13143: Madison Avenue White Manslaughter.

Madison Avenue Manslaughter by Michael Farmer paints a sobering portrait of today’s advertising industry. The book’s subtitle sums up its overall perspective: An Inside View of Fee-Cutting Clients, Profit-Hungry Owners and Declining Ad Agencies.

Farmer’s 25-year journey as a management consultant and software provider to advertising agencies and advertisers led him to identify three key challenges confounding adland: 1) The Workload Challenge (requiring the need to better document, track and measure workloads); 2) The Mission Challenge (involving rejiggering the organizational objectives from “creativity and service” to “results for clients”) and; 3) The Accountability Challenge (demanding the need to run like a business with a greater sense of accountability). From there, the consultant offers a 10-step transformation program to restore shops to professional healthiness, harmony and happiness.

Not surprisingly, the 200-page guide fails to make any mention of diversity, except in reference to variety of media. Indeed, the book is illustrated with cartoons from The New Yorker featuring all-White characters. The absence of inclusion underscores the harsh reality. That is, it’s hard to argue diversity is a legitimate business imperative—and significantly more difficult to persuade agency honchos to place diversity on their to-do lists at all. Even diverted diversity is ignored as part of the transformative solutions. Will JWT Chairman and CEO Tamara Ingram’s WoManifesto fare any better than former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto’s Manifesto? Does anyone really care?

Albert Einstein is attributed with having said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Yet what about doing the same thing over and over again with the same people? Farmer believes the road to success simply requires fundamentally reinventing processes, thinking and attitudes. However, the advertising industry has demonstrated time after time that the ruling majority is incapable of executing basic changes—and the dearth of diversity is symptomatic of the global problem.

Madison Avenue Manslaughter is an apt title, as any actual or metaphorical murders in the field will only involve men—and White men at that.

13131: Diverted Diversity Advocates.

Adweek rendered a ridiculous report regarding responses to the resignation of former JWT Worldwide Chairman and CEO Gustavo Martinez, featuring a subhead that read, “Diversity advocates see mixed signals in ouster of JWT’s Martinez .” The ridiculousness comes from using the label of “diversity advocates” in reference to the idiots interviewed.

The first “diversity advocate”—FCB Global Chief Talent Officer Cindy Augustine—offered the following bullshit:

“This is a moment where people will look at us and wonder whether there is progress being made. This is the time to redouble our efforts. There are lots of efforts being made, and I think that will continue; this is definitely not the time to take our foot off the gas. It reminds everyone, whether in the ad industry or society at large, that this is a systemic issue everywhere. We are not exempt.

“We’re pretty proud of our efforts. We have [global chief creative officer] Susan Credle, and we have Dana Maiman who runs FCB Health, which is one of the biggest healthcare practices out there. Under [global CEO Carter Murray], probably half of the team members are women. We are very proud and we are just beginning, but we don’t need to be an exception.”

Augustine is exceptionally dumb. She hinted at her dumbness when ripping Raven-Symoné last year, and confirmed it with this latest verbal vomit. To excuse the industry’s diversity disaster as “a systemic issue everywhere” is dodging responsibility and accountability in grand style. To proudly point to promoting White women as progress is pathetic. Sorry, but FCB today is closer to being like IPG sister agency Campbell Ewald versus the revolutionary company envisioned by former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto.

The second “diversity advocate”—the 100% annoying Kat Gordon—added the following drivel:

“No agency is immune from instances of sexual harassment. Nor does it indicate a toxic agency environment. The single most critical thing is that an agency has a clear no-tolerance plan in place and that it enforces that policy swiftly and emphatically should proof of harassment be in evidence. The JWT case is a cautionary tale of what happens when an agency fails to take complaints of harassment seriously when they are first raised.”

Of course, Gordon only sees a sexual harassment case, despite the fact that the charges include anti-Semitism and racism. Additionally, she’s delusional to believe any agency “has a clear no-tolerance plan” that’s actually being enforced. Hell, she’ll probably have trouble finding takers for her certifiably inane certification program to benefit White women.

The third “diversity advocate”—Nancy Vonk—dumped the following dung:

“If the JWT allegations are true, the world just witnessed that sweeping it under the rug is a terrible strategy. … Maybe at this point we can all agree, there’s a better way to address harassment claims. Now company leaders need to state loud and clear that it’s the right thing to do and it’s safe to do it. The unwritten rules that have been at play from the beginning of time need to be torn up, and new ones that support employees need to be displayed in neon in our workplaces. Nothing short of consistent demonstrations that claims will be met with swift action, with no penalty to the employee, will convince people they can and should bring their problems forward. … This could take a while. If history shows [plaintiff Erin Johnson] told the truth, history will show she was a very brave person who helped us all.”

Vonk views the JWT scenario as primarily a sexual harassment case too, which isn’t surprising, given that her “diversity advocate” title is the result of having spanked Neil French in 2005. However, Vonk’s pontifications regarding protecting whistleblowers are outrageous. The woman is clearly ignorant regarding the many minorities who’ve been blacklisted for protesting the discrimination and racism still prevalent in the advertising industry. It should be noted that Vonk’s French rant was titled, “Female Like Me,” an apparent nod to the popular “Black Like Me” book.

For Adweek to deem these three stooges “diversity advocates” is a sad reflection of the state of affairs in the advertising industry, where diverted diversity is the inclusive bandwagon of the moment. Why has no one been asked to comment on the anti-Semitism and racism in the scenario? Could Adweek even identify individuals qualified to speak on such matters? It would be a monumental challenge for anyone to name five legitimate diversity advocates working on Madison Avenue today.

13082: IPGobbledygook.

A MultiCultClassics visitor pointed to IPG’s self-promotional hype on its alleged diversity and inclusion achievements. Included is the recent Champions of Diversity Award for Exemplary Best Practices presented to the White holding company by the New York Urban League. Not included is the fact that IPG Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Heide Gardner is on the New York Urban League Board of Directors. Also not included is any mention of Campbell Ewald, Champion of Cultural Cluelessness. Ditto any references to former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto’s vow that “by 2014 [Draftfcb] will be an organization that no longer uses the term ‘diversity and inclusion.’” Hell, Boschetto wasn’t even listed among the ADCOLOR® Award winners, despite his first-ever Advocate Award recognition. Talk about not being very inclusive.

Worth noting are “the numbers” IPG presents as proof of its progress. Unfortunately, the numbers are not really numbers; rather, the information is stated in percentages. Does a 94% increase since 2005 of total minorities with “officials and managers” titles really mean anything without specific figures? For example, a 94% increase of, say, a dozen individuals would not be very impressive. Plus, how many of the “minorities” are actually White women?

IPG could become a pioneer in the category by publicizing EEO-1 data. But that would require integrity—as well as a spine versus spin.

12921: FCB Leader Admits Bias…?

Campaign published a pathetic and patronizing perspective from FCB Global Chief Talent Officer Cynthia Augustine, reprimanding résumé racial profiling and ripping Raven-Symoné. Augustine had the audacity to remark, “Fortunately, most industry leaders are more enlightened than Raven-Symoné. Instead of embracing ignorance and bias, many company leaders actively work against it by creating programs that center around making the unconscious conscious.” Um, which industry leaders is Augustine saluting? They surely can’t be honchos in adland. Additionally, when referencing the recent rants by revolutionary Brad Jakeman and Kat Gordon, Augustine gasped, “What’s happening here? It’s 2015 and we still haven’t solved this.” Augustine also stated, “Most companies, FCB included, have culture and inclusion experts dedicated to adding more diversity to its workforce, ensuring a culture of inclusion and lessening the implicit bias inherent in all of us. After all, bias does indeed live in us all. It is part of what makes us human.” Wow, is that an open admission to the institutionalized discrimination present at White advertising agencies like FCB? Plus, it’s sad for Augustine to display faux dismay that “it’s 2015 and we still haven’t solved this”—seemingly oblivious to former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto’s bold vow that the agency would no longer use the term “diversity and inclusion” by 2014. Augustine should think twice before attacking Raven-Symoné. After all, prorating from a birthdate of December 10, 1985, the former Cosby kid can only have shown bias for less than 30 years. FCB has been unable to shake its cultural cluelessness for at least 140 years.

What’s in a name?

By Cynthia Augustine

Absolutely nothing, says FCB’s global chief talent officer, yet name-based bias happens much too often

Raven-Symoné proudly boasted last month on “The View” that she wouldn’t hire someone with a “ghetto” name. Really? That’s pretty ironic coming from Raven-Symoné. Someone whose first name is uniquely punctuated and uniquely spelled, which — according to the Urban Dictionary — is often the very definition of what’s considered “a ghetto name.”

But who should really care? Because when you think about it, what’s in a name? Absolutely nothing. It’s something someone else decided to call you.

A name doesn’t reveal what a prospective job candidate has done with their life — what they’ve learned and experienced, the skills they’ve developed, the character they have or the obstacles they have possibly overcome. A name doesn’t even reveal a candidate’s ethnicity, no matter what people like Raven-Symoné think. I know a man with the last name Goldstein who was adopted and is actually Chinese. Interviewers are perpetually surprised when they meet him.

Unfortunately, Raven-Symoné is not alone. Many studies conducted between 2003 and today, including those by The University of Chicago and MIT, found that resumes sent out for candidates with African-American-sounding names were 50% less likely to land a job interview than identical resumes sent out under white-sounding names. And, that sorry result is replicated with various other ethnic groups in our country — which does not serve any employer well. Studies like those discussed in Scott Page’s 2008 book The Difference — including one he conducted with Lu Hong of Loyola University Chicago – have consistently shown that diverse teams will outperform and out-innovate homogenous ones.

Fortunately, most industry leaders are more enlightened than Raven-Symoné. Instead of embracing ignorance and bias, many company leaders actively work against it by creating programs that center around making the unconscious conscious.

They have to. It’s a business imperative. PepsiCo.’s Brad Jakeman, president of the global beverage group, just a few weeks ago forcefully told attendees at the Association of National Advertisers conference that he’s tired of talking to a group of white males about his business when it is women who make 85% of the purchase decisions in the category. If the marketing community wants to do more disruptive things, Jakeman said, agencies must bring more diversity to the table, especially women. Kat Gordon’s 3% Conference held last week in New York yet again addressed the dearth of female leadership in the business. What’s happening here? It’s 2015 and we still haven’t solved this.

Forcing ourselves to look at why we haven’t — to ensure we challenge ourselves as much as we challenge a Raven-Symoné — must be a daily occurrence.

Most companies, FCB included, have culture and inclusion experts dedicated to adding more diversity to its workforce, ensuring a culture of inclusion and lessening the implicit bias inherent in all of us. After all, bias does indeed live in us all. It is part of what makes us human. Knowing this, we are committed to raising our collective consciousness with regard to how it may play out in all kinds of business decisions, including hiring. Presently, we are exploring changes to our hiring protocol — like removing names from résumés altogether — so people aren’t influenced by factors that have no relevance at all to whether someone can perform a job. We are also working as an organization to understand, and more effectively and objectively manage, everyday assumptions that live in each of us with regard to criteria we consider when making hiring decisions. We’re not interested in prejudging anyone on irrelevant factors like names, race, gender or educational background that could cause us to miss out on a delightful and completely fabulous job candidate.

If we rely on horribly outdated stereotypes and judgments about people, like whether they have a “ghetto” name, we are perpetuating a deep social injustice and closing our eyes to talent that will move our companies and businesses forward.

Perhaps Hollywood and the media could benefit from the same type of unconscious bias training our industry is undertaking. Maybe we wouldn’t have an Academy Awards season like last year ever again, when all 20 acting nominees were white. Also, doing so may help the Raven-Symonés of the world consider the content of someone’s character first before the number of unique syllables and hyphens in their names.

Cynthia Augustine is global chief talent officer of FCB.

12350: Trumping Diversity In 2014.

2014 was not a good year for diversity in the advertising industry.

The reality is succinctly symbolized by the fact that former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto once wrote, “I recently proclaimed at Draftfcb that by 2014 we will be an organization that no longer uses the term ‘diversity and inclusion.’” Well, as 2014 draws to a close, Boschetto is gone, Draftfcb is history and Diversity and Inclusion actually has its own tab on the reinvigorated organization’s website.

Additional symbols demonstrating the downfall of diversity include:

• The Madison Avenue Project being quietly dismantled

• The Marcus Graham Project Infographic exposing Black representation in the advertising industry is declining

• Here Are All The Black People getting segregated from Advertising Week

• Annie the Chicken Queen still ruling at Popeyes

In a year that marked the 59th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ refusal, diversity has taken a backseat on the Madison Avenue bus. Hell, 2014 showed that just about everything trumps diversity in the advertising industry.

Belting out the Popeyes song trumps diversity.

Adwomen nurturing millennials trumps diversity.

Selling (out) Honey Nut Cheerios trumps diversity.

Challenging people to Hire 3 Women to Disrupt White-Male Hegemony trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Burger King account review trumps diversity.

The dreaded Ad Tax trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Sprint account review trumps diversity.

Hawking royalty-free stock photos of MLK trumps diversity.

Patronizing tweets on MLK Day trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Arby’s account review trumps diversity.

JCPenney’s love for hip hop trumps diversity.

An amazingly stupid Gracie commercial trumps diversity.

Old news about White advertising agencies trumps diversity.

A gay graham cracker trumps diversity.

Rebranding a White advertising agency trumps diversity.

A shootout between sister White advertising agencies trumps diversity.

White adwomen whining over the dearth of dames trumps diversity.

Ryan Seacrest trumps diversity.

The dearth of sheroes trumps diversity.

Saluting Old White Guys trumps diversity.

Dove Real Bullshit trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Red Lobster account review trumps diversity.

A $3 million pay raise trumps diversity.

Ronald McDonald’s fresh gear trumps diversity.

Expressing cluelessness about diversity trumps diversity.

Spotlighting recruiters perpetuating exclusivity trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Miller Lite account review trumps diversity.

A $500 million termination fee trumps diversity.

The Publicis-Omnicom debacle trumps diversity.

Cultural cluelessness from a Pioneer of Diversity trumps diversity.

Unequaled cluelessness from Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Lévy trumps diversity.

Recruiting White interns trumps diversity.

Feigning interest in diversity trumps diversity.

BBDO making diversity comical trumps diversity.

Searching for more alpha adwomen in the UK trumps diversity.

A boring trade groups merger trumps diversity.

A questionable $11.7 million salary trumps diversity.

Fawning over White millennials in adland trumps diversity.

A $7 million severance package trumps diversity.

Rebranding a Black advertising agency trumps diversity.

Hyping a Women-only awards show trumps diversity.

The dearth of White female judges at Cannes trumps diversity.

The drivel of Four Stooges on Cannes trumps diversity.

Obscenely bad advertising from Pornhub trumps diversity.

Complaining about Cannes trumps diversity.

Star-fucking at Cannes trumps diversity.

White holding companies hooking up with social media trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Infiniti account review trumps diversity.

A digitally dumb adman criticizing digital trumps diversity.

WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell’s trendspotting trumps diversity.

The hypocrisy of cause marketing trumps diversity.

A Whites-only White Castle account review trumps diversity.

Gobbledygook from Cindy Gallop trumps diversity.

These 5 Dynamic Duos Are Nailing Digital Marketing trumps diversity.

Unilever’s digital dumbness trumps diversity.

Procter & Gamble consolidating crumbs trumps diversity.

Leo Burnett honoring Bill Sharp despite rarely hiring Blacks trumps diversity.

Shrinking The Big Tent trumps diversity.

Accelerating Toyota Swagger Wagon stereotypes trumps diversity.

Mickey D’s staging a shootout between White advertising agencies already on its roster trumps diversity.

A Whites-only L.A. Clippers account review trumps diversity.

The final season of Mad Men trumps diversity.

PR experts who fuck up their own PR trumps diversity.

Cancelling The Crazy Ones trumps diversity.

Letting unqualified digital agencies produce TV commercials trumps diversity.

Earning 780 times more than your average employee trumps diversity.

A creative director exhibiting transphobia trumps diversity.

Cross-cultural cluelessness trumps diversity.

Sobbing over extended payment terms trumps diversity.

Declaring “pee happens” trumps diversity.

Gender jive trumps diversity.

A White advertising agency dictating Black advertising trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Intel account review trumps diversity.

Cleaning up digital advertising trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Panera Bread account review trumps diversity.

Announcing that content outperforms advertising trumps diversity.

White adwomen winning awards trumps diversity.

Clients appointing Chief Creative Officers trumps diversity.

Dentsu showing zero interest in merging with White holding companies trumps diversity.

White advertising agencies concocting mentoring campaigns trumps diversity.

Partnerships involving culturally clueless enterprises—Google and Madison Avenue—trumps diversity.

Asking a Chief Diversity Officer what she really does all day trumps diversity.

Picking the next White man to succeed Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Lévy trumps diversity.

Lobbying for adland trumps diversity.

WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell playing pseudo thought leader trumps diversity.

The invisibility of minorities at Advertising Week 2014 trumps diversity.

Idolizing WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell trumps diversity.

Deciding the perfect modern creative is female trumps diversity.

More Leo Burnett diversity propaganda trumps diversity.

Conservative clients promoting fearlessness trumps diversity.

Trumping Cheerios’ Gracie trumps diversity.

More White advertising agencies commandeering cross-cultural campaigns—and shooting on former slave plantations—trumps diversity.

Millennials myopia trumps diversity.

Old White Guys replacing Old White Guys trumps diversity.

Nepotism at Havas trumps diversity.

Subliminal Inequality trumps diversity.

Yet another White man advocating gender equality trumps diversity.

Yet another boring trade groups merger trumps diversity.

South Africa’s advertising industry having greater diversity than the U.S. advertising industry trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Johnnie Walker account review trumps diversity.

The high cost of talent turnover trumps diversity.

Not trusting digital advertising impressions trumps diversity.

Quarterly revenue trumps diversity.

Digital drunkenness trumps diversity.

Destroying digital trumps diversity.

Promising no layoffs in the wake of mergers trumps diversity.

Multiplying management layers trumps diversity.

Digital trumps diversity.

Hatching a single global idea for megabrands trumps diversity.

A White advertising agency’s telenovela trumps diversity.

Consolidating billings among White advertising agencies trumps diversity.

Copyrighting bad taglines trumps diversity.

Reviving Pizza Hut trumps diversity.

Consolidating digital billings trumps diversity.

Slapping employees in the (White) face trumps diversity.

Complaining about digital standards you co-authored trumps diversity.

Bratwurst trumps diversity.

Selecting a White advertising agency before replacing the CMO trumps diversity.

Choosing the Best Places for White people to work trumps diversity.

Another White man jumping on the gender equality bandwagon trumps diversity.

A Whites-only CarMax account review trumps diversity.

Telling your bosses how to do their jobs trumps diversity.

Comparing discriminatory hiring practices to spinach in your teeth trumps diversity.

Dreaming of a lily-White Christmas trumps diversity.

Quietly shifting accounts sans any reviews trumps diversity.

Misleading consumers via Twitter trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Sabra account review trumps diversity.

Admitting that White women comprise 49 percent of the UK advertising workforce trumps diversity.

Admitting that 56 percent of digital ads are never seen trumps diversity.

Parking the Cadillac account at a new White advertising agency trumps diversity.

Celebrating White A-Listers trumps diversity.

Additional consolidation of billings among White advertising agencies trumps diversity.

Sending a White guy to conquer China trumps diversity.

Suffering a consolidation headache trumps diversity.

A Whites-only Golden Corral account review trumps diversity.

Being a sore loser trumps diversity.

Being an Anus Horribilis trumps diversity.

Predicting What’s Not Happening in 2015 trumps diversity.

Naming a new CEO after consolidating billings among White advertising agencies trumps diversity.

Anointing yourself Global White AOR for Jesus trumps diversity.

Lowering Kara Walker and Pharrell Williams into the same league as David Droga and Ted Royer—which is like comparing Marie Curie and Albert Einstein to Harry Dunne and Lloyd Christmas—trumps diversity.

To sum up the year: digital—and all the acquisitions and asinine responses it inspires—trumps diversity; the alleged dearth of dames—and sycophantic White men advocating for gender equality—trumps diversity; Whites-only account reviews—featuring Corporate Cultural Collusion, cronyism, nepotism and other assorted isms—trumps diversity; White holding companies’ slick maneuverings—and the greedy egos of ignorant White holding company leaders—trumps diversity; White advertising agencies producing liberal-minded work—and having the audacity to feign commitment to diversity—trumps diversity; shady politics trumps diversity; and grudgingly hugging millennials trumps diversity. As previously stated, just about everything trumps diversity in the advertising industry. Let’s hope 2015 isn’t a rerun of 2014. Happy New Year!

12145: Replacing Old White Guys.

Adweek reported on Old White Guys being replaced by new Old White Guys at major agencies in the past year (technically, JWT hired an Argentina-Born Guy to replace its Old White Guy). Not surprisingly, there are always plenty of qualified White candidates exclusively available.

Is Yet Another Global Creative Shop About to Name a New CEO?

5 agencies have found new leaders in the past year

By Noreen O'Leary

Is there yet another high-profile agency executive change coming?

Publicis Groupe is looking to replace Leo Burnett CEO Tom Bernardin, sources said, making it just the latest top executive change at the largest networks in the past year—including Kevin Roberts’ departure at Saatchi & Saatchi, Tom Carroll at TBWA, Bob Jeffrey at JWT and Jean-Yves Naouri (global executive chairman) at Publicis.

That number increases over the past two years, including the exit of Draftfcb’s Laurence Boschetto and McCann Worldgroup’s Nick Brien.

It is unusually high turnover, with some of the current changes generational; Bernardin, Roberts and Jeffrey are all in their early to mid-60s. Still, some wonder about the mounting pressures on casting at the top of networks being remade by technology. “There’s a transformation in the business that is making it difficult for this generation of executives to stay up [in the business],” said John Challenger, CEO at executive recruiters Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

At many U.S.-based networks, execs replacing global CEOs spent much of their careers outside America. Roberts' British replacement at Saatchi, Robert Senior, spent his career in London; Gustavo Martinez, the Argentina-born exec succeeding Jeffrey at JWT, worked primarily in Europe, Latin America and Asia; Australian Troy Ruhanen, succeeding Carroll at TBWA, has also spent time in Australia and Asia Pacific; and FCB's Briton Carter Murray worked in Germany and Europe.

It remains unclear who would be in line to replace Bernardin, with Publicis Groupe dismissing speculation about his departure as a “silly rumor.”

11879: The $11.7 Million Man.

Adweek reported IPG CEO Michael Roth defended his $11.7 million compensation to shareholders, insisting the amount is equal to or less than what his peers earn. Additionally, Roth pointed to the company’s share price as an example of his effective leadership. The Adweek story didn’t indicate if Roth discussed the work created by IPG agencies. Heaven forbid the CEO of an advertising holding company might be accountable for the advertising produced within the network. Roth also didn’t take credit for making good on former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto’s proclamation “that by 2014 [Draftfcb] will be an organization that no longer uses the term ‘diversity and inclusion.’” Granted, Roth technically accomplished the feat by dumping Boschetto and permitting the agency to change its name to FCB; that is, Draftfcb is an organization that no longer uses the term “diversity and inclusion” because it is no longer an organization at all. Why, it’s only a matter of time before Roth is crowned a Pioneer of Diversity.

IPG CEO Michael Roth Defends His Pay

Says it’s comparable or less than what competitors make

By Andrew McMains

Interpublic Group CEO Michael Roth today defended his compensation as mid-tier compared to his competitors.

Roth, speaking at IPG’s annual shareholder meeting in New York, received $11.7 million in salary, stock, stock options, incentives and benefits last year. A shareholder questioned if that was excessive, given that the company failed to reach its own operating margin target of at least 10 percent. IPG ended the year with a margin of 9.3 percent.

Roth replied that the margin goal was just one of several factors that determined his compensation. Others include the company’s share price, which rose more than 60 percent last year to close at $17.70 on Dec. 31.

What’s more, IPG’s board conducts a “competitive analysis of where our compensation fared versus our competitive set. And once again, we’re on the middle to below competitive compensation overall, including my compensation,” Roth said. “Most of my compensation—a significant part of it—is based on the performance of our shares and the performance of our financial vectors. And, as you can see, we continue to outperform our competitors in the marketplace.”

That said, Roth acknowledged missing the margin goal, saying, “We have some work to do in terms of expanding our margin.” This year’s target is 10.3 percent.

To Roth’s point on his own pay, he earned less than other holding company CEOs last year. For example, WPP Group’s Martin Sorrell and Omnicom Group’s John Wren received total compensation of about $50 million and $18 million, respectively. WPP and Omnicom are much bigger companies, however, with total revenue of $18.5 billion and $14.5 billion, respectively, last year, compared to IPG’s $7.1 billion.

The same IPG shareholder also questioned the compensation of board members, which last year ranged from $251,000 for Dawn Hudson to more than $296,000 for David Thomas, according to IPG’s proxy statement. Again, though, Roth, defended the pay level as within the range of competitors and not the highest in the group.

“We’re very comfortable with the level of compensation for our directors,” Roth said simply.

Not withstanding the questions about pay, IPG shareholders represented at the meeting reelected the company’s nine directors and overwhelmingly approved compensation, incentive and performance plans for its top executives.

For example, nearly 98 percent of the voting stockholders authorized the executive compensation plan, and almost 97 percent approved the executive performance plan. Shareholders also reappointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as the IPG’s accounting firm for another year.

11696: Draftfcb Fades To White…?

Advertising Age reported that Draftfcb may dump the first part of its masthead and return to being called FCB or Foote, Cone & Belding. So much for former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto’s proclamation “that by 2014, we will be an organization that no longer uses the term ‘diversity and inclusion.’” Not only is Boschetto history, but the entire shithole is reverting back to a stodgy, old, White advertising agency.

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.

11453: Advertising Week Peek 3.

On September 26, Advertising Week 2013 closes out with a contradictory culture clash. “Engaging Hispanic Consumers Across Languages, Markets & Platforms” takes place at 1:00 pm in Liberty Theater. At 3:00 pm in the same venue, the Advertising Club, PwC and others will host “Advancing Diversity, Inclusion & Innovation.” Scheduled attendees include IPG Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Heide Gardner and Draftfcb Chief Diversity Officer Keisha Vaughn—even though former Draftfcb CEO Laurence Boschetto vowed his agency would no longer use the term “diversity and inclusion” by 2014. Wonder if Ms. Vaughn must rewrite her title in the New Year.

An interesting showdown happens at noon when Uniworld presents “Listen: The New Multicultural” at Liberty Theater, while LatinWorks presents “Total Market: From Ethnicity to Culture” at B.B. King Blues Club. The hype for the latter event reads:

Sergio Alcocer, President and CCO of LatinWorks and Javier Farfan, Director of Cultural Branding at PepsiCo will shatter obsolete notions of multicultural marketing by offering a progressive view of the new Total Market.

When are these cross-cultural clowns going to realize the ridiculousness of criticizing multicultural marketing? The only ones clueless on the modern marketplace are the White agencies routinely conspiring with LatinWorks and PepsiCo. Hell, firms like LatinWorks and Uniworld are nothing more than disrespected dogs fighting over crumbs in adland’s ghettos.

Finally, the AWNY Multicultural Mix & Mingle will be held at 6:00 pm at Midtown Loft and Terrace. It’s a safe bet cross-cultural enthusiasts will show up for the free drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

11434: Carter Murray Exclusive.

AgencySpy posted a letter to the troops from new Draftfcb CEO Carter Murray, who started his first day of work on Monday. The lengthy message covered lots of ground and made plenty of pledges. However, there was no mention of diversity and inclusion. Then again, Murray’s predecessor Laurence Boschetto vowed the agency would no longer use the term “diversity and inclusion” by 2014. So maybe Murray is actually working towards that lofty goal.

11146: IPG Discrimination Suit Update.

Advertising Age revealed the discrimination case against IPG is going to trial. An IPG statement included, “Diversity and inclusion have been long-term priorities for IPG and we’ve made significant strides in this area in recent years. This is especially true at our corporate office. That’s why we are very gratified that the judge has agreed to dismiss the majority of [plaintiff Joy Noel’s] claims. We continue to believe her one remaining claim is equally ‘devoid of facts,’ as the court itself stated in its initial finding, and look forward to demonstrating this at trial.” Wow. Let’s dissect that poppycock. “Diversity and inclusion have been long-term priorities for IPG” really means the holding company and its agencies have completely failed to erase the exclusivity for a loooooong time—at least 60 years. Plus, “long-term priority” should not be mistaken for top priority. Or even top-ten priority. As the defendant in the upcoming case, IPG will not have to prove they’ve “made significant strides in this area in recent years.” Otherwise, they’d have to admit the area they meant is human resources, reception, administrative assistance, security, janitorial or the mailroom. “This is especially true at our corporate office.” And especially false at the C-suite offices. IPG is undoubtedly “very gratified that the judge has agreed to dismiss the majority of [plaintiff Joy Noel’s] claims”—although losing $50 million would have looked good versus the company’s $59.2 million first-quarter net loss. Plus, using the phrase “devoid of facts” is pretty bold when your agencies are virtually devoid of Blacks. IPG better hope outgoing Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto isn’t called to the stand to report on his progress in eliminating the term “diversity and inclusion” by 2014. After all, they’ve been long-term priorities for the parent corporation.

Discrimination Claim Against Interpublic Heads to Trial

Most of Plaintiff’s Claims Tossed, but Jury Will Decide if She Wasn’t Promoted Because of Skin Color

By Rupal Parekh

Various claims filed in April 2012 as part of a race discrimination lawsuit against Interpublic Group of Cos. have been tossed out by a New York district judge. However, one claim made by Trinidadian employee Joy C. Noel—that Interpublic failed to promote due to her skin color—has been permitted to proceed to trial.

The trial begins on June 3, according to court documents.

When Ms. Noel filed suit in Manhattan federal court last spring, she sought a whopping $50 million in damages. She claimed that in her many years working for the company, Interpublic fostered an environment where discrimination based on race and color is condoned. She alleged that she was passed over for promotions because Caucasian and light-skinned Hispanics are treated more favorably than African-Americans or other dark-skinned employees. Ms. Noel has been at Interpublic since 1993 and is still an employee there.

Also named in the original suit were several high-ranking executives, including Interpublic Chairman-CEO Michael Roth. His name was later removed from the suit.

Interpublic in a statement told Ad Age it is pleased that most of the claims have been thrown out and it expects her remaining claim will be too. “Diversity and inclusion have been long-term priorities for IPG and we’ve made significant strides in this area in recent years,” the company said. “This is especially true at our corporate office. That’s why we are very gratified that the judge has agreed to dismiss the majority of Ms. Noel’s claims. We continue to believe her one remaining claim is equally ‘devoid of facts,’ as the court itself stated in its initial finding, and look forward to demonstrating this at trial.”

But unless something changes in the proceedings in the next couple of weeks, District Judge Harold Baer Jr. has ruled that it’s up to a jury whether Ms. Noel was really passed over for a job unfairly.

Said Mr. Baer in an opinion issued on the matter: “Prior experience interacting with Board members is hardly a ‘basic skill’ necessary to perform these administrative tasks. By contrast, Plaintiff has worked at IPG in an administrative capacity for over 20 years and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting. This experience demonstrates that Plaintiff was at least minimally qualified for the promotion to Executive Assistant.” He added: “The true significance of this ‘Board experience’ is thus a credibility issue that only a jury may decide.”

11089: Draftfcb In Waiting Mode.

Adweek reported Young & Rubicam refuses to release Carter Murray from his contract, delaying the executive’s official appearance as new Draftfcb global CEO. Why, it only seems like a year ago when Draftfcb accused Digitas of poaching talent. Oh, wait a minute. It was a year ago. At least the move gives Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto a few more months to execute his vision to erase “diversity and inclusion” from the company lexicon.

Young & Rubicam Refuses to Let Carter Murray Out of His Contract

New Draftfcb CEO must wait it out

By Andrew McMains

Four weeks after Carter Murray took the Draftfcb CEO job, he’s still walking the halls of Young & Rubicam, and it could be September before he joins his new agency.

Why? Because Y&R parent company WPP Group is holding him to the six-month notice period in his contract—at least for now, according to sources.

Historically, notice periods were designed to give an agency losing an executive time to find a successor. Also, a cooling-off period between jobs, in theory, keeps an outgoing exec from using client business information in his new post. In Murray’s case, however, Y&R has already filled his North American CEO role with insider Matt Anthony, and the bigger brands that Y&R and Draftfcb handle don’t compete head-to-head. In other words, there’s little Y&R client information that Murray can exploit at Draftfcb, a unit of Interpublic Group. Yet, there he sits as a lame duck at Y&R.

Whether Murray shifts to “garden leave,” or getting paid to not even show up, is beside the point. WPP is paying someone who has resigned and wants to leave. Other holding companies block such exits as well. Publicis Groupe made Tony Granger wait six months before he could exit Saatchi & Saatchi and join Y&R in 2009, even after Saatchi had filled his chief creative officer job with Gerry Graf. It could have been longer, though, given that Granger had a one-year notice period in his Saatchi contract.

Competitive wrangling aside, some say the practice seems like a waste of time and money.

“If the employee gives notice, the company has the option to cut them loose and stop paying them or to keep them from taking the new job but have to pay them,” said attorney Rick Kurnit, a partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz who represents both ad execs and agencies. “The question is, is it really in the shareholders’ interest to pay somebody just to obstruct them from moving on, or is that done out of pique?”

While he declined to talk specifically about Murray, Y&R global CEO David Sable framed the broader issue of notice periods in simple, legal terms: “People sign contracts. They have no right to sign a contract that they don’t intend to keep.”

The stakes are high in the latest episode of sabre rattling. Draftfcb, set back by major client erosion in the past two years (SC Johnson, MillerCoors, Kraft, etc.), spent six months looking for a new global leader and sees in Murray, a seasoned account handler, an opportunity to reverse the slide. For now, existing leaders like outgoing CEO Laurence Boschetto will run the 8,800-person shop. Murray, Draftfcb and WPP declined to comment, and IPG could not be reached.

Other industry leaders appreciate concerns about ex-employees exploiting marketer information, but nonetheless question the wisdom of paying money for nothing. “I’m not sure what the point is,” said TBWA worldwide CEO Tom Carroll. “You have to try to protect your clients. On the other hand, if that’s not the case, I think it’s a little overreaching” to keep someone who wants to leave.

Blocking an exit may also create ill will with the departing exec, making the person unlikely to ever return, added Mark O’Brien, North American president of DDB. And, in an industry that places a premium on talent, that’s a competitive disadvantage. As O’Brien put it, “It doesn’t pay in the long run to pay someone to do nothing for spite.”

11036: Buh-Bye, Boschetto.

Advertising Age reported former Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto has been replaced by former Y&R Advertising North America CEO Carter Murray. Current IPG Chairman CEO Michael Roth said, “We wish [Boschetto] well in his ongoing industry activity, particularly in the area of diversity and inclusion, where we will continue to work together.” Right. Why, Boschetto was a mere nine months shy of realizing his dream that by 2014 Draftfcb would be an organization that no longer used the term “diversity and inclusion.” Look for Murray to take the reins with the bold initiative. When hell freezes over.

DraftFCB’s New Global CEO Is 38-Year-Old Carter Murray

Energetic British Exec Will Replace Laurence Boschetto

By Rupal Parekh, Maureen Morrison

DraftFCB’s next global CEO will be 38-year-old Carter Murray, who for the past year has been head of Y&R’s North American operations.

Not only is the embattled Interpublic Group of Cos. agency getting a new leader, it’s poised for a major cultural shift under Mr. Murray. He has spent most of his career in Europe and been referred to as charming and super energetic by those who’ve worked with him in the past. It’s not only a quick ascent up the ladder to lead one of the biggest advertising agencies in the world, it’s also a formidable challenge.

Mr. Murray has signed on to take the reins from Laurence Boschetto, DraftFCB’s CEO of four years, after a brief transition period. A start date for the newly-anointed chief has not yet been determined however.

A formal search began last summer for a leader to succeed Mr. Boschetto, who’s overseen the network during a tumultuous three-and-a-half years that have been marked by significant client departures. (Mr. Boschetto joined the search process as part of an attempt at a smooth succession and will continue in a consulting role.)

The selection has been a huge focus for Interpublic senior management including Chairman-CEO Michael Roth, who’s acutely aware of the need to turn around the ship at DraftFCB. Mr. Murray is likely getting some broad leeway to make the changes he sees fit to improve the shop’s standing in adland.

Howard Draft will retain his executive-chairman post at DraftFCB, working with a number of the agency’s major clients and on special projects, but he’ll report to Mr. Murray, who’ll be based in New York.

“[Mr. Murray] understands consumer advertising and brands, has demonstrated the ability to motivate diverse teams and raise the quality of creative work, nurture client relationships and win global business,” Mr. Roth said in a statement. “This combination of skills and experience in a dynamic new leader is what the agency needs in order to evolve its integrated model and drive growth.”

Mr. Roth added: “We thank Laurence for his contributions to our search for his successor. … We wish him well in his ongoing industry activity, particularly in the area of diversity and inclusion, where we will continue to work together.”

“Carter brings energy, a new perspective and range of talents that will take us to the next level,” Mr. Boschetto said in a statement. “I’ll do everything to help him step into the CEO role seamlessly.”

In the wake of Mr. Murray’s his departure, Y&R named Matt Anthony CEO of Y&R Advertising North America. Mr. Anthony is a member of Y&R’s executive committee and founding partner of VML. He had for the last six months been running Y&R Australia.

Finding someone willing to take the challenge of re-energizing DraftFCB was no simple task. In November, Mr. Roth remarked during a Wall Street investor conference: “Hopefully we’ll be able to find someone.”

After a lengthy process—during which a number of Madison Avenue execs were approached, some who felt the fix-it job was too tall an order—the search was narrowed to three last month. Mr. Murray resigned from Y&R yesterday after just a year there.

“I like big challenges and I like big opportunities,” Mr. Murray told Ad Age. “And it would take a challenge and an opportunity as large as this for me to leave my current position. I do love [Y&R CEO] David Sable, and I’m really proud of the people I work with at Y&R. But it’s not every day that you get this kind of opportunity [at an agency] that we know has had some challenges but also has had some great client relationships. It’s one of those jobs that doesn’t come up every day.

“If you look at DraftFCB, the last thing they need is someone who comes charging in and tells them exactly how to do their jobs at the outset. I have a point of view on marketing and what I think is important, and am particularly passionate about the creative product and defining groundbreaking work. And that’s something I want to infuse more throughout the organization.”

A Brit who was educated in in the U.S.—he attended Duke University—Mr. Murray started his career at Leo Burnett in Chicago. He soon moved to Europe, where he’s spent most of his career. He worked for Leo Burnett in Germany as a regional account director and in London as a regional new-business director for Europe.

He joined Publicis in 2007. That’s where he really made his mark. During his tenure at the French holding company, he took Nestle from being Publicis’ fourth-largest account, and one that was declining in size, to the agency’s biggest account.

With experience in markets from Russia to Korea to Kenya to Switzerland, and with clients such as Nestle, P&G, Barclays, Coke and Ikea, Mr. Murray’s pedigree is far different than his predecessor’s.

Mr. Boschetto joined Draft in the agency’s New York office in 1997, a move prompted by his sale of Adler Boschetto Peebles—a Big Apple shop he founded—to Draft. He worked his way up from general manager to more senior roles. It was only a matter of years before he was being touted as Howard Draft’s heir apparent, and was promoted to president and chief operating officer, first of New York, and then (around the same time as the agency’s very public win-and-loss of the Walmart account) across the network. He’s been especially close to some clients, among them Beiersdorf.

His ascension to CEO came more than two years after the merger of Draft and Foote Cone & Belding. The marriage was a move that Interpublic touted as a way to combine the direct-marketing prowess of Draft with the creative abilities of FCB, but many industry executives said they predicted the merger was doomed because of clashing cultures and disciplines.

Initially there were some indications that the critics were wrong, given sizable new-business wins from the U.S. Census, Kraft, MillerCoors and Kmart. Above all, the shop was profitable.

But while Mr. Boschetto was at the helm, the shop’s fortunes turned. The past couple of years in North America have been incredibly rocky, marked by a string of account losses—prompting speculation that it was only a matter of time before there would be a change at the top.

The biggest hit came with the exit of one of DraftFCB’s biggest and oldest accounts: SC Johnson. The agency failed to hang on to the business after a review, losing to WPP’s Ogilvy and Omnicom Group’s EnergyBBDO. The loss stripped several global outposts of their biggest client and shuttered other international offices. The agency laid off about 10% of it staffers in its Chicago office, and 3% globally.

When the massive packaged-goods account departed after 58 years, SC Johnson was estimated to be worth $65 million in global revenue. But at its height years earlier, the account was believed to bring in as much as $80 million in global revenue for the agency. Though it was a small percentage—about 5 to 6%—of the agency’s global revenue at the time of the loss, the agency has been unable to recover the revenue with another large account win.

That loss was devastating, but another blow came with the loss of its MillerCoors business without a review. The brewer’s account went to Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi, which picked up Miller Lite, and a new WPP agency dubbed Cavalry was formed to handle Coors brands and new products. Layoffs again followed at DraftFCB, with the agency confirming about 5% of its Chicago office employees were affected.

Another marquee account, Taco Bell, has brought other Interpublic agencies such as Deutsch into the fold to handle creative work. While DraftFCB remains on the roster as the lead agency, TV work—part of a campaign Taco Bell said was its biggest—for the chain’s new Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco was created by Deutsch.

DraftFCB is facing yet another potential significant account defection from Kmart, a client since 2007. The struggling retailer began circulating requests for proposal in January; DraftFCB is said to be defending the business. That same month, DrafFCB shed its media operation, which was shifted to sibling Mediabrands.

While agencies are prone to going through up-and-down periods, two of the biggest criticisms of DraftFCB under Mr. Boschetto’s watch has been its failure to attract new business and inability to realize the promise of the benefits touted at the time of the merger. The agency has scored a string of small and midsize wins to help offset the loss of major legacy accounts—such as agency-of-record account for SeaWorld, Discover Card and Cox Communications—but it hasn’t picked up a major blue-chip lead creative account in some time.

That responsibility will now fall on the young Mr. Murray’s shoulders. The question is: Is he up to the challenge? One of the most powerful marketers in the world says Mr. Murray has a decent chance.

Tom Buday, head of marketing and consumer communication at Nestle, endorses Mr. Murray thusly on LinkedIn: “Carter is a highly committed professional who puts client needs at the top of his priorities, and brings valuable insight and perspective to the challenges at hand. Put simply, Carter is someone you can count on to deliver.”

10877: MultiCultClassics Moments For 2012.

Kickin’ It Old School. Advertising Age named mcgarrybowen as Agency of the Year, praising the shop’s old-school style. MultiCultClassics also acknowledged the agency’s outdated ways, especially in regards to diversity and nepotism. Ironically, as if to underscore the ultimate ineffectiveness of doing business via the Mad Men method, mcgarrybowen wound up winning and losing the Bud Light account within months—and rumors indicated the agency failed to deliver on digital tactics. Plus, the business went to Translation, a Black-owned shop with virtually zero AOR experience.

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Old News. When it comes to discrimination on Madison Avenue, Old White Guys is the new Black, as evidenced by an Advertising Age story titled, “Aging in Adland: The Gray-Hair Phobia That’s Hindering Older Execs.” A follow-up companion piece by TBWA Worldwide Director of Talent Nancee Martin offered “Six Tips for Older Job Hunters”—which arguably displayed blatant bias from a top executive charged with hiring people.

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Fresh BHM Stereotypes. MultiCultClassics celebrated Black History Month with fake Madison Avenue Ads and More Madison Avenue Ads from White advertising agencies.

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Boschetto Bullshitto. Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto proclaimed that by 2014 his agency “will be an organization that no longer uses the term ‘diversity and inclusion.’” The jury is still out regarding whether or not Draftfcb will be around in 2014, with strong predictions that Boschetto will definitely be history before the colorblind deadline arrives. Additionally, Draftfcb couldn’t even prevent the phrase from appearing in its own ADCOLOR® congratulatory ad.

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Omnicompliance…? The Biggest Under-Reported Story of the Year: New York City’s Office of the Comptroller asked Omnicom, IPG, WPP and Publicis Groupe to disclose the diversity of their workforces—and Omnicom refused to comply. Too busy engaging in Corporate Cultural Collusion and Corporate Multicultural Collusion?

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Suit Up. In April, IPG was hit with a $50 million racial discrimination lawsuit. Then another one emerged in August. A judge tossed the first suit, but the accuser re-filed charges later in the year. Of course, IPG insists the claims in the case “remain without merit.” On the flip side, IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth and Draftfcb President and CEO Laurence Boschetto admit the industry has struggled with diversity and discrimination. On Madison Avenue, there will almost always be merit to any claim of unfair employment practices.

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Keeping It Real. AMC reality series The Pitch exposed some not-so-pretty realities about the advertising industry. When the show pitted Bozell (a White agency) against Muse Communications (a minority agency), Jo Muse sought to seize the opportunity and reveal the inequities that non-Whites face in the industry. Alas, Muse’s on-air performance led to charges of racism and ultimately inspired cultural cluelessness from the Bozell team. So what’s the lesson to be learned? Adpeople holding aspirations of appearing on TV series should confine their participation to programs like “The Price Is Right” or “The Biggest Loser.”

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To Sir, Without Love. Sir John Hegarty had the hypocritical audacity to pontificate on the importance of inclusive workplaces, seemingly ignorant to his own agency’s utter lack of commitment to diversity. The pompous douche bag is only interested in anything Black or White if it involves D&AD Pencils.

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The Great White Dope. After writing a couple of inane columns on race as depicted by AMC series Mad Men, Tanner Colby displayed his true ignorance through publishing and promoting his book—Some of My Best Friends Are Black. Colby somehow managed to later position himself as an authority on multicultural marketing, securing appearances at the annual Where Are All The Black People? and Multicultural Health National. In short, an idiot who admits to cultural cluelessness can still become an industry thought leader on diversity. Only in America.

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The Great White Hope. Tanner Colby’s stupidity contrasted the intellectual efforts of Dr. Christopher Boulton, Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Tampa, whose “Rebranding Diversity” presentation provided a blueprint for ending the exclusivity on Madison Avenue. But is it possible to disassemble the existing power structure via PowerPoint?

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From Whassup To WTF. As previously mentioned, Steve Stoute and his agency, Translation, made advertising history by winning AOR status for Bud Light. The shop has yet to produce a decent commercial for the brand; however, previous incumbent agency mcgarrybowen never managed to birth a competent spot either. Stoute did allow Anheuser-Busch InBev U.S. Marketing VP Paul Chibe to serve as an executive producer for the Jay-Z “Made in America” film documentary. A couple of photo-ops with Beyoncé should secure the business for the time being.

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An Adwoman’s Prerogative. Digiday published the “Confessions of a Female Ad Exec”—who later confessed to being Socialistic CEO Colleen Decourcy—to broadcast the struggles women face in advertising. Leo Burnett CCO Susan Credle admitted she never thought advertising was tough for a woman. Deutsch NY CEO Val DiFebo explained why she didn’t think of herself as a woman. And The 3% Conference piqued less than zero percent of MultiCultClassics’ interest.

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Mark LaNeve Still Sucks.

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Conservatively Speaking. Carl Warner elected to declare a dearth of political conservatives in the advertising industry. His argument, however, was countered by conservative commentary from Jim Ferguson, Vinny Minchillo and Jerry Della Femina. Plus, “lapsed” Republican Jeff Goodby produced a pro-Obama video that was so embarrassingly awful, it got pulled down faster than Mitt Romney’s dreams of becoming president.

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All U.S. and U.K. Admen Look Alike. The dearth of diversity in the U.S. advertising industry is not unique after all, as an identical dilemma is present in the U.K. too. The “solutions” appear to be similar as well, with agency honchos on two continents insisting minorities must be recruited and educated about the field at an early age. Plus, U.K. and U.S. trade publications seemingly shower the same White men with praise and accolades. Look for ADCOLOR® to launch in Britain as ADCOLOUR® soon.

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Livin’ La Vida Loca. For Latino advertising agencies, 2012 demonstrated the craziness of marketing to minorities. Following up on a promise to “blow up” the multicultural budget in 2011, Walmart officials appeared at the annual ANA Multicultural Marketing and Diversity Conference to provide a status report. Walmart Senior VP-Brand Marketing and Advertising Tony Rogers gushed, “One hundred percent of the growth [in sales] is going to come from multicultural customers. … Our spending against multicultural customers will grow by at least 100%.” Of course, no actual numbers were offered—after all, 100% more crumbs is still just a bunch of crumbs. Meanwhile, Quaker Oats announced it was unveiling the brand’s first integrated campaign targeting Latinos. It must be noted, however, that Latino agency Alma is likely playing a subservient role to White agency Energy BBDO, and both shops are in the Omnicom network. Also, given that Quaker Oats has been around for over 130 years, it’s pretty appalling that the first integrated campaign is just starting now. Heineken completed the trifecta by dismissing The Vidal Partnership and handing its Latino business to White agency Wieden + Kennedy. Heineken VP-marketing Colin Westcott-Pitt explained the move by saying, “There’s a shift in what consumers are interested in what they believe in and value in life. It trumps where they happen to be from or what their ethnic group is.” A few months earlier, Westcott-Pitt was gleefully discussing exclusively sponsoring a branded entertainment vehicle on the Discovery en Español channel. And does the man really think commercials starring pseudo-debonair White guys with exotic hotties in foreign lands will translate across cultures? ¡Ay, Caramba!