Advertising Age reported on another anti-Donald Trump film created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners Founders Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein. What’s worse—a presidential candidate constantly displaying conscious bias or two White admen constantly displaying unconscious bias? Bashing Trump trumps diversity.
Campaign reported DDB Worldwide Chief Creative Officer Amir Kassaei implored Muslims to wage a “holy war” on terrorism via Twitter. Gee, can’t this warmonger limit his wrath towards conspiring judges at Cannes? But seriously, Kassaei crossed a professional line that wouldn’t be tolerated in legitimate business fields. His comments create an arguably hostile workplace for Muslim DDB staffers; plus, the call to arms could fuel the ignorance of other small-minded employees seeking murderous revenge. Then again, Omnicom sister agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners freely forces its anti-Trump political views on staffers and the public—despite the fact that Jeff Goodby has been a registered Republican. Of course, when bleeding heart activists like Kassaei and Goodby are asked to fight for diversity, you’ll barely hear a tweet.
Amir Kassaei calls for Muslims to wage ‘holy war’ against terrorists
Following the attack in France, DDB Worldwide chief creative officer makes a personal, angry plea on Facebook
By Douglas Quenqua
Amir Kassaei, chief creative officer of DDB Worldwide, took to Facebook this morning, hours after a truck loaded with weapons killed at least 83 people in Nice, France, to call upon Muslims to wage war against radical Islam.
After declaring his own atheism, Kassaei says the time has come for Muslims to rise up against the “animals” who commit murder in the name of their god. If that means war, he says, then it would be the only war worthy of the title “holy.”
As a litany of shootings and terrorist attacks have played out around the globe in recent weeks, a number of agencies and brands have performed small acts of protest or advocacy. Last week, Both Wieden+Kennedy and Hill Holliday turned their Web sites into statements of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Earlier this week, Coca-Cola ran an ad in USA Today and on digital billboards that said, “We live as many. We stand as one.” And following the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando in June, several agencies quietly began working on anti-gun campaigns that have yet to debut.
But Kassaei, who has a reputation for being outspoken, is among the few individuals from the industry to make his voice heard. Though he posted the statement to his personal Facebook page, rather than the one he maintains for business, Kassaei, who was born in Iran and raised in Germany, quickly shared it with his 18,000 Twitter followers.
DDB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adweek reported Goodby Silverstein & Partners elevated White people—including a White woman—as part of the agency’s succession plan. In 2012, Margaret Johnson became the first White woman to be named a partner at the White advertising agency. No word on any minority promotions from diversity crusader Jeff Goodby.
Goodby Silverstein Names Its Next Generation of Top Creative Leadership
First step in founders’ succession plans
By Noreen O’Leary
Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein may not be retiring just yet, but they have made their first major move toward securing a succession for the agency’s creative leadership.
Today, the Goodby Silverstein & Partners founders made Eric Kallman an executive creative director, joining ecd Margaret Johnson in running the San Francisco office’s creative department.
“This is a true reflection of how we are really working right now,” said co-chairman Goodby, 63. “Rich and I will continue in our roles as advisors and guiding hands. But Margaret and Eric are now the ones with ultimate responsibility for the work on each of our accounts. They have brought a renewed life and energy to everything we do.”
Johnson is an 18-year veteran of the agency known for award-winning work for Häagen-Dazs, HP, Nike and Logitech. She became one of the shops’s five partners in 2012.
Kallman joined GSP a year ago as creative director and associate partner, after working as an ecd and partner at Barton F. Graf 9000 in New York. Prior to that stint, Kallman worked at Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, and TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York, where he started his ad career. Over his career, Kallman has made himself a big industry name with campaigns for Old Spice (for which he created “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”), Skittles, Career Builder, Coca-Cola, Kayak, Little Caesars and Ragú.
Paul Caiozzo, who joined GS&P’s New York office as ecd in May and helped to win one of the office’s first clients, The New York Post, will continue to run the NYC creative department. (He was also the creative lead on GSP N.Y.’s Comcast spot “Emily’s Oz” which ran during the Oscars last month.)
“Margaret, Eric and Paul are the next generation of creative leaders for the agency,” said co-chairman Silverstein, 65. “I’m not going anywhere. I love coming up with ideas and playing off the young people around here but we needed to find the right people to grow the company and keep it young in spirit. We had Margaret and we just needed to find the right yin to her yang, which we did in Eric. They couldn’t be more different but they’re the right balance.”
Johnson gets credit as a strong organizational thinker and visually-driven designer in her approach to advertising. Kallman’s award-winning humor and ability to attract young talent helped earn him the promotion.
Silverstein will continue to work on accounts like Cisco and Adobe while Goodby remains involved with Comcast and California Milk Processors Board. Another agency priority for Goodby is to more actively mentor staffers. “It’s been too much sink or swim around here, too much like the Marines.”
(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)
AgencySpy published a post titled, “Translation Wins The NBA,” drawing comments that included displaying the whiny LinkedIn announcement from the sore losers at Goodby Silverstein & Partners depicted above. The White advertising agency apparently revised the announcement, retracting the whininess (depicted below).
The LinkedIn revision underscores at least two points:
1. Traditional ad agencies are digitally ignorant.
2. Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein are culturally clueless jackasses.
The first point was demonstrated in this case by GS&P posting a shitty message and thinking a quick change would make their ignorance disappear. Sorry, boys, but the World Wide Web has a way of exposing your true colors for eternity. Getting busted by AgencySpy regulars merely makes your stupidity even more embarrassing.
The second point has been demonstrated repeatedly by Messrs. Goodby and Silverstein over the years. Yet this latest instance is particularly pathetic.
What exactly was the intent behind originally stating that “Advertising is a weird business” in the LinkedIn announcement?
Was Goodby expressing deep-rooted annoyance that NBA CMO Pam El hadn’t heeded his self-centered sage advice on conducting account reviews? Heaven forbid Goodby might consider that his White Manifesto could have turned off El.
Was Goodby crying foul over Steve Stoute beating him at his own game by capitalizing on a relationship to help secure business? As MultiCultClassics previously noted, GS&P has consistently exploited relationships to snag accounts. When Chevrolet unceremoniously ejected the White advertising agency from Commonwealth, did Goodby post a snarky announcement targeting McCann? Doubt it.
Worse yet, does Goodby believe an inferior opponent beat him? Or there were some egregious flaws in the review process? If so, it clearly indicates how far Goodby has fallen—on professional, personal, spiritual and other levels.
At this point, Goodby should be quite accustomed to ass whuppings from seemingly lesser foes. GS&P was disconnected on Sprint by Team Sprint, quashed on Quaker Oats by Juniper Park, zapped on Propel Zero by Fathom Communications and chopped on Chevrolet by McCann. Being benched by the NBA in favor of Translation is just a continuation of the new normal for White advertising agencies such as GS&P. Better do something about it—or get used to it.
Most disturbing is the fact that Goodby has officially feigned concern for diversity—especially the dilemma of Black underrepresentation—in the industry. However, he appears oblivious to the profound progress exhibited by his latest defeat. Specifically, a Black-owned ad agency was not only allowed to compete against White shops for general market billings, but it actually won the business. Can Goodby see beyond his narcissism to realize his loss is a gain for adland?
C’MON WHITE MAN!
(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)
Back in August, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Co-Founder Rich Silverstein launched an elaborate help wanted ad for an executive assistant. After receiving over 4,500 applications, Silverstein wound up picking a young, White, blonde woman. Imagine that.
And he’ll probably try to win a Cannes Lion for his oh-so-clever classified.
C’MON WHITE MAN!
Meet the Woman Who Beat Out 4,500 Other Applicants for the Toughest Job in Advertising
Grace Diebel has what it takes
By Tim Nudd
It was the greatest ad seeking an executive assistant in the history of executive assistants—sending applicants from an intimidating Craigslist post through a set of ludicrous online challenges and on to many rounds of interviews (in person and in Google Hangouts).
“Rich Silverstein answers to nobody,” said the ad. “And that nobody could be you.”
A month later, we have a winner.
After receiving a staggering 4,500 applications, San Francisco agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners today revealed Rich Silverstein’s new assistant. Her name is Grace Diebel. The Fairfax, Calif., native and U.C. Davis graduate wasn’t put off by the horror stories of how demanding Silverstein can be. Like most of the applicants, she was intrigued by the creativity of the job listing and figured the work would be just as interesting.
“I could tell they were having fun with it. I thought, ‘Yeah, this guy is probably a little intimidating,’ but I wasn’t afraid,” she says in a Q&A. “I was a fan of the posters and branding-identity work that he’d done for the Golden Gate National Parks, so I thought that somebody who loved the outdoors and Marin [County] couldn’t be all that bad.”
Diebel, who was brought into the agency three times for eight separate interviews, starts this Monday. “The most important thing is that this isn’t a reality-show contest; this is a job,” she says. “And I was picked because they think I can do the job. So I’m going to do the job really well.”
Advertising Age reported Princess Cruises named Goodby Silverstein & Partners as its new lead agency. The cruise line has been handling its marketing in-house—and the company website looks like it was created in a shithouse. It’s unclear if the assignment involved a pitch, as the hiring of GSP appears to be the sole decision of recently appointed SVP of Marketing Gordon Ho. Ad Age noted that twenty-five years ago, Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein reached a major milestone when landing the Royal Viking Cruise Line account, besting mentor Hal Riney after a shootout. Today, GSP is in a titanic network, sailing off with a third-rate cruise account. Lower the lifeboats.
Goodby Silverstein & Partners Gets Princess Cruises Account
Marks a Return to the Category; Omnicom Shop’s First Big Account Was a Cruise Line
By Rupal Parekh
Twenty-five years ago, Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein got their first big break when they landed the Royal Viking Cruise Line account, which at the time spent $10 million, almost all of it print advertising.
Back then, it was a big deal—especially because they won the business in a pitch against Hal Riney, their ad mentor. Fast forward to today, and Goodby Silverstein & Partners is getting back into the cruising industry.
The Omnicom Group shop has been named lead agency for Princess Cruises and will be responsible for an integrated marketing push that launches in early 2014.
GSP was brought on by a new top marketer at the cruise line, Gordon Ho, who joined in June. He earlier in his career spent 18 years at the Walt Disney Company where he last served as executive vice president of worldwide marketing for its $4 billion Disney Studios Home Entertainment division.
“In looking for a new partner to help with our advertising and marketing growth, we wanted an agency with solid experience and proven results,” said Mr. Ho, svp-marketing, in a statement. “The team at Goodby Silverstein & Partners not only brought a strong reputation, but most importantly impressed us with their strategic thinking and the creative direction they presented to not just differentiate but distinguish the Princess Cruises brand.”
Princess has been handling the bulk of its marketing in-house though a few years ago it was working with California-based shop Ignited. The move to bring on outside advertising help comes not only as Princess is facing increased competition both in the form of promotions and new product offerings across the cruise line industry, but also as cruising overall has taken a PR hit as Carnival Cruise Lines has faced several high-profile mishaps.
“I’m not a spokesman for the industry but if you’re going to take your family to Alaska, it’s a great way to do it,” said GSP’s co-chairman, Mr. Silverstein. “In general, there’s a lot of things you can see on a cruise that you just can’t see another way. It’s a romantic way to see the world to be floating on the water. We live in places where electricity is everywhere and to be on the open water and have nothing but dark and stars—where else are you going to get that?”
He added that Princess hasn’t done “major brand advertising in some time, so we have a chance to reintroduce this brand to the travel industry and the world…with travel there are a lot of choices, and it’s our job in advertising to explain why our option is relevant.”
Can’t wait for Tuesday’s election—mostly because it’s painful to witness the poorly produced propaganda from advertising agency people.
Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein apparently pulled the embarrassingly bad video for The Future Children Project. The iconic duo undoubtedly hoped it would go viral; however, folks reacted like it was a virus. Besides being sophomoric pap, the piece represented everything President Barack Obama opposes about political advertising. The Commander-In-Chief would never have provided the tag, “I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message.” Needless to say, Goodby and Silverstein are no Clint Eastwood. And as others have pointed out, they are no Hal Riney either.
The latest mess—“Obama: Let’s Finish The Job”—comes from a concept initiated by SVA students and executed by Martin Agency CCO Joe Alexander and friends. While being a well-intentioned effort, this video may surpass The Future Children Project for offensiveness. Hyping the notion that Americans don’t leave a job half finished, the video included an image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and asked, “What if Martin Luther King decided to quit halfway up the mountain?”
If Obama would have panned the garbage by Goodby and Silverstein, how might MLK have reacted to the work of ad students and professionals? After all, the famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech was made in protest of discriminatory labor practices. Plus, MLK literally targeted prominent brands in his call for justice:
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy—what is the other bread?—Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart’s bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven’t been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on town—downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right.
It all begs questions like:
• How would MLK feel about appearing in such a video brought to you by the advertising industry?
• Has Madison Avenue made any progress in the areas of diversity and non-discriminatory hiring practices since MLK delivered speeches and led marches?
• Would MLK denounce the separate-but-unequal conditions experienced by minority advertising agencies—and perpetuated by White advertising agencies and clients?
“Obama: Let’s Finish The Job” declared, “Americans don’t quit. We finish the job.” Yet regarding diversity—the very heart of MLK’s legacy—the video’s proposition does not hold up in the U.S. advertising field. On Madison Avenue, the job is far from finished and not even halfway started. Hell, it could be argued the job hasn’t begun. And history shows the problem won’t be adequately addressed, no matter which candidate emerges victorious on Tuesday.
So long as politics are appearing in recent posts, it’s worth taking a second look at Jeff Goodby’s and Rich Silverstein’s video for The Future Children Project. Agency Spy spotlighted the piece and sparked a trashing debate of the message and messengers. Meanwhile, The Daily Caller revealed Goodby is “a registered ‘lapsed’ Republican.” Guess the extraordinarily contrived video could be called a lapse in judgment.
The Future Children Project lists Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein among the creators of its official video. After the shoot, Goodby probably encouraged the minority kids to enroll at IAM and consider careers in advertising—because, by golly, it’s just so difficult to find qualified adult candidates of color.
From the very beginning, the agency always used the building they were housed in as its identity. As it has grown and is now in multiple buildings and cities, this solution no longer was relevant, but the classic quality of those past identities needed to still play a part in the new identity. That fundamental passion for craft and design is a foundation of the agency. There had to be a sense of the old and the new in the design. … The goal was to create a new identity for the agency that would signal a new era. The design needed to work in static form as well as in motion, and ideally it should capitalise on the shorthand name for the agency: GSP. … After playing around with various renditions of the letterforms—from modern typography to more genre-specific—we arrived at a solution that was born out of classic monograms. The forms are purposely somewhat rough, in reference to hand-drawn type. But we have stripped out secondary decorative elements so it has a more modern, austere feel.
