14551: BHM 2019—Advertising Age Selects “Groundbreaking” Black Representation In Ads.

Advertising Age spotlighted “Five groundbreaking campaigns that moved the needle on black representation in ads”—presumably to honor Black History Month. Can’t help but wonder if the well-intentioned report displays unconscious revisionist history.

Spotlighting the Michael Jackson Pepsi campaign as groundbreaking for Black representation in advertising is true on certain levels, mostly in regards to crossover appeal and big-budget endorsements. Yet the article failed to mention the campaign was really initiated by the Jacksons, their managers and Entertainment Marketing & Communications International CEO Jay Coleman. Apparently, Coleman first proposed the deal to Coca-Cola. So it’s not like BBDO—Pepsi’s White advertising agency—originally hatched the inclusive innovation. Plus, the campaign is arguably not Pepsi’s most groundbreaking example of Black representation in advertising, as Edward Boyd produced pioneering campaigns that targeted and depicted Blacks about 30 years before the Jacksons arrived for the soft drink brand.

Spotlighting the Michael Jordan-Mars Blackmon Nike campaign—like the Michael Jackson Pepsi campaign—is questionable too. In this case, White advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy tapped “She’s Gotta Have It” and Academy Award Winner Spike Lee. Not sure, but didn’t Lee post the Nike campaign on the SpikeDDB website when first launching his agency?

Don’t mean to overreact, but the Pepsi and Nike campaigns are examples of White advertising agencies hijacking Black culture, which is hardly groundbreaking. And how Ad Age saluted the campaigns is not exactly the best way to celebrate Black History Month.

Spotlighting the “My Black Is Beautiful” campaign is a decent move, but the Ad Age presentation felt clumsy and culturally clueless. The trade journal wrote, “When Procter & Gamble began developing ‘My Black Is Beautiful’ in 2006, exactly what the campaign would do wasn’t fully thought out…” Really? The concept was thought out quite nicely. However, like most Black-focused initiatives, “My Black Is Beautiful” was financed by crumbs. To declare “the program was catapulted to new prominence in 2017 with the video ‘The Talk’ from BBDO” sounds insulting, especially when the White advertising agency likely enjoyed a budget and resources that Black advertising agencies never see. Plus, BBDO needed to “partner” with a Black consultant for the key insight (an insight that is common knowledge for nearly every Black family in America).

Perhaps someday Advertising Age will go beyond spotlighting groundbreaking Black representation in advertising to spotlighting groundbreaking Black representation in advertising agencies.

12406: Hoop Dream.

Adweek reported on the NBA MLK commercial from new NBA AOR Translation. For an MLK advertisement, it’s okay—but not significantly different or better than the standard MLK-Black History Month fare, including last year’s Dream Big commercial starring Miami Heat Forward-Center Chris Bosh. Plus, it’s odd to see clips featuring NBA legend Michael Jordan in this context, as he’s always been neutral on political issues involving equality and civil rights. Of course, it doesn’t help that the progress depicted in the spot is tainted by modern-day cultural cluelessness from Donald Sterling, Bruce Levenson and Danny Ferry. Now, coming up with an MLK-BHM concept incorporating those Three Stooges would demonstrate breakthrough thinking.

Ad of the Day: NBA Celebrates Its History With Audio of Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech

Spot is artful and inspiring, but will have its critics

By Andrew McMains

In its first work for the NBA, new lead creative agency Translation uses the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words to powerful effect.

Excerpts from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech serve as the backdrop for images of inclusiveness, as the league celebrates its history of firsts when it comes to breaking down racial and other barriers. Those images begin with Charlie Cooper, the first black NBA player, and end with a “We Are One” sign—a reference to how fans and players responded to racist remarks from former Clippers owner Donald Sterling last year.

In between are still photos and video of the likes of Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Yao Ming and Jason Collins, the first openly gay NBA player.

The ad breaks online today and will extend to TV during the NBA’s slate of games on Monday—Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It’s part of a broader campaign that continues into Black History Month in February and features a mentorship program for students; video vignettes about why Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams is passionate about African American history; and an NBA Inside Stuff piece about a Tuskegee Airman who was the grandfather of Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris.

So, kudos to the league for going well beyond just creating an ad.

That said, while many will find the ad artful and inspiring, don’t expect it to be universally loved. Any commercial use of King’s words—however well intentioned and well timed—is bound to draw criticism. Telecommunications company Alcatel learned this hard lesson in 2001, when it unveiled an ad from Arnold that depicted King making his famous 1963 speech but without the crowd of 250,000 that had amassed to hear it. The brand message was, “Before you can inspire, before you can touch, you must first connect.” Critics, however, recoiled at the blending of history and commerce.

By contrast, the NBA ad—while obviously designed, at least in part, to sell more tickets—feels commemorative and will run on TV for just five weeks. The league obviously got approval from King’s estate to use the audio. And it’s backing up the message of the ad with programs and actions to help the black community.

Nevertheless, some will still find fault with any commercial use of King. Even an ad as graceful as this one.

9615: Just Shoot It.

From The New York Times…

Rush to Buy New Sneakers Leads to Arrests

By Timothy Williams

Oh, the joys of holiday shopping: the eve of Christmas Eve, Air Jordans and the sting of pepper spray in the eye.

When retailers around the country put the new retro Nike Air Jordan basketball shoe on sale Friday, they were hoping for a modest last-minute boost two days before Christmas. What they got instead was a surge of shoppers so intent on buying a pair of the $180 shoes that in at least a dozen cities the police had to be summoned, and in a few cases, arrests were made.

In Charlotte, N.C., shoppers smashed glass doors to get to the sneakers. In suburban Atlanta, the police made four arrests when a crowd broke down a door to get into a store before it opened. In Richmond, Calif., a man fired a single gunshot in the air just after a mall opened. In Louisville, officers had to stop fights that popped up among a crowd of waiting shoppers. And in a suburb of Seattle, the police used pepper spray.

It wasn’t just any sneaker they were after, but the Air Jordan 11 Retro Concord, a version of the shoe Michael Jordan first wore in 1995 and was promptly fined by the National Basketball Association for failing to conform to the league’s dress-code rules. Once the model was made available to the public, it became a big seller, its black-and-white tuxedo design sometimes substituted for dress shoes.

Early Friday morning, however, police departments unaware of the shoe’s provenance were caught flat footed.

In Tukwila, Wash., south of Seattle, sneaker aficionados started showing up at the Westfield Southcenter Mall before midnight to wait for the shoes to go on sale at 4 a.m.

Mall officials had told the authorities that they expected a crowd of no more than 400 and would need only two police officers to help with security.

But within a couple of hours, 2,000 people were waiting, rather impatiently, said Mike Murphy, a spokesman for the Tukwila Police Department. Some, he said, were smoking marijuana and drinking.

“It was not a nice, orderly group of shoppers,” he said.

The city of 19,000 had only nine other officers available, Mr. Murphy said. All were called to the mall.

“Clearly that wasn’t enough to control the crowds,” Mr. Murphy said. “Fights started breaking out, so some pepper spray was used to disrupt the fighting. That stopped the fighting, but of course it agitated the crowd.”

Twenty-five extra officers from around the area were brought in, and before long things quieted down without serious injury, Mr. Murphy said.

The police said people had broken two doors to get inside the mall and that an 18-year-old was arrested for punching a police officer. Another man was told to leave after he displayed what the authorities said were gang signs.

Mr. Murphy said that by 6 a.m., the four stores in the mall that had the shoes were sold out — a total of about 1,500 pairs.

7549: Going Out.

Career changes in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Desiree Rogers resigned from her position as White House social secretary. Wonder if Tareq and Michaela Salahi will crash Rogers’ farewell party.

• New York Governor David Paterson ended his candidacy for re-election, and now must deal with an awkward 10 months remaining in his current term. Even the Salahis won’t be appearing at any Paterson parties.

• Gary Coleman suffered an apparent seizure while on the set of “The Insider.” Let’s hope he can cover the medical expenses with CashCall.

• Michael Jordan is plotting to buy the Charlotte Bobcats. MJ will likely not need assistance from CashCall.