombreros and colorful serapes — is another matter.

Neighbors initially hoped that the run, which is slated to begin and end at historic Mariachi Plaza, could serve to promote Boyle Heights and bring in new business. But now the organizer is facing a backlash from those who think the theme makes a mockery of mariachi. Opponents are threatening to shut down the race.

Along 1st Street, everyone seems to have an opinion — especially the mariachi.

“We wear our suits with pride. They represent a culture, a nation,” said Arturo Ramirez, president of the Los Angeles United Mariachis Organization. “No one should ever come here and ridicule us in the streets.”

Ramirez’s group represents a number of mariachi who hustle daily for work at the plaza, striving to give them a voice and elevate their image. He’s concerned that plaza mariachi were not hired to play at the event, and thinks the race organizer is looking only to make money off of their tradition.

Promoter Carlos Gaspar says the trouble he’s facing has little do with his theme.

The former middle school teacher, who lives in Downey, has organized similar races (called Tacos and Beer) in Long Beach. Those events, he said, went smoothly and drew as many as 2,000 runners.

“Here, it’s all politics,” Gaspar said. “A few people … have gotten together to show that only people with power can hold events in this city.”

Gaspar said he decided to visit Boyle Heights at the suggestion of a friend. He saw Mariachi Plaza and was inspired.

“I’m from Jalisco, where mariachi come from,” Gaspar said. “I checked with my mom and my relatives. They all thought the theme was a good idea.”

He began applying for permits at the start of the summer, and said business owners signed on in support after he explained the mariachi theme.

Gaspar launched a Facebook page and created a colorful flier featuring cartoon guitars and trumpets running with sombreros and mustaches in the streets of Boyle Heights.

Registration for the race ranges from $35 to $50.

When people complained about a proposal to open a beer garden, he said, he canceled it. He also canceled a costume contest.

He said he didn’t hire plaza mariachi because he was able to get outside musicians for a much lower price.

A week before the event, Gaspar said, only 180 participants have registered. Several of his permits are still pending.

“I’ve spent so much time dealing with these issues, I haven’t had time to promote,” said Gaspar, adding that the race is costing him close to $20,000.

Out in the Mariachi Plaza one recent morning, Ramirez went around with a clipboard, collecting signatures to have the event canceled. That petition, along with another from business owners, will be submitted to Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar.

The council member’s office has expressed concern over the theme and plans to follow up with city agencies in charge of issuing race permits.

“We have to adhere to people’s opinions, and as it stands, this event does not have community support,” spokesman Rick Coca said.

On 1st Street, some businesses and mariachi said they would like to see the event take place.

Teodoro Cuevas, 74, thinks his fellow musicians are being too sensitive and too possessive of the plaza, which is a public space.

“These guys are always complaining about something,” the base player said. “This is a fun event and it’s free publicity for us. We should be grateful.”

A few steps away at La Casa del Mariachi, Jorge Tello, the mariachi’s tailor for more than 30 years, is trying to stay neutral.

He said he had no problem allowing Gaspar to place race fliers in his shop, and he doesn’t see how such an event could hurt his business.

But as a mariachi tailor — who often scolds local musicians if they look the least bit disheveled — his only hope is that the runners won’t get too out of control with their outfits.

“To a certain point,” he said, “the mariachi suit must always be respected.”

11852: Clippers Recruit Dick Parsons.

USA TODAY reported former Citigroup and Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons was selected to serve as Los Angeles Clippers CEO, replacing owner Donald Sterling. Not sure if this move will offset the Offensive Karma that Sterling generated.

Dick Parsons, ex-Time Warner boss, tapped as interim Clippers CEO

By Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports

The NBA went business class in picking the Los Angeles Clippers’ interim CEO.

Former Citigroup and Time Warner chairman Dick Parsons was selected to run the Clippers in the aftermath of the lifetime ban of Donald Sterling, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Friday. The NBA took control of the Clippers in order to place Parsons in charge as the league proceeds with its plan to force Sterling to sell the team.

“Like most Americans, I have been deeply troubled by the pain the Clippers’ team, fans and partners have endured,” Parsons said in a news release. “A lifelong fan of the NBA, I am firmly committed to the values and principles it is defending, and I completely support Adam’s leadership in navigating the challenges facing the team and the league. The Clippers are a resilient organization with a brilliant coach and equally talented and dedicated athletes and staff who have demonstrated great strength of character during a time of adversity.”

Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii in the late 1960s. He stepped from Albany Law School into a successful career in law and later corporate management. He has been CEO of Dime Bancorp in addition to his run as president and then CEO of Time Warner from 1995 through 2008. He was Citigroup chairman from 2009 through 2012.

“I believe the hiring of Dick Parsons will bring extraordinary leadership and immediate stability to the Clippers organization,” Silver said in a news release. “Dick’s credentials as a proven chief executive speak for themselves and I am extremely grateful he accepted this responsibility.”

Sterling, the owner who made racist statements to a female friend on an audio recording that went public April 26, is barred from any contact with his team or the NBA, and Silver has pushed the NBA’s Board of Governors to force him to sell his team. But Sterling is expected to fight, and wife Shelly Sterling is interested in keeping her stake the franchise even if Donald Sterling is forced to sell, USA TODAY Sports’ Brent Schrotenboer reported Thursday.

11845: NAACP’s Leon Jenkins Resigns.

The Los Angeles Times reported Los Angeles NAACP President Leon Jenkins resigned his position over ties to Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling. Damn, Jenkins almost makes Sterling look like a choirboy.

Head of L.A. NAACP quits over ties to Donald Sterling

By Angel Jennings

The head of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP resigned Thursday after coming under scrutiny for the organization’s ties to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

In a letter, Leon Jenkins said the “legacy, history and reputation of the NAACP is more important to me than the presidency. In order to separate the Los Angeles NAACP and the NAACP from the negative exposure I have caused … I respectfully resign my position as president of the Los Angeles NAACP.”

The group granted Sterling an award in 2009, the same year the real estate magnate paid $2.73 million to settle U.S. government claims that he refused to rent his apartments to Latinos and blacks in Koreatown. The chapter was set to give Sterling a second award when a recording emerged in which a man, determined by the NBA to be Sterling, asked a female friend not to publicly associate with African Americans.

In 1988, while he was a judge in Detroit, Jenkins was indicted on federal bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud and racketeering charges, according records from the State Bar of California.

Authorities at the time alleged that Jenkins received gifts from those who appeared in his court and committed perjury, the records show. He was acquitted of criminal charges. But in 1994 the Michigan Supreme Court disbarred him, finding “overwhelming evidence” that Jenkins “sold his office and his public trust,” according to the bar records. The court made the ban retroactive to 1991.

Jenkins was practicing law in California that year, serving as an attorney for the family of Latasha Harlins, an African American teenager who was fatally shot by a Korean grocery store owner in South Los Angeles, according to Times reports.

In 1995, the state bar began looking into the misconduct allegations from Michigan. He was disbarred in 2001, according to the state bar. He tried to be reinstated in 2006 but was rejected, records show. He made another attempt in 2012.

Earlier this month, the bar turned him down, questioning whether he had the “moral fitness to resume the practice of law,” according to records. The bar stated that he made misrepresentations on divorce papers and on his petition for reinstatement to the bar. Officials claimed he failed to disclose a $660,000 loan he owed former legal clients.

In his efforts to win back his law license, Jenkins said he was a rehabilitated man and a force for good in the community.

He said he raised $2 million for the NAACP’s 2011 national convention in Los Angeles. He also cited work with organizations that helped African Americans, including youth mentoring programs and voter outreach.

He presented 13 character witnesses to speak about his character and honesty.

Jenkins did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. On Tuesday, the national office of the NAACP sent a memo to all the chapters, including the 52 branches in California, urging them to not speak to the media. Numerous attempts to contact the organizations have not been returned. One NAACP member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said officials were aware of Jenkins’ past legal issues. But because he was cleared of criminal charges, they didn’t see a problem with giving him a leadership role, the source said.

On the Los Angeles NAACP’s website, a biography of Jenkins notes he was “the youngest African American judge to serve in Michigan” but does not mention his legal troubles.

Details of Jenkins’ history in Michigan were first reported Tuesday by Deadline Detroit and the Michigan Citizen.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Jenkins said he didn’t cut ties with Sterling until now because the group was reluctant to make decisions based on rumors.

“We deal with the actual character of the person as we see it and as it is displayed,” he said.

The NAACP tried to build partnerships with other sports franchises in Southern California, Jenkins added, but “his organization was the only one that really came to the front.”

The chapter had recently been talking to Sterling about giving an endowment to Los Angeles Southwest College and donating more money to African American students at UCLA.

The chapter was prepared to honor Sterling at a gala in May. Newspaper ads for the event recently appeared, featuring photos of Sterling and Jenkins with the headline: “Two Leaders. One Unprecedented Event.”

In the wake of the controversy, an online petition was launched to suspend the Los Angeles chapter.

11841: Sterling Loses Lifetime Award.

In addition to receiving a lifetime ban from the NBA, Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling will also lose a “Lifetime Achievement Award” that the NAACP was set to give him. Why, that’s nearly as outrageous as Rev. Al Sharpton celebrating the NAACP’s Centennial with Ogilvy.

NAACP to tighten up award policies amid Sterling scandal

By Bruce Golding

The NAACP announced Tuesday that it would issue new directives to avoid embarrassments like the since-scrapped plan to honor racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

The civil-rights group’s LA chapter was all set to give Sterling a “Lifetime Achievement Award” next month until he was caught on tape ranting at his then-girlfriend for publicly “associating with black people.”

In a statement right after Sterling’s lifetime ban from the NBA, the NAACP said: “We will be developing guidelines for our units to help them in their award selection process and prevent unfortunate decisions like this from occurring in the future.”

Interim NAACP President Lorraine Jenkins announced Sunday that Sterling would not be honored, as had been planned, at the LA chapter’s upcoming 100th anniversary gala.

She also issued a statement saying “we have strongly urged our Los Angeles unit to take the necessary steps to rescind the previous award they bestowed on him.”

At a Monday news conference, LA chapter President Leon Jenkins said Sterling “has given out a tremendous amount of scholarships, he has invited numerous African-American kids to summer camps, and his donations are bigger than other sports franchises.”

Jenkins, however, called Sterling’s recorded comments “devastating” and “off the scale,” adding: “I think that when you say things like that, you have to pay a price.”

He said his group planned to return an unspecified amount of donations it had received from Sterling.

But Jenkins said he would not demand that Sterling return the “humanitarian award” the group gave him in 2009.

“This is not a Heisman Trophy, dude,” Jenkins said.