16068: Translating The Meaning Of Multicultural Agency Of The Year.

 

Adweek named Translation the 2022 Multicultural Agency of the Year. Interestingly enough, in a recent interview with Advertising Age, Translation Founder-CEO Steve Stoute expressed unhappiness with being labeled a ‘multicultural’ shop. To sloppily paraphrase the man, Stoute contends that what Adland defines as the ‘General Market’ is multicultural. This, incidentally, echoes what nearly every ‘multicultural’ practitioner has insisted for generations. Yet they remain pigeonholed and fed crumbs. Unfortunately, ‘multicultural’ really means minority. And in Adland—the bastion of systemic racism—minority translates to marginalized.

16052: The Advertising Age DEI Council Counsels On Cultural Competence…?

Advertising Age presented its DEI Council, described as follows:

 

Ad Age’s DEI Council brings together some of the most influential leaders from the marketing, agency, media and tech worlds to act in an advisory role to ensure the publication is representing the viewpoints and exploring the critical issues of people of various racial, ethnic, social and economic backgrounds. The council, launched in fall of 2020, regularly meets with the Ad Age editorial staff to take a candid look at the publication’s coverage, as well as events programming, all with the goal of advancing diversity and inclusion within the newsroom.

 

Interesting how Ad Age mirrors the industry it covers. That is, the trade publication saw fit to assemble a DEI Council in 2020. Of course they did. And it’s a safe bet that council members are offering their services pro bono—or accepting crumbs. Heaven forbid Ad Age might show a progressive bent by, say, diversifying its editorial staff.

 

(Side note: Ad Age editors ought to review what Translation CEO Steve Stoute shared on the topic during a recent interview with the publication.)

 

Finally, enough with the clichéd royalty-free stock images for minority-related content already!

16045: DE&I VPs & CDOs TTFN ASAP WTF…?

 

A previous post examined how Chief Diversity Officers—aka DE&I Human Heat Shields—tend to have brief tenures in Adland, prompting cursory exploration on the topic.

 

Apparently, the in-and-out nature of the position is not unique to the advertising industry.

 

Global executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates conducted surveys of the S&P 500 in 2018 and 2021, revealing CDO trivia, trends, and troubles. The analyzed data included:

 

• Between 2018 and 2022, the overall proportion of companies with CDOs grew only slightly from 47% to 52%

 

• The average CDO tenure was 1.8 years in 2021—versus 3.1 years in 2018

 

• About 60% of 2018 CDOs have bailed out of their cubicles—and most of them abandoned the CDO track entirely for other professional pursuits

 

• Roughly 18% of current CDOs have prior experience in the role—versus 26% in 2018

 

It’s hard to guess how the Russell Reynolds Associates survey results might apply to the situation in Adland. But MultiCultClassics reckons that things are probably worse—especially in typical White advertising agencies where first-ever titles are routinely fabricated and awarded for outsiders or resident people of color.

 

Russell Reynolds Associates also recommended key actions, most of which have been echoed ad nauseam by Human Heat Shields and roundly ignored by White advertising leaders. Translation CEO Steve Stoute, incidentally, may have expressed the solutions more succinctly than anyone to date. Although Sanford Moore’s 2009 exposition maintains validity.

 

In summation, CDO is a short-lived job whose death is directly impacted by the level—i.e., lack—of involvement that Whites bring to the proceedings. And for Adland, White clients must be added to the equation too, as they are co-conspirators in perpetuating exclusivity. Delegating diversity remains the diversionary tactic of choice for culturally clueless cowards and latent racists.

16032: Steve Stoute Spouts On Diversity In Adland.

 

Advertising Age Editor Jeanine Poggi spoke with Translation CEO Steve Stoute, recording and posting a video of the conversation.

 

The final 3-4 minutes are definitely worth viewing, as Poggi probes Stoute for his thoughts on diversity in Adland. When asked what he thinks it will take to make progress, Stoute replied:

 

“Real accountability. Real, real accountability. Not convenient accountability. Not having [or] hiring a Black person that’s the DEI person and then saying the DEI person is there to police it.

 

“Diversity and inclusion starts with the CEO. And if a company needs to hire a DEI officer, it’s because they need to police themselves—and that’s a problem.

 

“The CEO’s job is to hire and bring forth a culture in which diversity is par for the course. It’s how we hire… it’s how we build the organization… it’s what you demand. And if you have to bring in someone to police that, I don’t believe that’s gonna necessarily change anything because they’re policing you. And holding you accountable for what you should be doing anyway. It should be in your heart. It should be part of your fabric. I just believe that.

 

“So, unless the brands again hold their partners accountable for this, I don’t think anything changes in any seismic way. Having one or two Black people or woman that you can bring to a meeting to say, “Look, we’re diverse…” I mean, that trick is old. And I still see it happening in meetings that I go to. It’s diversity to say that you’re diverse—not diversity because you believe in it as a value within your organization.”

 

14555: Steve Stoute States Status Quo Must Stop.

Adweek published a perspective from Translation Founder and CEO Steve Stoute, who declared, “Fixing Advertising’s Diversity Problem Shouldn’t Fall to Minorities.” Agreed. Yet it appeared that Black History Month presented lots of delegating diversity opportunities, as Blacks were seemingly tasked with commenting on the lack of industry inclusion. Meanwhile, the Whites ultimately perpetuating the problem were conspicuously silent.

Fixing Advertising’s Diversity Problem Shouldn’t Fall to Minorities

Doing this additional work isn’t in their job descriptions

By Steve Stoute

Let’s talk about what diversity is not.

Diversity is not hiring a person of color or a female executive to save a predominantly white company from public backlash.

Diversity is not recruiting culture creators from different ethnicities to serve as global ambassadors of top companies in exchange for checks that represent only a fraction of the profit their influence will generate.

In regard to preeminent awards shows, diversity is not just appointing a few prominent people of color to the jury.

For instance, there are 27 juries at Cannes Lions this year, and I am one of only four persons of color serving as a jury president. So while I’m proud to play my part in pushing culture forward at the festival, I recognize that there is still a long way to go.

Setting the benchmark for best-in-class communications across many forms, Cannes also has a responsibility to set a benchmark in diversity. Cannes, like the advertising industry at large, has no diversity legacy. As a result, too many talented young men and women don’t believe there is a space or potential for them in the business.

The only true way to reflect the world you’re aspiring to shape is to embrace diverse backgrounds and perspectives. It’s the only way to understand cultural codes, tap into a range of emotions, grasp the issues impacting different communities and understand how messages are best communicated across different groups.

Advertising is rooted in developing a deep understanding of the shared values that define a generation. It’s about being authentically tuned into an ethos that transcends demographics.

This understanding is expressed through stories, conversations and experiences that translate the relationship between culture and commerce. A win in the new economy isn’t measured by clever campaigns or units purchased; it’s measured by authenticity and cultural equity.

This thinking also applies to an awards jury. Standing at the forefront of an industry with such tremendous global influence and power, it’s critical for Cannes to embrace diversity in all its forms.

Leaders everywhere must see value in doing things differently and do what it takes to change. This is even more true for the ad and music industries because they are businesses rooted in culture, and the culture is demanding change.

However, it’s still difficult to find diverse talent in advertising because diversity is undervalued and misunderstood within an industry that traditionally requires a marketing degree, years of experience and climbing the corporate ladder. For years, it has also required assimilating into a uniform industry culture.

That structure needs to change. The same talent that has been shut out, overlooked or, frankly, intimidated must now drive it: the storytellers, the design thinkers, the artists, multi-hyphenates, the tastemakers and other unconventional creative leaders.

I started in the music business, which has more diversity in relation to artists, yet like advertising, it needs more diversity at the top. Coming from music and specifically working within hip-hop culture, it was always understood that these diverse groups were invaluable contributors.

Embracing diversity forces companies out of comfort zones, out of silos and breaks them out of every other narrow way of operating that leads to the missteps and failures we’ve repeatedly seen companies make. Every creative industry is evolving to take on a new identity in the digital era, so now is the perfect time to stop being trapped in tradition, terrified of transferring power, and open the door for more diversity across the board.

Otherwise, to quote Shuri in Black Panther, advertising becomes “another broken white boy for us to fix.”

Steve Stoute founder and CEO of UnitedMasters and Translation.

13269: Black Voices Matter…?

Responding in part to the phenomena of Black Lives Matter, Advertising Age interviewed Translation Founder and CEO Steve Stoute, Amusement Park Entertainment CEO and Chief Creative Officer Jimmy Smith, 135th Street Agency Founder and CEO Shante Bacon and MING Utility and Entertainment Group President Tara DeVeaux. Here’s an excerpt from Stoute’s statements:

At the root of any societal issue is human truth, especially those truths we find hard to confront. The advertising business has always been about telling stories around human truths, and making those stories accessible to and consumable by the masses.

Today, the truth is that racism is alive and well in this country. The truth is that due to ignorance, lack of education and socially conditioned prejudice, the value of a black life is still being questioned.

How can we as a community come together to speak out against racial injustice, when we perpetuate that very injustice within the walls of our own agencies? We can never properly use the power of this platform as long as the industry continues to perpetuate the same cycle while justifying a lack of diversity not only throughout hiring practices, but in the work that we create.

Just take a look at the numbers—only about 5.85% of the advertising world is made up of African-Americans, and it is the only minority group to have seen a decrease in representation over the last four years. African-American men are one the most underrepresented groups in the entire industry, at just 2.58%. It doesn’t have to be this way.

I want to challenge all agency leads to execute a company-wide diversity check and strategize on creating pathways to improve the diversity of their staff and by extension, the creative. This is not just about diversity in terms of race, but a diversity of perspective.

African-Americans, women and other minorities have so many barriers to entry, and if those walls were torn down, they would bring so much to this community and to the work. In these trying times, we must come together to end racism in all of the places it lives. We cannot be afraid to start that fight in our own backyards.

Does Advertising Age’s decision to create and publish such content help from a diversity standpoint? It’s hard to say. In an industry where cultural cluelessness is so prevalent, White people might not even know how to process the color commentary. Not sure why Advertising Age kept the conversation segregated. Given the Wieden + Kennedy response to recent events, it would have been interesting to get Dan Wieden’s viewpoint—which would hopefully be more thoughtful than gasping, “Now that’s fucked up!” Or maybe have Jeff Goodby wonder, “Why are all the Black people getting shot?”

12351: Highlighting 14 In 2014.

It wasn’t easy to find 14 highlights in the advertising industry for 2014, but here goes (in no particular order):

1. Artist/Writer/Recovering Adman Lowell Thompson marched on.

2. The Marcus Graham Project Infographic exposed the exclusive state of affairs on Madison Avenue.

3. Pam El was drafted by the NBA as the league’s new CMO.

4. Dawn Hudson was drafted by the NFL as the league’s new CMO.

5. Jerry Seinfeld dissed the advertising industry at the CLIO Awards—unintentionally proving to be prophetic with his ultra-lame Acura campaign featuring a Black guy.

6. The Advertising Standards Council of India created mandates barring spots that portray dark-skinned people negatively.

7. Roy Eaton delivered the best 3.5 minutes you’ll spend all year.

8A and 8B. Issa Rae and Living a Creative Life enlivened Here Are All The Black People.

9. Commonground/MGS was unveiled as a new holding group comprised of eight independent, minority-owned agencies.

10. Ogilvy & Mather South Africa CEO Abey Mokgwatsane examined three macro drivers contributing towards a very vibrant South African ad industry: talent diversity, digital migration and the changing role of South Africa as a gateway to the rest of Africa.

11. MediaCom UK CEO Karen Blackett was named “most influential Black person in Britain” on the Powerlist 2015.

12. David&Goliath President Brian Dunbar declared, “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.”

13. Despite a rough year, Steve Stoute and Translation rebounded by winning the NBA shootout.

14. Team Epiphany may be the most diverse enterprise in the advertising industry.

12297: Translation Wins NBA Shootout.

Advertising Age reported the NBA alley-ooped its account to Translation, and the beleaguered shop slam-dunked over 20-year incumbent Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Did NBA CMO Pam El take Jeff Goodby’s sage advice when making her decision? Probably not. To his credit, Translation Founder Steve Stoute has shown strength in his ability to create and capitalize on relationships. He apparently used such skills to once woo Anheuser-Busch InBev U.S. Marketing VP Paul Chibe and win beer business. Stoute’s ties to El when she worked at State Farm—as well as his connections to the New Jersey Nets—were clearly enough to outplay GS&P and R/GA in the shootout.

Goodby certainly can’t cry foul, as he’s benefitted from relationships to originally nab Chevy; plus, he’s picked up lots of business for being an indentured servant in Omnicom. And if Goodby’s still asking, “Where are all the Black people?” well, one of them just beat his ass in hoops.

NBA Taps Translation After Review

Incumbent Goodby Had Been Working With NBA for 20-plus Years

By Maureen Morrison

The National Basketball Association has tapped Translation to handle creative after a review.

A spokeswoman for the league confirmed the win, calling the shop the “primary agency” for creative. The scope of the work, however, is yet to be determined, the spokeswoman said.

The account had been at Omnicom’s Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the NBA’s agency of record since 2007, though the shop has worked with the association for more than 20 years. The review process was overseen by Hasan & Co.

Goodby declined to comment. Translation couldn’t be immediately reached.

It’s not immediately clear whether the review will result in another agency of record relationship or whether the association will move to soliciting work on a project basis from the winning shop.

The review began less than three months after Pam El was named the NBA’s new chief marketing officer. Previously she had been at State Farm for 11 years, most recently as exec VP-marketing. Ms. El is familiar with Translation through State Farm; the shop handles some advertising for the marketer.

Goodby’s last campaign for the NBA was the work themed “Everybody Up,” which began in the current season. Ms. El said in October that the league will be more aggressive in its marketing moving forward, an effort to lure more casual fans.

In 2013, the NBA spent $93.6 million on measured media, a figure that includes ads promoting the NBA TV cable channel, as well as plugging the WNBA, according to Kantar Media.

12274: Translation Loses Beer Business.

Advertising Age reported Anheuser-Busch InBev cut its ties with Steve Stoute and Jay-Z of Translation, ultimately handing the shop’s duties to White advertising agencies BBDO and Anomaly. Translation is clearly going though tough times, with leadership shifts and account losses. It doesn’t help that the place has never produced consistently decent work. Having access to celebrity talent—even with an industry that loves hip hop—doesn’t equate to professional, sustainable success. Otherwise, Will.i.am would be the next Bill Bernbach.

A-B InBev Ends Relationship With Translation

The Shop Was Lead Agency for ‘Made in America’

By E.J. Schultz

Anheuser-Busch InBev has cut its final ties with Translation, which has served as the lead ad agency for Budweiser’s much-hyped Made in America summer music festival curated by Jay Z.

The shop first won its way on to the brewer’s roster in 2011 and was named lead agency for Bud Light in 2012. BBDO won the Bud Light account in 2013. Translation managed to hang onto Bud Light line extensions like Platinum until earlier this year, until BBDO took that business too.

That left Translation with only the Made in America business. The shop, founded by former music exec Steve Stoute, played a key role in the 2012 launch of the Made in America event, which has served as a key plank in the brewer’s millennial marketing strategy. The concert originally was staged in Philadelphia and was expanded to Los Angeles this year.

Anomaly, which is the lead shop for Budweiser, will assume Made in America duties, according to an A-B InBev spokeswoman. Asked about what the move means for the brewer’s partnership with Jay Z, she said: “We have an ongoing, global relationship with Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter. It will continue.”

She described the consolidation with Anomaly as a “synergy” move that was not tied to Translation’s performance. Mr. Stoute did not immediately reply to an email for comment. The brewer has yet to announce plans for the 2015 music festival. Other organizations that have been involved with the festival include Jay Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, and Live Nation.

12158: Translation Terminates Trio.

AgencySpy reported Translation may have cut President Nils Peyron (pictured above between Steve Stoute and John Norman) and ECDs Marc d’Avignon and Jay Berry—and the the trio had only clocked a few months at the shop. Wonder if Jay-Z canned the executives. Could anything be more embarrassing than getting dumped at Translation by Jay-Z—except maybe receiving a creative pink slip from Will.i.am?

11909: Kanye At Cannes.

Adweek highlighted Kanye West’s perspectives at Cannes, which included comparing himself to the late Steve Jobs and his mandate “to work with the No. 1.” As always, West is only looking out for No. 1. Also as always, our industry is only interested in hearing from Blacks who are award-winning recording artists—or who have access to such celebrities as Steve Stoute does. Hiring Blacks is another story.

11908: The Tanning Of Cannes.

A Cannes seminar slated for Tuesday will feature Translation Founder and CEO Steve Stoute and Kanye West. Not sure which of the two is less qualified to be participating in a Cannes seminar.

11816: Translation Gobbledygook.

AgencySpy reported Translation is shuttering its Chicago office. Founder and CEO Steve Stoute wrote:

“As an agency our mission has always been to provide exceptional service to our clients, and to bring purpose and precision to our creative output. With the recent additions of President Nils Peyron and CCO John Norman in New York, and always with an eye toward the long-term growth of our organization, we have made the decision to bring our team together in New York and close Translation’s Chicago office. This was a hard choice for all of us, but one that will strengthen the agency immediately and for years to come.”

Is Stoute evolving into a bona fide adman? To construct a sentence that starts with “long-term growth” and ends with the announcement of an office closure is about as corporate as it gets. And adding that the move “will strengthen the agency immediately” sorta indicates there are serious financial problems at the shop—plus, it delivers a slap in the face to the Chicago staffers now seeking employment. Wonder if the severance packages included Jay-Z music collections.

11753: Stoute Hires New Leaders.

From Adweek…

Steve Stoute Adds New Leaders to Translation

Fills the roles of president, creative chief

By Andrew McMains

Steve Stoute is restocking his leadership ranks at Translation with veterans of the agency and marketer worlds.

Joining as president is Nils Peyron, a former account leader at McCann Erickson and Ogilvy & Mather who most recently was chief marketing officer at Toms shoes. Peyron fills a vacancy left by the November 2012 exit of Leeann Leahy.

John Norman, meanwhile, is coming aboard as partner and chief creative officer. In the creative role, Norman, who has been CCO of TBWA\C\D in Playa del Rey, Calif. since August 2012 [see related story here], succeeds Chris Cereda, who left Translation in the spring of 2013.

Norman and Peyron become part of a management team that includes chief strategy officer John Greene and Stoute, the founder and CEO. The New York-based agency works for the likes of State Farm, Anheuser-Busch InBev, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

Reflecting on his new leaders, Stoute said, in a statement, that “John and Nils get what we are: a nimble, innovative partner to companies who want to update or overhaul their brands without losing the essence of who they are.”

Stoute added that “with my business acumen, John’s creative talent and Nils’ management style, we will build a world-class creative agency unlike anything this industry has ever seen.”

11669: MultiCultClassics Year In Review.

To kick off 2013, Marcus Graham Project Executive Director and Co-Founder Lincoln Stephens told everyone How to Solve Adland’s Diversity Problem. Twelve months later, there’s little evidence that anyone followed—or even read—the straightforward advice. In January, Translation Founder and CEO Steve Stoute was named Executive of the Year by Advertising Age. In June, Stoute’s shop was unceremoniously dumped by Bud Light via an act of cronyism that could be called Buddy Light. Michael Houston elevated to Chief Executive of Grey North America, becoming one of the few Blacks to land in the executive suites of White agencies without also being a recording artist like Alicia Keys, John Legend and honorary Clio recipient Will.i.am. The Richards Group—those wonderful folks who gave you talking vaginas—applied their cultural cluelessness to Dodge RAM and made farming look as exclusive as Madison Avenue. Speaking of exclusivity, Adweek’s Young Influentials of media, marketing, technology and consumer brands featured a single Black person who has never worked in media, marketing, technology or consumer branding. Of course, Donald Glover is a writer, actor, rapper, comedian and producer, which means he’ll probably become a brand ambassador in 2014. OgilvyCULTURE staged a Cross-Cultural Roundtable without a round table or cross-cultural participation (i.e., there were no Whites present). Laurence Boschetto’s declaration that by 2014 Draftfcb would be an agency that no longer used the term “diversity and inclusion” remains a dream deferred, as the visionary was discharged of his duties. The Anti-Defamation League asked us to Imagine a World Without Hate through a commercial imagined and executed by an agency whose leadership is virtually devoid of people of color. Mark LaNeve is still an asshole. The race discrimination lawsuit against IPG ended after the jury deliberated in 11 minutes—roughly the same amount of time IPG has dedicated to diversity since launching in 1960. White women whining increased a few decibels thanks to the ADC’s patronizing 50/50 initiative, alleged shock over the lack of female Cannes jurors and a lame letter containing womanly wisdom that included, “Don’t be a dick.” However, Goodby Silverstein & Partners Co-Founder Rich Silverstein engineered an elaborate search for an executive assistant, reeling in at least 4,500 applications before selecting a White woman. “Vive la Nepotism!” seems to be the motto of Paris-based holding company Havas. Cheerios served up a biracial bambino and Bee-Boys. Annie the Chicken Queen emulated Mary J. Blige by singing about fried chicken. Omnicom Overlord John Wren was inexplicably saluted as a Pioneer of Diversity. True advertising pioneer Bill Sharp passed away in July. The Publicis Groupe-Omnicom merger was unveiled with fanfare, festivities, figuring and fun. In contrast, the Cross Cultural Marketing and Communications Association started with an apathetic shrug. Where are all the Black people who thought it would be cool to have Cornel West preach at the annual (W)here Are All The Black People? Advertising Week allowed folks to feign interest in diversity for nearly one week. Blog Action Day allowed MultiCultClassics to view the industry’s dearth of diversity as a human rights issue. Total Market appears to be Total Bullshit. And finally, total bullshit is what New York City Comptroller John Liu has repeatedly received from Omnicom and Pioneer of Diversity John Wren.

11514: Meet Super-Creative Steve Stoute.

Business Insider invited visitors to Meet The 24 Most Creative People In Advertising Right Now—and the number 15 slot was filled by Steve Stoute. Really? Stoute deserves praise for landing accounts and assignments typically denied to advertising professionals of color; however, his shop has yet to consistently produce breakthrough creative. The Business Insider story claimed, “Perhaps nobody embodies the integration of hip-hop culture into the mainstream [better] than Steve Stoute, whose book ‘The Tanning of America’ covers that very subject.” Okay, that explains the dubious honor. Even trade websites love hip hop.

11227: Combs At Cannes.

Adweek reported on a Cannes event starring Sean Combs and Translation CEO Steve Stoute. Guess it shows that the festival has degenerated into a promotional venue—as Combs and Stoute are hardly eligible candidates for Lions. Then again, the majority of Cannes visitors fall into the same category. It’s also rather pathetic for Combs to be lecturing adpeople, especially given his questionable work in the arena. But as the Adweek article implies, Combs and Stoute are probably good for an afterparty or two.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Pitches Revolt and Tells Advertisers How To Be Cool

‘I’m extremely immature’

By Lisa Granastein

CANNES, France—After holding court Tuesday night on the Croisette with media and advertising moguls (and an afterparty or two), Sean “Diddy” Combs was all business today, taking the main stage at Cannes Lions with Translation CEO Steve Stoute to pitch the fall launch of his music cable network, Revolt TV, and give his take on how he successfully reaches millennials—or kids, as he prefers to call them.

The Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group founder and CEO said the decision by MTV seven years ago to stop playing music videos, the explosion of digital media and his own proven ability to tap into what’s cool are what helped make Revolt a reality.

“There was no longer a platform for musical artists to trust with their art and with their creativity, and also no place that was covering music [as ESPN covered sports and CNN covered news],” Combs explained. “For music, you just had to go into the abyss or the stratosphere with no plan, no destination. I was trying to get myself booked on Dancing with the Stars, because there was no place for me to go to tell my story.”

Revolt “will be authentic and speak their language,” he said of its coverage of artists. “I want to celebrate who they really are … Cool is priceless.”

This will be the first TV network built with social layers. Revolt also promises to help advertisers connect with up-and-coming artists in order to leverage strategic marketing partnerships. If you look at Twitter, top shows in the U.S. and globally are music-related, he said. “That’s a lot of power.”

Asked by Stoute about which marketers and brands inspire him, Combs pointed to those that are disruptive, risk takers and draw emotion, including Richard Branson and the new Jay-Z Samsung campaign. “I hate watching commercials just like everybody else,” he said, to big laughs. “The truth shall set you free. So, I’m here to tell the truth, alright. That’s why the best creatives win awards here. And if you ain’t going to be great, you need to go home and get the fuck out of here!”

Marketers need to stay fresh and relevant if they want to successfully target millennials, he said. “These kids are extremely, extremely smart. They don’t like no B.S., and they don’t like a one-way street,” he said, offering the example of launching a corporate Facebook page two years late. “That’s not being part of the culture, or what’s important to them. One of the mistakes is that brands don’t listen enough to what’s important to this generation. There’s a way that you can advertise to them, and also a way to empower them. If you empower them, you’ll get your return 10 times forward.”

Combs has his own way of staying fresh and reaching kids. “I’m extremely immature,” he joked. “I’m a child in a grown man’s body. I’m actually at the party. I’m at the festival.” He also said he keeps a lot of kids around him, asks a lot of questions and sometimes eavesdrops on their conversations. It also helps that he has six children, who are all under the age of 22. “I have a perfect research team living in the house.”

As for the naysayers who say others have tried and failed at music networks, Combs said that most importantly, his network will be “social by design” and global.

“It’s a dream, man. All I can do is get up in the morning and try to make it possible,” he said. “So, I wish myself luck.”

10983: Bud Light Hires Pop Star.

Advertising Age reported Justin Timberlake will be the new sell-out creative and musical curator for Bud Light Platinum. Is that anything like Barbara Lippert being hired by Jeff Goodby as a Curator of Pop Culture? “Bud Light Platinum brings a refined, discerning aesthetic to beer that plays well with what I’m doing,” said Timberlake. “I’m looking forward to not only being a part of the creative process, but in bringing other talented musicians to the forefront as well.” Right. Looking forward to music video outtakes intercut with beer pours and bottle shots. Anheuser-Busch VP-U.S. Marketing Paul Chibe gushed, “Justin Timberlake is one of the greatest creative minds in the entertainment industry, and his insights will help us further define Bud Light Platinum’s identity in the lifestyle space. … Since launching Bud Light Platinum last year, we’ve worked to align the brand closely with music, including leveraging tracks by Kanye West and Avicii in our first ads. Partnering with Justin as he makes his return to music brings a new level of relevance and credibility to the brand.” Spoken like a true star fucker. Has Bud Light produced anything in the past year that comes close to rivaling the brand’s iconic campaigns of the past? The “new level of relevance and credibility” is actually at an all-time low.

Justin Timberlake Is the New Face of Bud Light Platinum

A-B InBev Partners With Singer for Marketing Campaign; First Ad to Roll Out During the Grammys

By E.J. Schultz, Rupal Parekh

Bud Light Platinum is trying to bring some sexy back to the beer aisle.

The A-B InBev brand—a line extension with higher alcohol content that launched last year aimed at nighttime party drinkers—has inked a deal with singer Justin Timberlake, who will star in ads and serve as a creative and musical curator for the brand.

Mr. Timberlake’s debut ad for Platinum will run during the 55th annual Grammy Awards, which will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday. The partnership comes after the singer released “Suit and Tie,” the first single from his upcoming third third solo album, “The 20/20 Experience,” which marks his return to the studio after a six-year hiatus (during which there was speculation from fans that he might abandon music in order to focus on acting).

The ad, a 60-second spot dubbed “Platinum Night,” will feature “Suit and Tie.”

“Bud Light Platinum brings a refined, discerning aesthetic to beer that plays well with what I’m doing,” said Mr. Timberlake in a statement. “I’m looking forward to not only being a part of the creative process, but in bringing other talented musicians to the forefront as well.”

“Justin Timberlake is one of the greatest creative minds in the entertainment industry, and his insights will help us further define Bud Light Platinum’s identity in the lifestyle space,” said Paul Chibe, VP-U.S. marketing, Anheuser-Busch, in a statement. “Since launching Bud Light Platinum last year, we’ve worked to align the brand closely with music, including leveraging tracks by Kanye West and Avicii in our first ads. Partnering with Justin as he makes his return to music brings a new level of relevance and credibility to the brand.”

The move was brokered by Bud Light agency Translation, whose uber-connected founder Steve Stoute has worked with Mr. Timberlake in the past, linking the star to McDonald’s for its popular “I’m Loving It” campaign.

Partnering with Mr. Timberlake is part of a broader effort by A-B InBev to infuse more music in its marketing under the leadership of Mr. Chibe. Last year the brewer paired Budweiser with rapper Jay-Z, who curated and headlined a summer music festival in Philadelphia called “Made In America.” The music mogul appeared in Bud ads related to the event, which is being made into a film by Hollywood heavy hitters Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

(Jay-Z is an investor in Translation, which was founded by Mr. Stoute, a former record exec.)

Bud Light’s Super Bowl ads this year featured Stevie Wonder, while the brand’s multicultural spots by LatinWorks have spotlighted Cuban-American hip-hop artist Pitbull. Still, the most successful of A-B InBev’s Super Bowl spots this year, according to various ad scoring systems, was more of an old-school play plugging Budweiser with the brewer’s iconic Clydesdales, which returned to center stage after playing more of a supporting role in recent years. (The soundtrack for that ad was the Fleetwood Mac classic “Landslide.”)

But in an age where millennial consumers are increasingly determining the fate of big alcohol brands, the brewer seems determined to lend some urban, hipster cache to its brews with line extensions such as Budweiser Black Crown, which just hit stores, and Platinum. Both of the new beers have 6% alcohol by volume, compared with 4.2% for regular Bud Light and 5% for Budweiser.

Platinum, in particular, has a musical focus. The brand was launched in 2012 with a Super Bowl ad featuring the Kanye West song “Runaway.” And Platinum’s Twitter feed routinely links to style and music news, such as a recent tweet alerting fans to a remix of a Ludacris song.

The early returns are good, with Platinum recognized by neutral observers as a highly successful beer launch. Platinum already ranks as the 14th-largest beer brand in the U.S. with $387 million in sales at stores in the 52 weeks ending Dec. 30, according to SymphonyIRI.

But for big beer debuts, year two is always critical, as the newness buzz fades and marketers rely more on repeat purchases. The signing of Mr. Timberlake signals that A-B InBev plans to continue to pour big marketing bucks into the brand, even as it dedicates resources to Budweiser Black Crown, which got two Super Bowl ads. (From January through November of last year, the brewer spent $32.1 million in measured media on Platinum, according to Kantar Media.)

The Timberlake deal comes as the singer continues to tighten his bond with marketers of all stripes. He is an investor in Specific Media, which bought MySpace from News Corp. in 2011. (Notably, Bud Light tapped MySpace this year as a digital partner for its “Bud Light Hotel” music event in New Orleans during the Super Bowl.) In 2011, Mr. Timberlake was named a creative director at Callaway Golf. His booze experience includes launching his own tequila brand, 901 Silver. Years ago he even appeared in a responsibility ad for Budweiser when he was with ‘N Sync that can still be found on YouTube.

In making a big music play, A-B InBev is following a path taken by big soda brands. For instance, one of Coca-Cola’s long-term goals has been increasing younger fans, as part of which its launched a multi-year music-themed campaign. It also comes as the Diet Coke brand named Taylor Swift as a celebrity spokesperson and marketing partner—widely seen as Coca-Cola’s response to Beyonce being named brand ambassador for Pepsi.

10945: Stoute Nabs Exec Of The Year.

Translation Founder-CEO Steve Stoute was named Executive of the Year by Advertising Age. While Stoute’s accomplishments have been acknowledged here, the honor would gain greater value if Translation boasted a portfolio of original and outstanding work. Time will tell.

Translation Founder-CEO Steve Stoute Is Ad Age’s Executive of the Year

Former Music Exec’s ‘Outsider’ Perspective Is Highly Appealing to Clients

By Maureen Morrison

Steve Stoute might never have been in the ad business if it weren’t for space aliens.

When he helmed the urban divisions at Sony Music Entertainment and Interscope Geffen A&M Records in the early ‘90s—in the days when the music industry was still pumping out a profit—Mr. Stoute made a name for himself as a record exec, forging tight bonds with hip-hop artists and rappers. Changing careers wasn’t a consideration until one day in 1997, shortly after the release of the popular science-fiction-comedy flick “Men in Black.”

Mr. Stoute observed that the sunglasses worn by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were experiencing a surge in sales after the movie. “Everyone thought it was a coincidence, and I was like, ‘This isn’t a coincidence,’” said Mr. Stoute. “I just felt like there was an opportunity in the ad business, because clients’ ads were isolated from what was truly happening in culture.”

That sparked a newfound passion in the ad world for Mr. Stoute. While it was a leap from his entertainment background, the two fields have plenty of similarities when you consider the root of success for both: finding creative ways to penetrate the pop-culture conversation; confidence in your strategic recommendations; and a ton of connections.

Mr. Stoute checks all three of those boxes with ease.

“In the beginning, I thought they were really different,” said Mr. Stoute, a Queens native born to Trinidadian immigrants. But the more time he’s spent on Madison Avenue, the more he’s recognized similarities. “The ad business has some of the great artists, but because there are so many, it’s hard to determine the true gems. …But when you find out there is that core group [of talent], it reminds me of the record business.”

In his early days dabbling in marketing, he worked with the polarizing Peter Arnell, then at Arnell Group. From there, he set out on his own to launch a multicultural agency called Translation in 2004. Interpublic Group of Cos. bought into the model and backed him until 2011, when Mr. Stoute bought back his shares—which coincided with a decision to broaden the agency’s remit and morph Translation into a general-market agency.

You could say he’s the new-school John McGarry; it seems an impossible challenge to find someone in the agency world with a cellphone speed dial as impressive as that of Steve Stoute’s. His partner in Translation is the most-famous rapper in the world, Jay-Z; he produced Eminem’s debut album; he’s the former manager of Mary J. Blige and has worked with Lady Gaga; he was behind the McDonald’s “I’m Loving It” campaign with Justin Timberlake; and paired Wrigley with Chris Brown for a “Doublemint” jingle.

It’s not unusual to hear a rapper such as Nas or J. Cole drop his name in one of their songs. Mr. Stoute knows a bit about the fabulous life too; when not at a meeting with one of his clients, which include State Farm or Coca-Cola, he can be found out in Brooklyn at a Nets game, jetting to his weekend home in the Bahamas, or getting serenaded with “Happy Birthday” in front of thousands at U.K.’s Glastonbury music festival by Beyonce.

Mr. Stoute’s “outsider” perspective—and his ability to travel in circles that most agency execs aren’t invited into—is highly appealing to many clients.

“The fact that he, from a career standpoint, came up outside of the ad business, I think he tends to think [about marketing problems] differently,” said Paul Chibe, VP-U.S. marketing at A-B InBev. “A lot of the traditional framework of having come up in a big network shop—he’s not encumbered by that. It permits some very creative ideas to come from him and his agency, because they’re not necessarily thinking about it in a way that a big shop would be thinking about it.”

Translation was behind the idea to launch Budweiser’s Made in America music festival. Held last summer in Philadelphia, the event is a physical manifestation of Mr. Stoute’s philosophy that brands must be able to speak in one voice to younger, multicultural demographics.

His philosophy on marketing and culture was laid out in his 2011 book, “The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy,” which essentially details how urban and hip-hop culture became mainstream culture, defining how millennials view the world. To use his own words, no longer does your ethnicity predetermine your cultural values. In other words, multiple cultures are the new general market.

The book has helped him define a personal brand in the marketing world, while the strategy has helped win accounts. In 2012, the agency grew its revenue 60% and increased its head count from 70 to more than 120 employees in New York and Chicago, with work from clients like McDonald’s State Farm and A-B InBev getting general-market play. Picking up the Bud Light creative account, which was at McGarryBowen, shows that big marketers increasingly have faith in Mr. Stoute and his agency.

He’s shown he can earn their trust, but now the challenge for Mr. Stoute is proving Translation is capable of producing work that’s just as good as that of great creative agencies like Wieden & Kennedy, BBDO or CP&B.

“Entertainment is so sexy that people only pay attention to that,” said Mr. Stoute. “But I think our strategy department is the best in the industry. The thinking in our agency never gets the credit it deserves because we have a celebrity. We are first and foremost a strategic and creative shop. And second, we have a Rolodex in entertainment and sports that’s unique in the industry.”

As the founder of Translation, Mr. Stoute is tied up in the identity of the agency, but he’s spending more time recruiting talent, such as Chief Creative Officer Chris Cereda and Chief Strategy Officer John Greene. Still, he appears to have no intention of leaving anytime soon.

“I do think the business can run without me, but I don’t even spend time on that thought because I’m running the business. But we have a talented group of execs that makes me look good.”

10878: Talented Ten For 2012.

Pepper Miller STILL matters.

Harry Webber’s Obama SuperPac is superb.

Christopher Boulton is Rebranding Diversity.

Steve Stoute breaks barriers with beer.

Mark Robinson provides classic color commentary.

Jimmy Smith expands Amusement Park.

Tiffany Edwards club hops for change.

Lowell Thompson is write on.

Lincoln Stephens propels The Marcus Graham Project.

commonground deserves an uncommon honor.