5845: Newport’s Pleasurable Rebuttal.

From The Chicago Tribune…

Defending the marketing of menthol cigarettes

Your story “Blacks seen as targets of menthol; Exemption for additive troubles many critics” [See here.] mischaracterizes the facts regarding the marketing of menthol cigarettes. It is but one more example of a coordinated effort by paternalistic moralists through the media who neither know the facts or the science about menthol in cigarettes nor care to learn them.

This campaign is seeking to take away a smoker’s choice to smoke menthol cigarettes, or to smoke at all. It is a blatant effort to impose a politically correct agenda on the American public with the unfortunate assistance of the media.

The Chicago Tribune article leads the public to believe that tobacco industry marketing practices target African-Americans differently from the targeting by other consumer product manufacturers. The article uses race as the emotional lure to turn the public against those companies that have the audacity to market their products to those who want to use them.

We know that the marketing of cigarettes at all is an anathema to those who want to end smoking, but to characterize the marketing methods of our company as “designed specifically to lure young blacks into a lifetime of tobacco use” is slanderous. Moreover, it is particularly offensive since the reporter never contacted us in an effort to understand our marketing practices.

The truth is that Lorillard markets its Newport brand cigarettes to adult smokers of all ethnicities. The truth is that our marketing is not disproportionately directed to African-Americans. The truth is that we do not target underage smokers. The truth is that there are twice as many Caucasian menthol cigarette smokers as there are African-American menthol cigarette smokers. I challenge those who want to prove otherwise to come forward with evidence to support their charges.

Our consumers have the right and ability to choose to smoke and to select their brand of preference. Suggesting that certain ethnic groups are more impressionable than others is insulting to our consumers and wrongly suggests that some are incapable of making individual choices.

Martin L. Orlowsky
Chairman, president and
Chief executive officer
Lorillard Tobacco Co.
Greensboro, N.C.

5844: Scary Imitation Phone And Commercials.

For its new Instinct phone, Sprint released commercials with horror movie imagery. Sort of like the Verizon Wireless campaign with horror movie imagery. Except a lot less creative and interesting. Sprint’s shit isn’t horror—just a horrible rip-off. Ditto its Instinct phone.

5843: Corporal And Cultural Punishment.

Delivering a spanking in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A new study showed minority kids receive more paddlings and spankings in school. Black and Native American children get the most whuppings. Other findings included: In states where paddlings happen most, Black girls were paddled over twice as often as White girls; Boys are three times more likely to be beaten versus girls and; Special education kids were more likely to be paddled. Which means, ironically, that Spanky got fewer spankings than Buckwheat.

• Add Argentina’s Olympic Women’s soccer team to the squads making slit-eyed gestures. Perhaps it’s the start of a new Olympic event. Or maybe some idiots just need a good whupping.

5842: Mission Statement Impossible.

Creative Circle presents another same-day assignment. Your mission—should you choose to accept it—demands crafting corporate mission statements for a strategic communication agency. Wow. It’s now possible to create a company’s vision while you wait. Your business is sure to self-destruct with such quality execution.

Position: TODAY—Branding Copywriter—corporate mission and positioning statement writing
Location: Northern Suburbs
Status: Freelance
Estimated Duration: 2 days
Starts: TODAY—8/20/08
Rate: DOE

Job Description:
Our Client is a strategic communications agency who works with corporations to determine their ideal mission and positioning on the upfront prior to engaging in creative and tactical execution.

If you are a senior copywriter who has experience (and samples) of your corporate mission and positioning statement writing and have availability over the course of the next 2 days—please send your interest and relevant samples!

Ideally, you could go to Wilmette today to brief on the project—but if you have the relevant experience and can only work from home—please still apply and indicate.

5841: Political Diversity On Board.

From USA TODAY…

Board diversity expands political spectrum

By Del Jones, USA TODAY

At Marriott International, Chairman Bill Marriott has not only contributed the maximum $4,600 to Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign, he’s also an active McCain “bundler,” who has raised between $100,000 and $250,000 from others.

At the table at Marriott board meetings is director Debra Lee, chairwoman of BET Holdings, parent company of Black Entertainment Television. Lee not only has given the maximum to Democrat Barack Obama, but is a bundler for his camp and has raised nearly $100,000. The Marriott board is a conglomerate of political givers: four other directors to Obama and/or Hillary Clinton, three others to McCain and/or Mitt Romney.

For 20 years, large companies have recruited directors of color to their boards, and by doing so, they have installed into the corporate system an unforeseen byproduct: political diversity. Among the 200 largest Standard & Poor’s 500 companies, 78% have at least one African-American director, says executive search firm Spencer Stuart. Executive search firm Korn/Ferry International says that 78% of Fortune 1000 companies have a director who is a minority, up from 47% in 1995.

And while Obama has substantial support among white business leaders, too, the outcome of efforts at Marriott and elsewhere to diversify the board has meant that at most quarterly meetings, staunch Obama supporters sit congenially, but eye to eye, with those staunchly supporting McCain.

There are strange political boardfellows at Commonwealth Edison, The Gap, General Electric, McDonald’s, Time Warner and Wal-Mart, among others. Even Halliburton, where Dick Cheney was chairman before becoming George Bush’s running mate eight years ago, has on its board two Obama contributors, including Milton Carroll, African-American chairman of CenterPoint Energy.

Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris, an Australian citizen who can’t vote here, has contributed to McCain and Romney. Dow Chemical director James Bell, an African-American chief financial officer at Boeing, has contributed to Obama. At General Mills, white Chairman Kendall Powell is a McCain contributor. African-American director Dorothy Terrell, an accomplished technology executive, is an Obama bundler who has raised between $50,000 and $100,000.

Nationwide, about 90% of African Americans say they will vote for Obama, vs. 3% for McCain, according to the latest polling by Gallup. African-American directors appear almost as solid in their support, USA TODAY research finds. There are 191 African Americans on the boards of the largest 250 companies, according to Black Enterprise.

[Read the full story here.]

5840: Opportunistic Bastard.

OK, everybody hates Mr. Opportunity. Now he reveals, “Value is my middle name.” But what’s his first name? Feel free to submit your guesses.

5839: Spy Vs. Lie.

Spying the news with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• British spy agency M15 is actively recruiting gays and lesbians after years of shunning them. “Until a decade ago, gay people were seen as a security threat, and as recently as two decades ago, they were being witch hunted and sacked from the security services,” said a gay rights activist. “It was part of the Cold War mentality that saw security threats, traitors, and spies everywhere. Gay people were regarded as vulnerable to blackmail, even if they were open and out about their sexuality.” The first assignment for gay agents: assassinate the Snickers-shooting Mr. T.

• A judge ruled the Detroit City Council does not have the authority to proceed with its plans to oust Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick’s lawyers had argued the city charter permitted forfeiture only if the mayor lacked qualifications or was convicted of a felony. So the City Council still has some hope.

5838: Overreaction Of The Week.

OK, on the one hand, any effort to bring diversity to Madison Avenue is commendable. Actually mandatory, if you’re with New York City’s Commission on Human Rights. GeneratioNext is taking place September 22, 2008. Sponsors include BBH, whose black sheep logo is accompanied by a statement claiming, “The company looks to hire the black sheep of the industry.” Not sure if the company looks to hire Black people too. Another sponsor is Merkley + Partners, the agency who signed a pact with the Commission yet managed to hire zero minorities in the first year of trying. Which sorta makes them the black sheep of diversity-committed agencies.

5837: A Stupid Snapshot From Mad Men.

The latest installment of AMC Series Mad Men presented one silly moment between Don Draper’s daughter and copywriter Paul Kinsey, who has been seeing a Black woman. Draper was forced to bring his daughter to work during a weekend pitch preparation, and the girl wound up spending time in Kinsey’s office. Spotting a framed photo of Kinsey’s girlfriend on his desk, the daughter asked, “Is this your maid?” Upon learning he was dating the woman, Draper’s daughter proceeded to press Kinsey with precocious sex-related questions. OK, she’s smart enough to ask about intimate details, but stupid enough to think someone might frame and display a photo of their maid? Whatever.

5836: Mad Ave Desperately Seeking Whites…?

The 3 Minute Ad Age video spotlights executives at the Ad Age Women to Watch luncheon. American Association of Advertising Agencies President-CEO Nancy Hill declares the single biggest problem affecting the U.S. advertising industry involves recruiting and retaining talent. You know things have gotten bad when ad agencies can’t even attract White folks.

5835: Hadji Williams Goes Missing In Two Places.

Hadji Williams discusses his “We Want Our Children Back, Too” campaign at Open Salon and Racialicious. Don’t go missing—check it all out.

5834: People for the Ethical Treatment of Aflac…?

When did PETA recruit the Aflac duck?

5833: Breaking New Records And Barriers.

A women’s and girl’s movement in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Cartoon above by Nick Anderson from the Houston Chronicle.

• Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi were married yesterday at their home in Beverly Hills. No word if Barack Obama danced with the bride.

• Venus and Serena Williams won their second career Olympic doubles title via a 6-2, 6-0 victory over the team from Spain. No word how the Spain team responded.

5832: Harper’s Bazaar Is Bizarro.

Is Harper’s Bazaar mimicking Italian Vogue? Tyra’s on the front cover and Naomi’s on the back. Plus, there are Black women in the editorial.


There are Black women in the advertising.


There’s a Black woman in an 8-page fashion spread.


And Tyra plays the First Lady!






Granted, the other 560+ pages feature wall-to-wall White women. But hey, it’s a start.

5831: 2Xtremely Weird.

MultiCultClassics will probably go straight to hell for saying this, but it looks like the ad’s head and body were combined from different sources via Photoshop.

5830: There’s Enough Evidence To Prove Idiocy.

From The Associated Press, the latest Detroit drama.

Judge rules there’s enough evidence for Detroit mayor to stand trial on assault charges

By Ed White | Associated Press Writer

DETROIT — A judge ruled Friday that there’s enough evidence for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to stand trial on two felony assault charges stemming from a confrontation with two investigators.

The investigators testified that an angry Kilpatrick shoved one of them into the other and made racial remarks while they were trying to deliver a subpoena in the mayor’s perjury case to one of Kilpatrick’s friends last month.

District Judge Ronald Giles said there was no question Kilpatrick knew Wayne County sheriff’s Detective Brian White and county prosecutor’s investigator JoAnn Kinney were at the home where the confrontation took place on official business.

“It’s clear Kilpatrick knew who Detective White was. He had previous contact with him through his other case. He specifically called him by name in this case,” said Giles, who ordered Kilpatrick jailed for a night last week for violating bond in his perjury case.

White testified that the mayor shoved him into Kinney when he was trying to deliver the subpoena. He and Kinney also testified that Kilpatrick used profanity and made a racial remark during the confrontation.

“You’re a black woman,” Kinney said the mayor told her. “You should be ashamed of yourself being with a man with the last name White. You should not be a part of this.”

The mayor and Kinney are black. White is white.

Kilpatrick’s attorneys have denied an assault took place.

During the hearing, they played a taped conversation between White and a police dispatcher recorded just after the alleged assault in which White asks the dispatcher to “change the header to assault on a police officer — and fondling.”

Asked to explain the remark, White told the court: “This was very stressful to me personally. I was under a lot of stress. My way of alleviating stress is to make light of things.”

Defense attorney Jim Thomas said after the hearing that he would peck away at inconsistencies between the testimony of White and Kinney when the case goes to trial. He called the investigators’ visit to the house a setup.

Kilpatrick remains free on bond ahead of arraignment next week in Wayne County Circuit Court. He must continue to wear an electronic ankle tether.

The mayor and his former top aide, Christine Beatty, were charged in March with conspiracy, perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office, mostly tied to their testimony in a civil trial.

Sexually explicit text messages between the pair, published by the Detroit Free Press in January, contradict their denial of an affair, a key point in the trial last year involving a former deputy police chief.

5829: Going Green By Displacing Blacks…?

Looks like Constellation Energy is putting minorities out to pasture.

5828: Green Gig, Green Not Guaranteed.

Creative Circle presents yet another dubious job offering. If you have “green” writing samples, this gig is for you. But given that the day rate is not listed or even estimated, don’t expect to collect any green.

Position: Freelance Writer-SUSTAINABILITY and GREEN Initiatives
Location: Downtown Chicago
Duration: Week of 8/18; 6 Weeks in Duration
Rate: Depends on Experience

Job Description:

Are you a writer passionate about sustainability? If so, this is the project for you. Our client is looking for a copywriter to work with their team.

You will be writing for a project that focuses on corporate sustainability and green initiatives. If you have relevant experience, please respond now with your “green” writing samples specific to sustainability.

This starts the week of Aug. 18th so please send samples right away! Thanks!

5827: The Cartoon Lady Doth Protest Too Much.

Complaining about the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Protestors wearing character costumes were arrested at Disneyland. The group was protesting Disney’s treatment of hotel workers, arguing for the health care benefits of 2,300 maids, bellhops, cooks and dishwashers. “Disneyland is being unfair with us because we’re fighting for our health care and they’re trying to take it away,” said one participant. “They’re trying to cut our hours and take away our seniority.” The protestors better hope the Disney negotiators don’t include all the evil queens and stepmothers.

• Now Jerry Lewis claims the gun cops found in his luggage at the Las Vegas airport last month was just a gift presented to him after the last Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon. Gee, and you thought Jerry’s Kids preferred receiving cash donations.

• Jackson Browne is suing John McCain for using his song, “Running On Empty,” without permission. McCain’s campaign created a commercial criticizing rival Barack Obama, and the tune was playing in the background. Browne joins ABBA and John Mellencamp, who also had to tell McCain to stop using their work in his campaigns. Maybe they can team up to create a music video blasting the Arizona senator.

• J.C. Penney 2Q profits dropped 36 percent. Walmart 2Q profits rose 17 percent. Limited Too has a limited time remaining in the U.S. market, as the retailer’s parent company plans to convert about 600 stores to its lower-priced Justice brand. That’s Too bad. Or maybe it’s Justice. Sorry, there are only Limited gags to milk from these news items.

5826: Dropped The Ball On Dropped Calls.

A USA TODAY story detailing the worldwide problems iPhone customers are experiencing with dropped calls appears alongside an ad for exclusive iPhone provider AT&T hyping fewer dropped calls. Looks like the media department dropped the ball.

5825: This Is Your Brainless Campaign On Drugs.

What are they smoking at the Partnership for a Drug-Free America these days?

5824: It’s, Like, Really Lame.

Sorry, don’t like this ad.

5823: See The Dark Knight, Defend The Nation.

It’s somewhat disconcerting to think the people defending our nation were inspired to serve by the opportunity to land a free movie ticket.

5822: Adweek Belatedly Comes Out Of The Closet.

Adweek.com presented a fluff piece on advertising with anti-GLBT imagery. Plus, the news source has also started allowing online comments. The end result is a story that’s about two weeks late with responses that have already been made repeatedly at other sources. Fabulous.

5821: All Black Presidential Candidates Look Alike.

A real brain teaser for the ignorant among us.

5820: Culturally Clueless Copycats.

The Rx Club is calling you out—for entries to its annual awards competition. These phat pharma dudes created a campaign that they probably believe is totally dope (pun intended). Check out a sample of the copy:

It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got no bling.

Yo, Ad peeps. If your office space could use shiny new bling, then kick it into high gear and show us your goods. The battle is on for a massive stash of gold and silver eye candy, plus a whole heap of excellence.

Unfortunately, the Rx Club is biting the Art Directors Club. Yo, the battle is on. Word.


(Hat tip to homegirl Carmen Van Kerckhove for pointing it all out.)

5819: Party Like It’s 1999 In 2050…?

From USA TODAY, experts predict a more diverse workforce by 2050. Which means Madison Avenue will probably start to consider addressing its diversity issues in about 42 years. Maybe.

Census data projects more diversity at work

By Emily Bazar and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY

The U.S. workforce will become increasingly diverse over the next three decades, a shift that could bring changes in education, training and public policy, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Census data released Thursday.

Racial and ethnic minorities in the USA will become a majority in 2042, but the working-age population — those 18 to 64 — will cross that threshold three years earlier, the projections say. By 2050, minorities will make up 55% of the working-age population. The share of the population that is working-age will drop steadily, from 63% to 57% in 2050.

“Not only are we going to have a relatively small workforce, but also one that’s more diverse,” says William Frey, demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “We need to become very concerned about getting the proper education track for those in the pipeline.”

In 2050, the working-age population will be 30% Hispanic, 12% non-Hispanic black and 8% non-Hispanic Asian. Today, the breakdown is 15% Hispanic, 12% black and 5% Asian.

Mark Mather, who studies U.S. demographic trends at the Population Reference Bureau, a research group, says the greatest concentration of minorities now is in the group younger than 18.

Lawmakers must address the needs of immigrants’ children in particular, he says, because immigrant groups often experience high rates of poverty and work in low-skilled jobs. “The challenge for policymakers is to make sure that, especially for children, they have all the opportunities and resources they need to become productive adults,” he says.

Jeffrey Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, whose analysis of Census data in February reached similar conclusions, says the U.S.-born children and grandchildren of immigrants will account for much of the growth in minorities, and they will be more educated than their parents.

“More and more of the Hispanic population is going to be native in the future,” he says. “These are people who have grown up here, gone to American schools and grown up speaking English.”

Growing workforce diversity must be addressed by employers, says David Grinberg, spokesman for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“The workplace is a microcosm of society,” he says. “Employers need to be mindful and aware of these changes and implement workplace policies that are non-discriminatory.”

[Read the full story here.]

5818: Madison Avenue And The Color Line—1B.

MultiCultClassics originally picked up a copy of Madison Avenue and the Color Line: African Americans in the Advertising Industry by Jason Chambers back in January, promising to eventually review it. Unfortunately, a crazy schedule prohibited an honest reading of the book.

Well, nearly seven months later, the reading has finally begun. Given the reality that it might take some time to complete the effort, MultiCultClassics has decided to submit a running review, posting critiques and commentary as pages and chapters are covered.

For background, visit the book’s official website. Additionally, Carol Watson offered her thoughts months ago at Advertising Age’s The Big Tent.

As noted back in January, it’s ironic—and sadly outrageous—that many bookstores stock the title in the African American section versus the business section. The irony comes from Chambers’ observations that Blacks have been historically separated/segregated from the mainstream advertising industry. The sadly outrageous part comes from the fact that the book is a hardcore study of the advertising industry. It ranks right alongside contemporaries like Adland by Mark Tungate or classics like The Want Makers by Eric Clark, The Image-Makers by William Meyers and The Mirror Makers by Stephen Fox. Instead, you’ll find Jason Chambers’ work sharing shelves with Veronica Chambers, W.E.B. Du Bois and Michael Eric Dyson. Not shabby company, but arguably the wrong neighborhood—or to be fair, the book should appear in African American and business sections.

The preceding paragraph is critical because it’s important to consider the potential audiences for the book. Given the continuing turmoil surrounding Madison Avenue’s dearth of diversity—including the actions of New York City’s Commission on Human Rights—Chambers’ tome should be required reading for all agency and industry leaders. Especially the White folks, to be clear. The insights featured in the book could go a long way in lessening the confusion and cultural cluelessness so prevalent in our global professional community. This is not to imply White adpeople never peruse the African American sections of the local Borders and Barnes & Noble stores. Rather, the book would hopefully become more top-of-mind, visually accessible and relevant to a broader group in the business section—which is imperative in light of the limited media attention it’s received to date.

In today’s fast-paced world, many of us prefer scanning thin books from Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell or Ken Blanchard. Or we’re accustomed to advertising and marketing books that are semi-instructional ala Luke Sullivan or the published series from Adweek. Like the previously mentioned contemporaries and classics, Madison Avenue and the Color Line is a serious historical piece. You won’t get through it during a New York-to-Chicago flight, unless you graduated summa cum laude from the Evelyn Wood School of Reading Dynamics.

Chambers is an associate professor in the Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and consults for companies and media outlets. Essentially, he’s an outsider—at least in terms of lacking ad agency experience. One might ordinarily dismiss the author, as outsiders tend to be ignorant on so many levels about our industry.

Yet Chambers brings a fresh viewpoint to the proceedings. He’s curious and not immediately judgmental. Like a great reporter or social anthropologist, he seeks facts, data and respected opinions. Chambers did tremendous research, culling through periodicals, journals, studies, etc. Plus, he interviewed key players and trailblazers. Then he launched comparisons and contrasts to parallel businesses. And he wrapped everything into American history. The book is a deep and thoughtful exploration of a subject traditionally clouded in mystique and misunderstanding.

Madison Avenue and the Color Line by Jason Chambers presents an opportunity for everyone to finally “get it.” Or minimally walk away with a single clue.

This concludes the introductory review overview. The next installment will dig further into the specific content. Stay tuned.

5817: A Bad Marriage.

This ad marries lousy art direction with corny copy.

5816: Dopey Ad.

The leader in detoxification under anesthesia probably can’t attribute the top position to its advertising campaign. And its nearly 70% success rate doesn’t say much for the competition.

5815: Auditioning For Feminine Voices…?

Creative Circle presents another classic job listing, now seeking an Copywriter capable of writing with a Feminine Voice. Um, would a Bea Arthur Feminine Voice suffice?

Position: Advertising Copywriter - Feminine Voice
Location: City of Chicago
Status: Fulltime or Freelance to Fulltime
Estimated Duration: Possible Fulltime
Starts: When right candidate is found
Rate: Up to $30/hr
Salary up to $70K

Job Description:
Our client is a staple in the Chicago ad industry. They’re an established downtown agency with a need for an Copywriter to act as one half of a team.

You should be a strong, conceptual Copywriter with experience touching a variety of traditional advertising mediums and forward thinking for new media (interactive) as well. You should have experience working in a similar team capacity and you must be able to present and defend your work internally and to clients.

Copywriters must be able to write with a feminine voice and have experience working on packaged goods, specifically those targeting a feminine audience are preferred.

5814: Targeting Blacks With Menthol Is Not Kool.

From The Chicago Tribune…

Blacks seen as targets of menthol
Exemption for additive troubles many critics

By Tim Jones | Chicago Tribune correspondent

FLINT, Mich.—Eighty years after a man named Lloyd “Spud” Hughes, as legend has it, accidentally mixed his tobacco with menthol crystals, Congress is fighting over whether to ban these popular flavored cigarettes.

Mentholated cigarettes started out in the 1920s with such names as Spud, Listerine, the Original Eucalyptus Smoke and Snowball. Today they’re sold as Newport, Kool and Marlboro Menthol, the smokes of choice among the black community.

Critics charge they are products designed specifically to lure young blacks into a lifetime of tobacco use.

While a growing number of states and cities, including Chicago, have moved to ban smoking in workplaces, restaurants and entertainment sites, and Congress is weighing a ban on flavored cigarettes, the issue of what, if anything, should be done about menthols has proved complicated for political Washington—and for smokers.

Billy Perry of Chicago said he’s been smoking Newports for 30 years. “It has a better taste and less of the effects of harshness,” Perry said.

But Perry said there is “not a shadow of a doubt that blacks are being targeted” by cigarette marketing campaigns.

For her part, Twaynis Royal, a Newport smoker who is a student at Chicago’s Robert Morris College, said cigarette firms have identified their market and are going after it. Royal, who is 25, said she started smoking Newports as a teenager, because that was what her parents smoked.

“Newport realizes their database is black people and they do the targeting,” Royal said.

‘Dedicated effort’ seen
A ban, though, looks like a political step too far for Congress. The House last month approved a measure that would authorize the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products and to ban flavored additives. Menthol flavoring, however, was exempted in the bill; defenders of that loophole argue it is a necessary concession to get the bill through the Senate.

The bill passed the House last month 326-102, but the menthol exemption was part of the negotiations to get enough votes to pass the bill. Some House members wanted to protect tobacco farmers, and others objected to the government having any role in the regulation of tobacco. One tobacco company, Philip Morris USA, agreed to support the measure, but only with the menthol exemption and other language that would prevent the government from ordering a ban on tobacco products.

Menthol critics point to studies that claim young blacks, who as a group are much more likely than whites to smoke menthols, have been targeted by marketing programs of cigarette manufacturers. Tobacco companies have forcefully denied targeting young people and are lobbying against any ban on menthols, which make up about a quarter of all cigarette sales.

“I think they should be banned,” said Floyd Clack, a former state representative in Michigan and lifelong resident of industrial and majority black Flint, where an estimated 36 percent of adults smoke, according to a 2007 study.

“It’s similar to other things in urban areas—there’s a dedicated effort to sell them to minorities,” Clack said. “Some things just shouldn’t happen.”

[Read the full story here.]

5813: Breaking New Olympic Records For Idiocy.

Despite having already published a few posts on the events in Beijing, MultiCultClassics really isn’t following the Olympics. So this gem initially slipped past. The men’s and women’s basketball teams from Spain appeared in ads for a courier company making slit-eyed gestures. Olympic officials already nixed a 7-year-old girl for not being pretty enough. Wonder how they’ll respond to this childish ugliness. Athletes are tested for doping. Too bad there’s no penalty for being a dope.

5812: Pimp Your Wardrobe.

Matching ride with hottie bathing in the back not included.

5811: Awarding Medals For Stupidity.

• Olympics controversy! It was revealed that a 7-year-old girl scheduled to sing during the opening ceremony was nixed for not being pretty enough—and she was replaced by a lip-synching cutie. “The audience will understand that it’s in the national interest,” explained an Olympics official. Wish they’d apply the same thinking to a few of the athletes. And announcers. Can’t wait to see the Olympics-related Dove commercial that’s surely being executed at this moment.

• Activist groups are organizing boycotts of the movie Tropic Thunder, arguing the film demeans people with intellectual disabilities. The lead character, played by Ben Stiller, is named Simple Jack; plus, the film makes frequent use of the word retard. Which means it will ultimately make stupid money.

• A judge ruled that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick did not violate his bond by visiting his sister over the weekend. The potential issue involved the assault incident that occurred last month, which Kilpatrick’s sister witnessed. An order prohibited Kilpatrick from having any contact with witnesses in the affair, but the judge decided such restrictions did not include the mayor’s family. Kilpatrick is now free from jail, although he’s wearing an electronic tether and can’t travel outside of Michigan. Every day, this scenario seems to grow more ugly and retarded.

5810: Nice Package.

Were the art director and copywriter snickering like schoolboys throughout the production of this ad? The phallic gum is crying for a subhead that reads, “Stick it in your mouth.” Where are the Doublemint Twins when you really need them?

5809: The State Of Recruitment TODAY.

Creative Circle is really starting to look like the employers who hire undocumented immigrants on the spot for daily jobs. Here’s an announcement to fill a position TODAY. CC is hunting for a “Jr. Bilingual Copywriter-Hispanic Market”—which technically should read as a Bilingual Jr. Copywriter, unless the recruitment company is actually seeking someone with junior-level fluency in Spanish. ¡Ay Caramba!

Position: Jr. Bilingual Copywriter-Hispanic Market
Location: Western Suburbs
Status: Freelance
Estimated Duration: 16 hours
Starts: TODAY, 8/12
Rate: $25-30/hr; DOE

Job Description:
A great freelance opportunity in the WESTERN BURBS. Our client is looking for a Jr. Copywriter to work with their team.

You MUST be bilingual in Spanish. You will be writing a promotion targeted towards the Hispanic market for a big name brand.

This starts TODAY, 8/12 so APPLY NOW!

5808: Keeping Up With The Joneses At Olympics.

From The New York Daily News…

Riding Olympic wave Bronx-born swimmer now champ in Beijing

By Edgar Sandoval and Corky Siemaszko
Daily News Staff Writers

Bronx-born swimmer Cullen Jones didn’t just help power the U.S. relay swim team to Olympic gold — he just may have shattered the stereotype that blacks can’t swim.

Although Jones isn’t the first African-American swimmer to make the Olympic squad (he’s the third), or the first to win a gold medal (he’s the second), he figured in one of the most exciting races in sports history.

And that thriller will be replayed on Olympic highlight reels for generations to come. “I hope this exposure from the race today, a kid can see this and say, ‘Wow, a black swimmer — and he’s got a gold medal,’” Jones, 24, said. “The stigma that black people don’t swim ended today.”

“That’s great,” said Jones’ teammate Michael Phelps, who also romped to victory today in the 200-meter freestyle for his third-straight gold medal of the Games.

As for Jones, the reason he began swimming in the first place is because the water nearly killed him.

Jones was 5 years old and living in Irvington, N.J., when his parents took him to a Pennsylvania water park to cool off. His mother, Debra, didn’t want him to go down a slide in an inner tube because he couldn’t swim.

Jones should have listened to his mother. When the inner tube flipped over, he panicked instead of letting go and then passed out.

It took CPR to bring him back to life. The next week, his mother sent him for swimming lessons at a YMCA in nearby Newark and then the John F. Kennedy Aquatic Center, which is also in Newark. Jones took to the water immediately, but wasn’t a standout at first, his coaches said. “At first he was an average swimmer and he progressed,” said Elliott Bradley. “The more he progressed, the better he got at it. I never thought he would go this far. I’m very proud of him.”

[Read the full story here.]

5807: Say It Ain’t So, Joe.

Surprised the art director didn’t style the model’s fingernails with Coffee-Mate polish.