16517: Speaking Out For Spokespeople.

 

The New York Times published a report titled, “When Being A Spokeswoman Attracts Leering Trolls,” chronicling the trials and tribulations of Milana Vayntrub, aka AT&T Store Saleswoman Lily.

 

Not to discount the traumatic turmoil experienced by Vayntrub, but it seems like the actress has garnered quite a bit of publicity from the troll-induced violation.

 

Why, she’s even received support from fellow actress-spokeswoman Stephanie Courtney, aka Progressive Saleswoman Flo. Um, no comment—except to say that Internet trolls cover a diversity of deviants.

 

At least Vayntrub got public backing from AT&T, per a company statement issued in 2020 that read: “We will not tolerate the inappropriate comments and harassment of Milana Vayntrub, the talented actor who portrays Lily in our ads. We have disabled or deleted these comments on our social content that includes Lily and we will continue to fight to support her and our values, which appreciate and respect all women.”

 

Hey, the AT&T declaration is a lot compared to the silent shrugs expressed by AB InBev and Bud Light for Dylan Mulvaney, who arguably took far more abuse than Vayntrub or Courtney—not to imply it’s a contest with varying degrees of unacceptability.

 

Given that women of color are disrespected and assaulted at much higher levels—and with far less coverage—versus White women, one can only imagine who else is facing such outrageous harassment.

 

Was Annie the Chicken Queen forced to abandon her advertising role after being abused? What about the Pine-Sol Lady and Honey Bunches of Oats spokeswoman?

 

In these times of inclusivity and gender equality, don’t forget to verify the safety of the Old Spice Man and Jake from State Farm.

 

And who knows what level of obscene behavior these spokespeople might endure on production sets from advertising agency predators.

10158: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 22.

(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)

MultiCultClassics really wanted to move on from this topic, but later felt compelled to go a final round.

Bozell Executive Creative Director Jerry Stoner just doesn’t know when to quit. At Agency Spy, former Bozell Social Influence Director Scott Bishop was roundly and rightly ripped for being a douche bag on AMC series The Pitch. As if to put an exclamation point on his questionable social media expertise, Bishop sought to engage the trolls—which is the equivalent of Karl Childers trying to hang with the Jersey Shore crew. As Bishop took further pummeling, Stoner swooped in to defend his former mate. The ECD insisted The Pitch’s editors made Bishop look completely out of character, sinisterly cutting together sound bites to misrepresent the man. Managing Principal Kim Mickelsen chimed in with backing too. Forget that Mickelsen spent most of the episode snapping at Bishop, and Stoner also criticized his coworker directly to camera. The appalling part is that Stoner was quick to declare Bishop was the victim of deliberate distortion, yet when someone suggested perhaps Jo Muse was similarly doctored, the ECD didn’t seem open to the possibility.

Additionally, at the AMC blog, Stoner “liked” comments casting Muse as a racist.

Back at MultiCultClassics, Stoner misinterpreted Muse’s position on diversity, probably in an attempt to justify his Omaha-based agency’s Whiteness.

But to top it all off, Stoner had the stones to support his perspectives by quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Wow. Just wow.

Mr. Stoner, here are two more MLK quotes to consider:

• Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

• Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

C’MON WHITE MAN!

9143: Trumping Trolls & Digital Defamation.

Gee, ReputationDefender ought to be posting its banners at AgencySpy—the service would make a fortune.

9000: Goodby Is White Bread…?

At Advertising Age, Jeff Goodby takes a shot at trolls with a fake comment thread ignited by a fake post titled, “Goodby Goes to the Store—Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Co-Chairman Spotted Buying White Bread?!” White bread? No big surprise.

8995: Anonymous Amusement.

Advertising Age published a story on “Internet Commentators” allegedly blasting industry players with anonymous negativity and nastiness. Ironically, the trade journal already covered the topic last April via anonymous columnist Creative X. And MultiCultClassics weighed in on the phenomenon way back in 2007.

The situation is nothing new. Yet the commentary from the offended continues to reveal agency leaders’ ignorance about the Internet and our industry. Here are some unedited comments in response to the Ad Age piece:

• Madison Avenue still doesn’t get the Internet. Otherwise, they’d realize that trolls are not unique to our industry. Additionally, it goes beyond ad blogs and even the World Wide Web. The global issue involves a coarsening of the culture as exemplified by the rise of tabloids, reality TV, FOX News and amateur critics.

• Madison Avenue has always been driven by anonymity. That is, adpeople do not sign their names to campaigns, as we are fabricating voices and messages for our clients. This is cool, except when clients take the heat for bungled, insensitive and offensive bullshit often rooted in agencies’ cultural cluelessness. Why don’t agencies step forward and identify themselves in these scenarios? Um, because they are cowards.

• Madison Avenue has always been fueled by gossip and backstabbing. Stroll through any BDA and you’ll see endless examples of politics, corruption, scheming, discrimination, adultery, sexual misconduct and more—usually in pursuit of increased billings or personal gain. There’s a reason why adpeople routinely rate alongside used car salesman and assorted social fiends on trustworthiness and credibility surveys.

• Madison Avenue honchos who call for banning anonymous comments are assholes. The guys staunchly defending the First Amendment rights of Big Tobacco, pharmaceutical companies, fast feeders targeting kids with junk food and other questionable advertisers now want to shut down name-callers on blogs? Please.

• Advertising Age monitors threads, deleting naughty naysayers and spam. Adweek has abandoned its scrutiny. Agency Spy has abandoned its humanity. On the flip side, George Parker, Jim Edwards and Lewis Lazare openly deliver stinging criticism. Hell, AdFreak and AdRants don’t hesitate to zing idiots. So the notion that anonymity is the problem doesn’t hold up.

• Crispin Porter + Bogusky prohibits staffers from engaging in dialogue on sites? Wish they would stop the troops from littering the Web with culturally clueless crapola too. Just a thought.

• Advertising Age suggested the “best remedy may be to ignore them.” Perhaps. But the victims of vitriol might also check the mirror to honestly examine the true inspiration for the complaints.