6340: Losing Interest With Circuit City.

Why is Circuit City offering 36 months of no interest when it’s unlikely the retailer will even exist in 36 months—or 36 weeks, for that matter?

6339: Dance Lessons For Diversity.

Craig Brimm of Kiss My Black Ads visits Agency Spy to discuss dancing with the stars on Madison Avenue.

6338: Par For The Course.

Now lousy bosses can enroll for a course on managing younger employees. Wonder if the university will also offer lessons to Millennials.

6337: Lovers And Haters.

Hating the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Folks in St. Louis have a love-hate relationship with Black History Month. Actually, it’s a hate-love affair. Seems a school sent a flier home with kids that read, “Why I hate Black History Month.” The piece was intended to emphasize the need to celebrate Black culture all year long. But complaints from parents and others prompted a headline revision to, “Why I LOVE Black History Month.” Wow, talk about caving in to the critics. Bet the revised flier also spotlights Black inventors.

• The BBC reported President George W. Bush has an 80 percent approval rating. In Africa. In America, meanwhile, most citizens prefer to carry fliers titled, “Why I hate Dubya.” All year long.

6336: My Black Is Outta Here.

From Adage.com…

Najoh Tita-Reid Leaves Procter & Gamble
As Multicultural-Marketing Exec, Headed ‘My Black Is Beautiful’ Campaign

By Ken Wheaton and Jack Neff

NEW YORK -- Najoh Tita-Reid, the associate director of multicultural marketing who captained the “My Black is Beautiful” initiative at Procter & Gamble, is leaving the company, she revealed on an industry panel today.

The push overseen by Ms. Reid began in 2007. Backed by several of the company’s beauty and personal-care brands, it was aimed at addressing negative media stereotypes regarding African-American women. The effort has mainly focused on educational and public-relations events, but also most recently included a contest for a model to appear in Pantene advertising. Additionally, the initiative helped underwrite the MSNBC documentary “Meeting David Wilson” last April, which was followed by a 90-minute live discussion on race at Howard University anchored by Brian Williams.

Ms. Reid’s future is yet undetermined. She said she initially planned to join another consumer-products marketer, but recent events led her to reconsider. She said her parting with P&G was on good terms.

‘A great legacy’
“I feel like I was able to make a great impact,” said Ms. Reid on a panel at the One Club today moderated by Ad Age Big Tent blogger Pepper Miller. “I feel like I’m leaving a great legacy and a great team behind.”

Speaking about the need for African-American voices in corporate boardrooms, Ms. Reid said: “I was that voice at P&G, and that role was vast.”

The campaign run by Ms. Reid at P&G was supported by such billion-dollar behemoths as Pantene, Olay, Crest and Always. It took the unusual tack in multicultural marketing of recognizing that many Hispanic women are also black, looking to traverse a difficult boundary and create an effort that could work across both communities.

6335: Diversity In The Face Of Crisis.

Hyping neighborhood diversity during a housing crisis is like, well, pressing for Madison Avenue diversity while the advertising industry is tanking. Oh well, there’s never a perfect time to stage a revolution.

6334: Full Of Shit.

Did you realize the average person has 5-20 pounds of waste in their colon? Hey, that’s still less shit than you’ll find in this campaign.

6333: Remembering Racism With Rastus.

Remember how racist it was?

It still is.

Plus, you’re invited to join the protest petition.

6332: Is Client-Requested Diversity Coming?

From Adweek.com…

Focus of Diversity Issue Shifts to Clients
NAACP will ask advertisers to pressure agencies about hiring practices

By Andrew McMains

NEW YORK Last week’s release of a 73-page report quantifying the relative paucity of African Americans in the advertising industry was but the first shot across the bow to major ad holding companies from civil rights law firm Mehri & Skalet and its partner, the NAACP.

In the the coming weeks, the NAACP will ask advertisers to pressure the holding company agencies they employ to fundamentally change their approach to hiring, retaining and promoting black staffers, according to Mehri & Skalet founding partner Cyrus Mehri.

The study, “Research Perspectives on Race and Employment in the Advertising Industry,” argues that current industry efforts to “expand the pipeline” of minority applicants-via internships, scholarships and mentoring programs-aren’t enough. There are still wide gaps in representation, income levels and promotion opportunities between black and white employees that have existed for decades.

The report asserts, for example, that black workers, on average, make 80 cents for every dollar earned by their white counterparts and that based in part on black representation in like industries, African Americans should comprise 9.6 percent of advertising’s total estimated U.S. workforce of 167,000, not the current 5.3 percent. “None of the ‘expand the pipeline’ initiatives . . . is harmful in itself,” the report states. “However, the initiatives are harmful to the extent that they lead the advertising industry, public enforcement agencies, civil rights advocates, the news media or other interested parties to believe that race discrimination in industry employment is being addressed in a meaningful way.”

The study, which Mehri & Skalet commissioned from Bendick and Egan Economic Consultants in Washington, D.C., further calls for agency leaders to systematically rid their workplace cultures of conscious or unconscious bias and make a “business case for inclusion.” Such change will take years and require new policies and the retraining of agency staffers, particularly agency managers, the report suggests.

Mehri & Skalet since last spring has gathered anecdotal evidence of discrimination from African Americans in the business who feel aggrieved. That process began with interviews with a core group of a dozen people and continues as others connect with the firm via word of mouth, said Mehri.

Implied in the information gathering, report generation and client outreach is the prospect of a lawsuit-a tool that Mehri used previously to extract major settlements of discrimination claims from Coca-Cola and Texaco. In other cases, however, Mehri’s firm has achieved anti-discriminatory policies without suing, such as getting the NFL to consider black candidates when hiring coaches or persuading Morgan Stanley to address gender inequality.

When asked about the likelihood of striking an accord with the ad industry without suing, Mehri said it was a question of leadership. “This really turns at the CEO level,” Mehri told Adweek on Friday. “In other words, are the [holding company] CEOs going to be like the owners of the NFL, and say, ‘Now is the time to do something?’ Or are the CEOs going to be entrenched and shortsighted? And if so, I think these companies are going to crumble under what we’re going to give them because they’re going to start losing their clients.”

The recession and its related client spending cuts and agency layoffs create “challenges and opportunities,” said Mehri. “We’re in an economic crisis. But we’re in an industry that is vulnerable because of that economic crisis. The last thing they need is to lose more business because they’re taking an unenlightened view on this.”

6331: Stimulating Stimulus Plans And Hustlers.

Talking trash in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Adult entertainment moguls Larry Flynt and Joe Francis have asked Washington for a $5 billion federal bailout. “The government’s handing out money to the auto industry,” whined Girls Gone Wild producer Francis. “Why shouldn’t it hand some to an industry the nation could not live without?” Perhaps they can get support from former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, ex-Senator Larry Craig and even former President Bill Clinton.

• Britain’s Prince Harry apologized for making racist remarks about Pakistanis and people of Arab descent in a 2006 video. The offenses included referring to someone as “our little paki friend” (paki is an offensive term to people from Pakistan) and calling someone wearing a headscarf a “raghead.” Racism from the Royal Family? Why, it’s positively mortifying.

• A Brooklyn woman is suing Tito Jackson, claiming that he’s her father. “He told me he was my father when I was 17,” said the woman. “He didn’t want it public. … He was ashamed.” It’s not clear if he was ashamed to be her father, or ashamed to be Tito Jackson.

6330: Obama And Oboomers.

From The Associated Press…

In Obama, many see an end to the baby boomer era

By Associated Press

NEW YORK---- When George W. Bush lifts off in his helicopter on Inauguration Day, leaving Washington to make way for Barack Obama, he may not be the only thing disappearing into the horizon.

To a number of social analysts, historians, bloggers and ordinary Americans, Jan. 20 will symbolize the passing of an entire generation: the baby boomer years.

Generational change. A passing of the torch. The terms have been thrown around with frequency as the moment nears for Obama to take the oath of office. And yet the reference is not to Obama’s relatively young age—at 47, he’s only tied for fifth place on the youngest presidents list with Grover Cleveland.

Rather, it’s a sense that a cultural era is ending, one dominated by the boomers, many of whom came of age in the ‘60s and experienced the bitter divisions caused by the Vietnam War and the protests against it, the civil rights struggle, social change, sexual freedoms, and more.

Those experiences, the theory goes, led boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, to become deeply motivated by ideology and mired in decades-old conflicts. And Obama? He’s an example of a new pragmatism: idealistic but realistic, post-partisan, unthreatened by dissent, eager and able to come up with new ways to solve problems.

“Obama is one of those people who was raised post-Vietnam and really came of age in the ‘80s,” says Steven Cohen, professor of public administration at Columbia University. “It’s a huge generational change, and a new kind of politics. He’s trying to be a problem-solver by not getting wrapped up in the right-left ideology underlying them.”

Obama, it must be said, is technically a boomer; he was born in 1961. But he long has sought to draw a generational contrast between himself and the politicians who came before him.

“I sometimes felt as if I were watching the psychodrama of the baby boom generation—a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago—played out on the national stage,” he wrote of the 2000 and 2004 elections in his book, “The Audacity of Hope.”

It’s been a while since historians spoke of generational change in Washington. Fully 16 years have passed since Bill Clinton, the first boomer president, took office. Before that, presidents from John F. Kennedy to George H.W. Bush—seven straight—were part of the World War II generation, or what Tom Brokaw has termed the “Greatest Generation.”

If Obama isn’t a boomer in spirit, then what is he? Not exactly a member of Generation X, though obviously that generation and the next, Generation Y (also known as Millenials) embraced him fully and fueled his historic rise to the presidency.

“Gen Xers are known to be more cynical, less optimistic,” says social commentator Jonathan Pontell. “Xers don’t write books with the word ‘hope’ in the title.”

Some call late boomers like Obama Cuspers—as in, the cusp of a new generation. One book has called it the 13th generation, as in the 13th generation since colonial times. And Pontell, also a political consultant in Los Angeles, has gained some fame coining a new category: Generation Jones, as in the slang word ‘jonesing,’ or craving, and as in a generation that’s lost in the shuffle.

Jonesers are idealistic, Pontell says, but not ideological like boomers. “Boomers were flower children out changing the world. We Jonesers were wide-eyed, not tie-dyed.”

And Obama, he says, is “a walking, living prime example of Generation Jones. He’s a classic practical idealist. It’s not the naive idealism of the ‘60s.”

Wide-eyed or tie-dyed, Obama will be sworn in by an early “Joneser” himself—Chief Justice John Roberts, who turns 54 at the end of January. And while the average age of the new Congress is 58.2 -- an early boomer group—the new president is bringing some “Jonesers” with him.

Obama’s chosen treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, is 47. His pick for education secretary, Arne Duncan, is 44, as is Susan Rice, his U.N. ambassador. (His apparent pick for surgeon general, 39-year-old neurosurgeon and TV correspondent Sanjay Gupta, is a true Gen Xer.)

Of course, Obama’s also bringing in veteran Clintonites—most notably Hillary Rodham Clinton, 61, his former campaign rival, as secretary of state. And his vice president, Joe Biden, 66, and defense secretary, Bush holdover Robert Gates, 65, are pre-boomers. But those are the kind of choices—inclusive of other perspectives, embracing rivals—that lead many to call Obama the first post-boomer president.

“It may be technically correct to call him a boomer,” says Douglas Warshaw, a New York media executive who, at age 49, is part of whatever cohort Obama is in. “And it’s in the Zeitgeist to call him a Gen Xer. But I think he’s more like a generational bridge.” He adds that Obama got where he was by “brilliantly leveraging the communication behaviors of post-Boomers,” with a campaign waged across the Web, on cell phones and on social networking sites.

One analyst of popular culture believes Obama definitely symbolizes a new generation—just not one connected to the year he was born.

“I think it’s hilarious that everyone wants to categorize people by their birth year, especially now, a time when our parents are on Facebook,” says Montana Miller of Bowling Green State University. Obama, she says, represents a generational shift in ways less tangible than age.

“You can see it from his approach to knowledge. Never before have we had a president who’s troubled about giving up his Blackberry,” Miller says. (Indeed, Obama is still in a struggle over whether he can keep the device.) “He’s constantly exposed to multiple perspectives, to what people out there feel and think.”

Obama’s biracial heritage also plays into the generational shift, Miller says. “It’s so emblematic of how the world is changing,” she says. “So many people are now some sort of complicated ethnic mix. Today’s youth are completely comfortable with that.”

Will Obama speak of generational change when he stands on the podium to issue his inaugural address? Given some of his rhetoric on the campaign trail, it’s reasonable to think he will—just as, some six months before he was born, JFK pronounced on Inauguration Day that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.”

Interestingly, Kennedy is often claimed by boomers to be one of their own, even though he was nothing of the kind; born in 1917, he’d be 91 now. In the same way, many Gen Xers and even Gen Yers like to claim Obama, too.

“As humans we all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves, part of a page in a history book,” Pontell says. And at least for now, he adds, “Obama’s a rock star, and people are dying to call him one of their own.”

6329: Short Circuits.

Going-Out-Of-Business News in a MultiCultClassics Monologue...

• Circuit City could go out of business by Friday if a buyer doesn’t emerge from at least two currently interested parties. Let’s hope the potential buyers aren’t receiving sales pitches from Circuit City employees.

• Boeing announced plans to dump 4,500 jobs in 2009. The president and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes segment said, “We are taking prudent actions to make sure Boeing remains well positioned in today’s difficult economic environment.” Gee, that should comfort the 4,500 people about to become not-so-well-positioned in today’s difficult economic environment.

• General Mills reported 2Q profits dropped 3 percent. Better eat your Wheaties.

• Talks are underway to merge Citigroup’s Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley. Is anyone even paying attention to all the mergers anymore? You could combine Barney Fife with Stanley Laurel and no one would care.

6328: Gaming Grannies.

From The Los Angeles Times…

Grandparents get their widgets on
The Consumer Electronics Show’s inaugural Silvers Summit focuses on the intersection of baby boomers, their parents and technology.

By Michelle Maltais

Reporting from Las Vegas — Remember when Grandma and Grandpa were confounded by the VCR? Today’s senior citizens are surfing the Web, gabbing on cellphones, Skyping with grandkids and firing up the Wii game console.

When it comes to technology, older Americans have done a cultural reboot.

“They’re doing things that 80-year-olds weren’t doing 15 years ago,” said Howard Byck, senior vice president for lifestyle products for AARP.

The Consumer Electronics Show is hosting its inaugural Silvers Summit today, focusing on the intersection of baby boomers, their parents and technology.

The daylong seminar, with speakers from AARP, the UCLA Memory and Aging Research Center, Qualcomm Inc. and Google Inc., includes a breakdown of just how gray we’re getting—an estimated 1.2 billion people over the age 60 worldwide by 2025 -- and what the potential impact may be on technology and society.

“CES is always miles of aisles of stuff without context,” said Robin Raskin, a Silvers Summit co-founder. “Here is this market that is so ripe.”

Byck called it “a constant battle” to get the attention of retailers and advertisers. But they are starting to take note that as baby boomers gray, the golden years could take on a whole new meaning for marketers. Seniors represent 75% of this country’s wealth, AARP says, citing census data.

Plus, the boomer demographic is relatively tech savvy. More than 7 million own gaming systems even though they aren’t parents, and 29 million own digital video recorders, according to AARP.

The senior-specific products pitched at CES run the gamut from advanced to stripped-down.

Halo Monitoring’s MyHalo strap is worn across the sternum and sends data on heart rate, temperature and other vital health functions to a wireless router that caregivers can access over the Web. If the user falls, calls for help automatically go out.

Then there are simple cellphones. Clarity, a Plantronics Inc. subsidiary, has made telephony products for people with hearing loss for about 30 years. When it came to making a cellphone recently, the company found its customers craved louder earpieces, bigger displays and fewer buttons.

The result, Clarity’s C900, has four buttons on the front—for answering or calling, hanging up and scrolling through contacts—and a slide-out keypad. There’s no text messaging or Web surfing. But the phone does include a flashlight and an emergency button that alerts pre-determined contacts.

The Quality of Life Technology Center, a joint venture between Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, is developing products that adapt to their users, including software that senses when a computer user is leaning closer to the screen so it can make the text bigger and navigation systems that learn their users’ driving needs, habits and capabilities. The technology center is also developing a kind of backup brain system to help jog memory when the user can’t remember the name that goes with a face.

“Technology fills the gap between intent and capability,” said Curt Stone, director of the program that’s commercializing the center’s products.

Though seniors get their own tech summit at CES, products oriented specifically toward them occupy only a small section of the show floor. But the summit’s founder said the growth potential could become too seductive to ignore.

“Boomers are going to demand that these things are there—for themselves and their parents,” Raskin said.

6327: Work On Your Day Off.

From The Washington Post…

For King Holiday, Calling All Volunteers

By Nikita Stewart and David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writers

President-elect Barack Obama is urging the nation to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day as it was originally intended: as a national day of service.

With the holiday falling the day before his Jan. 20 inauguration, Obama is seeking widespread volunteer initiatives across the country, such as serving meals to the homeless, cleaning schools and neighborhoods, or helping disadvantaged youths and the elderly.

Colin L. Powell, an honorary chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, announced the “Renew America Together” initiative yesterday. He said he hopes the enthusiasm surrounding Obama’s election victory will inspire Americans to finally meet the holiday’s promise.

The federal holiday, first observed 23 years ago, has never settled into American traditions, such as parades on the Fourth of July or family dinners on Thanksgiving. In 1994, Congress designated it as a National Day of Service and even created a federal agency to oversee it. But the service day—tied to King’s birthday, Jan. 15, and inspired by his words that “everybody can be great because anybody can serve”—never quite caught on.

Obama, who will become the nation’s first African American president, plans to take part in Washington area activities along with his family, although details were not announced. Powell, who made history himself as the first African American secretary of state, has long promoted volunteerism.

“Inaugurations are always a new start,” Powell said. “Inaugurations are a time for new leadership to come in and charge the nation to deal with the problems that we have.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees the service day, is “thrilled with the extraordinary high level of attention the incoming president is giving this,” spokesman Sandy Scott said.

Last year, the agency recorded about 500,000 volunteers participating in roughly 5,000 service projects on King Day, Scott said in an interview. “This year will be the largest ever, fueled by President-elect Barack Obama’s call to service. … The number of volunteers will be in the millions,” he said.

Organizers are hoping that those who volunteer will stick with it year-round.

“Mentor at a school. Go to a first-grade class and read,” Powell said. “Go to a place where older people need to have company, need to have people visit with them.”

The call is similar to that given by other presidents, from John F. Kennedy with the Peace Corps, to George H.W. Bush with the Points of Light, to Bill Clinton with AmeriCorps.

Like Obama’s presidential campaign, the current effort has a modern, Internet-driven twist.

Renew America Together is using technology to build a network of once-isolated volunteers. Its Web site, USAService.org, can link a potential community helper with a winter coat drive or a blood bank.

Buffy Wicks, director of Renew America Together, who worked as state director for the Obama campaign in Missouri, said in an interview that the inaugural committee wanted to apply what worked on the trail to volunteerism.

“What this is, essentially, is something along the lines of a Craigslist,” said Linda Douglass, chief spokeswoman for the inaugural committee. “It’s a hub where we can connect people who are offering opportunities for service, ideas for service and people who want to serve.”

Renew America Together piggybacked on what was already happening, collecting information about 5,000 events across the country to put on the Web site. “I have no doubt that we will surpass that,” Wicks said. “The Web site is certainly going off the charts right now.”

At a news conference, Powell explained that people can visit the site and add events or ideas.

The meaning of “serve” appears to be relative: Most events are the traditional labor- and donation-oriented projects, but others are a bit different.

In Tempe, Ariz., for instance, the Center for Advanced Natural Healing is offering complimentary 90-minute massages; in Chicago, the Bethel Cultural Arts Center is promoting a “Relax, Relate, Rejuvenate” event that focuses on eliminating stress through “massages, yoga, spoken word, nutrition counseling.”

Organizers of the events said that they are getting calls from people who found their causes on the USA Service site.

In Waco, the Heart of Texas Urban Gardening Coalition is planting vegetable gardens at a dozen schools and other sites. Matt Hess, education director for World Hunger Relief, which is part of the coalition, said the aim is to get students to eat more nutritious foods. After vegetables ripen, they will be cooked and served to the students and sent home to low-income families.

Hess, who said the group hopes to find 1,000 volunteers, is pleased that he has received 50 calls from people who found his event on the USA Service site. One of those who called was Alisa Petree, a Waco mother of three who said she signed up with her 11-year-old daughter, Kristen, to plant at an elementary school.

A Democrat in the heart of Red America—the event is the closest service day project to George W. Bush’s Crawford ranch—Petree said she thinks the Web site is a good way to help people get involved.

“The project was close and easy to access,” she said. “The Web site is a great opportunity for people to see what’s available in the community.”

Organizers are counting on thousands of inaugural visitors to fan out and join projects in the District. The Web site is prominently promoting an event at the Aquatic Resources Education Center in Anacostia Park where students will test water quality, clean up trash and plant 44 trees. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) is scheduled to attend.

In Arizona, Hands On Greater Phoenix is putting on a series of events, including neighborhood cleanups, housing renovations in poorer communities and orange harvesting for a food bank. The group is seeking 750 volunteers, said Alan Dicker, communications coordinator.

“It’s great that we have someone in the White House who is actually promoting that,” Dicker said of community service. “He’s going out of his way to promote giving back to the community.”

Asked whether Obama’s focus on service would help increase the volunteer base, Dicker said: “At least for now. I don’t know about the long run, but this galvanizes people, especially around something like MLK Day, and brings in new volunteers.”

Staff writer Hamil R. Harris contributed to this report.

6326: An Inconvenient Truth In Advertising.

We’ll bet the creative team responsible for this ad checked the top box.

6325: Pushing Mail Stereotypes.

DDB Worldwide is responsible for this N.Y. Lottery commercial starring a Black guy pushing the office mail cart. It’s not the first time DDB has presented a Black mailroom attendant. Guess it’s the only role for Blacks that DDB is familiar with. Cyrus Mehri, take note.

6324: Stalling With Ex-Senator Larry Craig.

Dumping the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Former Senator Larry Craig decided to dump attempts to reverse his guilty plea. Next time he goes into a toilet stall, he should just take a dump—and nothing more.

• Walgreens announced plans to cut 1,000 salaried employees, which translates to about 9 percent of its corporate management. Hey, all the guys are invited to hang out with former Senator Larry Craig

• Macy’s announced plans to close 11 stores in 9 states, citing poor sales performance. But Macy’s had the loot to hire Donald Trump as a spokesman?

6323: Seeking Writers With Leadership Skills.

This actual job listing from craigslist was mistakenly published in the Writing/Editing category. Then again, given the sad state of affairs for Madison Avenue copywriters, maybe it wasn’t a mistake.

JANITORIAL, CREW LEADER WANTED

Reply to: ELUCAS@KIMCOCORP.COM
Date: 2009-01-08, 5:59PM CST

General retail store maintenance, including, but not limited to: trash removal; dusting; cleaning and restocking supplies in restrooms, break rooms, sweeping and mopping floors; vacuuming; window washing; scrubbing and buffing floors, order supplies, good communication with store managers, other duties as assigned. Specific duties may vary. Must be a hardworking, dedicated team player willing to work Weekends & Holidays.

Assign, coordinate, and inspect the work of a small group of individuals engaged in retail cleaning. Train new personnel regarding the use of cleaning supplies and methods, and schedule for performing various tasks. Perform site evaluations to assure that work is completed in a timely manner and in accordance with established procedures. Monitor work performance and inform the Operation Manager of progress of new employees, or any problems with employees.

• Knowledge of generally accepted methods of retail cleaning of buildings
• Knowledge of products and equipment used in cleaning buildings
• Knowledge of safety precautions and procedures associated with retail cleaning
• Ability to communicate effectively orally with co-workers, supervisors and the general public
• Ability to supervise
• Ability to work independently

6322: Cyrus Mehri Makes His Move.

From AdAge.com…

Study: Ad Agencies Exhibit ‘Pervasive Racial Discrimination’
Blacks Make 20% Less than Whites; Groundwork Laid for Class-Action Suit

By Marissa Miley and Ken Wheaton

NEW YORK -- The ad industry doesn’t simply have a diversity problem. According to Cyrus Mehri’s Madison Avenue Project, it is guilty of “pervasive racial discrimination” that not only underhires and segregates African-Americans but pays them 80 cents for every dollar it pays comparable white employees. With current efforts to bridge the gap doing little more than “blaming the victims,” Mr. Mehri and the NAACP are laying the groundwork for a possible class-action suit against the industry.

“The NAACP and my firm are joining forces to take on the advertising industry to end the long era of purposeful discrimination,” Mr. Mehri said in New York today, where he, NAACP Interim General Counsel Angela Ciccolo, activist Sanford Moore and economists Marc Bendick and Mary Lou Egan held a press conference. The industry, Mr. Mehri continued, “has robbed the African-American community of equal opportunity, good positions and, most important, their dignity.”

Mr. Mehri’s civil-rights firm, Mehri & Skalet, specializes in class-action cases, including successful discrimination cases against Coca-Cola Co., Ford Motor Co. and Texaco. He said the Madison Avenue Project, though, is best compared to his Women on Wall Street project, which focuses on gender discrimination in financial institutions. He said he would release a clearer timeline for the Madison Avenue Project by the end of the month.

‘Tried to get people to listen’
The Madison Avenue Project follows decades of prior attempts to break down racial discrimination in the $31 billion advertising industry. “For over 30 years, I’ve tried to get people to listen,” Mr. Moore said, comparing “the streets of Madison Avenue” to the “segregated graveyards of the past.”

While that may seem like hyperbole to some, the study, authored by Mr. Bendick and Ms. Egan, offers some startling findings:

• Black college graduates in advertising earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by their white counterparts.

• The total U.S. population is 12.8% African-American. Blacks should represent 9.6% of advertising professionals and managers, according to U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates. But actual representation falls dramatically short of that expectation—about 55% short.

• Blacks are only 10% as likely as their white counterparts to hold a position that pays $100,000 or more per year.

• Compared with the overall U.S. labor market, the advertising industry fares significantly worse on eight measures of employment for black managers and professionals—by an average of 36.7%.

According to the NAACP’s Ms. Ciccolo, black workers “have a better chance of being struck by lightning” than being employed at some agencies.

“We’re getting beyond opinions or perceptions and down to hard-core facts,” Mr. Bendick said.

American Association of Advertising Agencies President-CEO Nancy Hill, who attended the press conference, said, “The numbers speak for themselves,” but she didn’t want to comment farther until she read the entire study.

Efforts have been made
Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, efforts have been made to combat and eradicate such racial inequities, specifically by the Urban League of Greater New York, the NAACP and the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Most recently, the NYCHR opened an investigation in 2004 into the practices of 16 leading agencies that resulted in all signing agreements vowing to fight racial discrimination over a period of three years. But that has resulted in what Mr. Moore calls a “minimalist” response from the industry.

He has particular disdain for chief diversity officers. “Diversity executives and diversity consultants are diversity pimps. The only thing that’s diversified are their bank accounts,” Mr. Moore said. “They’re put there as window dressing. And window dressing gets taken down after the holidays.”

Mr. Bendick and Ms. Egan, on the other hand, said such positions can be very useful—if the executives report to CEOs and the CEOs have the will to diversify their agencies. But they both added that if there is no commitment at the highest levels of the agency, the role is indeed window dressing.

Jason Chambers, author of Madison Avenue and the Color Line, called the Madison Avenue Project a “fine idea,” and said it is the first initiative of its legal magnitude. However, he pointed out that the beleaguered state of the economy limits the potential positive outcome of such a project.

‘Couldn’t come at a worse time’
“Honestly, it couldn’t come at a worse time,” he said via e-mail. “How much can be done to encourage new [minority] hiring when many firms are laying off experienced people of all racial and ethnic persuasions?” Mr. Chambers said in order to bring about change in the industry, holding companies and agencies need to have a “consistent commitment to funding and encouraging minority participation” over the long-term. At a minimum, he said, this should be done for a decade, “not one to two years with an occasional report to a body whose leadership and focus changes.”

At today’s press conference, Ms. Ciccolo specifically addressed economic concerns. “Recession is no excuse for discrimination,” she said, adding, “There is no bailout for [its] casualties.” She said the Madison Avenue Project is the first major civil-rights initiative of 2009.

While Mr. Mehri doesn’t have a precise timeline, he said he and the NAACP are interviewing industry employees and doing more homework. Referencing Nat King Cole’s comment that Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark, Mr. Mehri said, “They’re going to be afraid of the sunshine we’re going to bring to the industry.”

6321: Arbitron Loses, Um, Settles Lawsuit.

From Adweek.com…

Updated: Arbitron Agrees to Settle Lawsuits
The suits alleged that the rating company engaged in deceptive marketing in the deployment of its portable people meters

By Steve McClellan

NEW YORK Arbitron said today that it has signed consent agreements to resolve lawsuits brought by the states of New York and New Jersey in October that alleged the rating company had engaged in deceptive marketing in the deployment of its portable people meter in the New York radio market.

The New York suit also charged that Arbitron had failed to disclose flaws in the New York PPM that resulted in the underrepresentation of African-American and Hispanic radio listeners, causing financial harm to minority broadcasters in the market. The New Jersey lawsuit alleged violations of that state’s consumer protection and civil rights laws relating to the marketing and commercialization of the portable people meter.

The states confirmed the agreements, with the New York State Attorney General’s office calling its settlement the first of its kind in the nation and saying it calls for an “overhaul” of Arbitron’s New York PPM methodology.

“The radio airwaves should represent the diversity of New York State,” Andrew Cuomo, New York State Attorney General, said in a statement. “With this lawsuit, we sought to address the misrepresentation of a flawed product in the marketplace and its impact on the communities that need the most protection. This agreement ensures that Arbitron will fairly measure radio listenership in New York and fairly represent New York’s diverse radio market. As Arbitron works to improve this product, which should not have been released in its current form, my office will aggressively hold Arbitron to rigorous standards to make PPM a better product.”

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said the settlement “will ensure that Arbitron consumers are receiving a more accurate sampling product while, at the same time, ensuring that minority-owned broadcasting outlets are competing on a more level playing field.”

Arbitron CEO Steve Morris stated: “Broadcasters, agencies and advertisers in New York can continue to use PPM measurement of radio without any hesitation or reservation. We are also pleased to be able to resolve this action within the framework of our continuous improvement program for the portable people meter ratings service in the New York radio market. These initiatives are sure to increase the accountability of radio to the benefit of all New York radio broadcasters and their advertisers.”

As part of the agreements, Arbitron pledged to recruit more people for its listenership panels in cell phone only homes and to make greater attempts to recruit people in person. The original lawsuit charged that Arbitron’s failure to do so resulted in the disproportionate exclusion of African Americans and Latinos from its ratings panels.

The company also agreed to take “all reasonable measures” to insure that an average 75 percent of the data issued by the New York PPM system for all demographic groups was usable and reportable by April 1. 2009, “and to ensure that subcategories comprising 10 percent or more of the New York Metro population fall within 90 percent of the overall 75 target.”

Arbitron also agreed to strive to obtain accreditation for the New York PPM service from the Media Rating Council, which previously denied accreditation. The state said it reserved the right to revoke the agreement and restart litigation if Arbitron does not receive the MRC’s formal blessing by Oct. 15, 2009, or if it does not achieve the methodological changes agreed to by certain dates.

The company also agreed to pay $200,000 in settlement of the claims and $60,000 for costs. The company will pay $100,000 to the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) for a joint radio project between NABOB and the Spanish Radio Association to support minority radio.

Arbitron also agreed to fund an advertising campaign in the New York market (of at least $25,000) promoting minority radio and to include a disclaimer on promotional material indicating that PPM ratings are based on audience estimates and should not be relied on for precise accuracy or precise “representativeness” of the New York radio market.

The ratings firm will also conduct a study “to determine and cure measurable bias the PPM methodology may have on racial minorities.” The study is to be completed in July; any biases are to be remedied within six months.

This story updates an earlier item with the news that Arbitron has also agreed to settle the New Jersey lawsuit.

6320: Call A Real Doctor.

While the FREE product coupon entices you, the STD results on the tongue and lips kill the deal.

6319: Black Women, Be More Like Oprah.

Associated Press presents another study revealing the obvious. Although you know some morons are saying, “Quit whining—barriers and glass ceilings never stopped Oprah.”

Black female execs need networks: study

From Associated Press

Black women face special challenges in their efforts to reach the top levels of corporate America, according to a new study.

Weaker or less strategic networks and inaccurate perceptions of their abilities are two leading barriers to their advancement to the positions of CEO, CFO or COO, according to the Executive Leadership Council, an organization for black executives.

One percent of senior corporate officers are black women, according to the ELC, compared with 3 percent for black men, 14 percent for white women and 77 percent for white men.

The ELC questioned 150 executives, ranging from vice presidents to CEOs and board members from a variety of industries and locations, about reasons for the disparities. Thirty-one percent cited networking and 24 percent cited a perception gap as hindering the advancement of black women. Fifteen percent cited racism.

Seventy-five percent of the respondents said it was important to have senior executives who are minorities in order to provide new ideas and innovation and better reflect the diversity of their customers.

“If you have the same group of people looking at the same issues, you will come up with the same solutions,” said Carl Brooks, CEO of the ELC.

To overcome these barriers, black women executives should seek challenging, high-profile assignments; create action plans for accomplishing their career goals; work with executive coaches; and take advantage of critical feedback, respondents said.

“At the end of the day, there is no replacement for outstanding performance,” said Jerri DeVard, a black woman who has worked for a variety of corporations and now runs DeVard Marketing Group in New York. “But then there are all those intangibles, and sometimes those intangibles are more important than the performance. You need someone who can demystify those intangibles and say, ‘These are the things that are getting in your way.”’

The study, released Wednesday, was conducted by Harris Interactive from Nov. 4 to Dec. 2.

Due to its small sample size, it is not scientifically representative of the business community at large.

6318: Dummies Are Standing By.

Saw the book above and wondered if anyone’s written a Diversity for Dummies version yet. There’s an entire industry on Madison Avenue that could benefit from such a title.

6317: Craig Brimm Does David Letterman.

Craig Brimm presents a Top Ten List. Should’ve hired Biff Henderson to read it.

6316: Ogilvy On Advertising 2009.

From Ogilvy On Advertising, David Ogilvy on Firing:

Agencies used to fire people at the drop of a hat. Stirling Getchel’s otherwise admirable agency had a turnover in staff of 137 percent in one year. Another agency fired a copywriter because he dared to talk to the boss in the men’s room. Today the boot is on the other foot. The people who work in agencies are lamentably nomadic. I recently hired a 40-year-old copywriter who had already changed jobs eleven times.

Ogilvy & Mather fired up to 10 percent of its staff today, with some rumors estimating the headcount at over 300. How times have changed.

6315: Cold Steel.

Metal of dishonor in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Aluminum manufacturer Alcoa announced that 13,500 workers would get canned. Get it? Aluminum and canned. Bwahaha!

• Automakers recorded their worst December to Remember in 15 years, as Chrysler led the pack with a 53 percent sales decline. Hey, if they decided to build some aluminum cars, lots Alcoa workers could go back to work.

• Air India is taking heat after firing 9 flight attendants for allegedly being grossly overweight. The women ranged from 24 to 70 pounds overweight. In the U.S., they might have been charged hefty fees for the extra junk in da trunk.

6314: Omnicom Hires Diversity Chief.

From AdAge.com…

Omnicom Taps Warren for New Diversity Role
Former Arnold Exec Will Be Chief Diversity Officer for Holding Company

By Rupal Parekh

NEW YORK — Omnicom Group has tapped Tiffany R. Warren of Arnold Worldwide to serve in the newly created role of chief diversity officer at the holding company.

Ms. Warren has been at Havas-owned Arnold since 2005, most recently serving as VP-director of multicultural programs and community outreach. In that capacity, she oversaw programs within the agency to recruit and retain multicultural talent.

Outside of Arnold, she spearheaded AdColor, a collaboration of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Advertising Club of New York, AAF, Association of National Advertisers, Advertising Research Foundation and Arnold to promote increased diversity in the advertising and marketing industries.

Ms. Warren, who blogs for Advertising Age’s Big Tent blog, is well-known in adland for her diversity efforts, having spent time as manager of diversity programs at the 4A’s. In 2007, she was named one of Advertising Age’s Women to Watch.

An Omnicom spokeswoman confirmed the hire, while an Arnold spokeswoman said the agency intends to find a replacement for Ms. Warren and has already initiated a search to fill the position.

The creation of such a position in the C-suite is a clear sign that Omnicom, the world’s largest marketing services company, has made it a priority to improve its track record for the hiring and retention of minority ad executives. It’s particularly notable as Omnicom recently undertook staff reductions in the thousands.

The news of Ms. Warren’s hire also comes as Cyrus Mehri, one of the nation’s top civil rights attorneys, has turned his attention toward the ad industry’s woeful diversity record.

Mr. Mehri’s law firm later this week will reportedly announce an initiative called the Madison Avenue Project, dedicated to address racial inequality in the ad business.

6313: Face Time.

Looks like Erykah Badu is in a bizarro NBA ad.

6312: Clip And Save Your Career.

Now you have the opportunity to be a Campaign Manager. No, not for the next big political candidate. It’s even more exciting than that, as you’ll discover from this actual job listing.

Campaign Manager: Coupons, Inc.

Company Description:

Coupons, Inc. is a privately held company founded in 1998 with its corporate headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Coupons, Inc.’s core couponing, customer acquisition, and e-mail marketing services provides clients with creation, distribution, tracking, and reporting of consumer-printed coupons that can be used for traditional in-store redemption. Hundreds of the world’s leading consumer packaged goods manufacturers distribute coupon offers via Coupons, Inc.’s distribution network and Digital FSI platform of thousands of consumer websites. Coupons, Inc. represents the most flexible, effective, fraud-resistant, print-from-the-web coupon solution available in the world, and is a popular, rapidly growing alternative to traditional couponing.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Director of Online Marketing, the Campaign Manager will be an integral part of the marketing team that will lead the company’s coupon online distribution and online traffic acquisition initiatives. Working directly with online media publishers, search engines, and ad networks, the marketing associate will manage various areas of marketing programs including display ad campaigns, CRM campaigns, third party email campaigns, campaign optimization, creative production, marketing product development, and reporting. This position is required to interact extensively with business counterparts from various organizations both inside and outside the company.

6311: Avoiding The New Amateur Hour.

The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture by Andrew Keen was originally published in 2007. So more prominent sources than MultiCultClassics have already reviewed it. Why, there’s even a pretty funny critique by Lawrence Lessig, an Internet law professor at Stanford University and noted author, who apparently took offense to Keen’s comments about him and proceeded to pick apart the book’s “sloppiness, error and ignorance.”

Regardless, The Cult of the Amateur should be required reading for everyone getting deeply involved with digital communications, as Keen ponders ideas that demand consideration from an advertising perspective. Yeah, Keen tends to go over the top on a few subjects—and gurus might find sloppiness, error and ignorance—but he still serves provocative food for thought.

Keen points out consumers are having an increasingly difficult time separating the ads from the content in our Web 2.0 world:

According to a Pew Internet and American Life Project study, while most people can distinguish between regular programming and infomercials on television, and between regular content and advertisements in print publications, 62 percent of Web browsers could not distinguish between paid and unpaid sites among search results.

Advertising creatives have already been exploiting the situation, using bait-and-switch tactics or total lies to lure online consumers. In certain instances, perhaps there is a compelling reason for inventing messages that don’t look or feel like ads. But where do we draw the line? The industry has always had a strained relationship with the public. Adpeople and advertisers are hardly viewed as trustworthy. Won’t the final result of deliberate deception inspire further suspicion and loathing—plus reduced recall and instant dismissal?

Additionally, the blogosphere presents fresh controversies like Mrs O, where visitors eye Michelle Obama’s wardrobe and accessories, courtesy of Bartle Bogle Hegarty LLC. Some have declared we shouldn’t care who publishes the material. However, a significant percentage of the blog’s fans are probably Black women. Would they be interested to know Mrs O is being brought to you by the wonderful folks of Madison Avenue, where Blacks have faced discrimination for generations? Does it matter? It’s tough to say.

Throughout our history, there have been practitioners and disciplines that almost delight in tricking people for attention. Direct marketing is especially guilty, with misleading envelopes and spam that appears to be official, important or friendly. Culprits insist the ROI and response rates justify the means. But the public has labeled much of direct marketing as junk mail. What curse word will they ultimately pin to Web 2.0 marketing?

Keen’s rant focuses on the “democratization” birthed by the Internet—the spawning of amateurs who’ve replaced the experts in our culture.

This phenomenon is evident in the glut of ad blogs, where any low-level art director or copywriter with a WordPress account feels qualified to unseat Bob Garfield, and local media wonks believe they’re the reincarnation of Rosser Reeves, David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach.

One wonders if Keen’s observations also apply to the production of digital advertising. NeoExperts accustomed to DIY directing turn viral videos into in-house projects. Who needs David Fincher or Joe Pytka to enhance a storyboard and take things to the next level? Why, Seth has been a Wunderkind cameraman ever since Mom and Dad bought him a Sony Handycam® in community college. Forget Annie Leibovitz or David Carson. I’ve got a digital camera in my cubicle, and I’m proficient in Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and Flash.

It doesn’t help that meager budgets and overly ambitious schedules are influencing the issues. Or that ROI and response rates justify the means—and the mediocre design.

Digital democratization has invited the masses to participate in crafting homemade ads too. But honestly, has anyone seen a decent consumer-generated commercial in the last century? Can we please quit this lazy gimmick immediately?

The online masses become angry mobs in a flash as well, quickly exposing cultural cluelessness—real and imagined. So you’ve got to be ready to react, revise, respond, repel, regroup, reject or simply do nothing. Which route will you choose to avoid looking amateurish?

In the end, it’s imperative to hold the digital marketing debates and discussions now. The Web 2.0 world defies control—we can’t hope to manage it. But we can exhibit greater purpose, intelligence and responsibility when we create in the undiscovered country. The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture by Andrew Keen gives us motivation to seek better ways.

6310: The Madison Avenue Project.

Steve Hall at Adrants reported Cyrus Mehri is making a move, and he’s even bringing the NAACP along for the ride. According to Adrants, Mehri will introduce the Madison Avenue Project on January 8 at 11am, starting with the unveiling of a new study on racial disparities in the advertising industry. Bet on adding the document to the list of studies revealing the obvious. Plus, look for the Madison Avenue Project to generate bigger explosions than the Manhattan Project. Wonder if any agency honchos will bother to show up. They’ll probably just send their Diversity Chiefs, Inclusion Commanders, Rainbow Committees and Multicultural Moguls as representatives. Or the mailroom staffers.

6309: It’s Not Rocket Science.

A moon launch idea is a terrible thing to waste…?

6308: Harry Webber Is A Very SMART Guy.

Divide And Conquer: Target Your Customers Through Market Segmentation by Harry Webber was originally published in 1998. So yeah, MultiCultClassics is a little behind on our reading list. Allow us to explain.

We’re semi-embarrassed to admit we hadn’t heard of Harry Webber until he started routinely commenting at The Big Tent. At one point, we felt Webber was overly harsh in his criticism of a blogger there, and wound up trading emails about it. Webber essentially told us to buzz off, which immediately won our attention and respect. During the exchange, Webber mentioned he had authored the best-selling book being reviewed here. Sure enough, Divide And Conquer was in our personal library, having been purchased nearly a decade ago, yet never read. Don’t know why. But blog visitors should avoid making the same mistake.

You can learn about Webber at his website, MadisonAveNew, where he regularly posts his thoughts and visions for the advertising industry. Plus, a quick scan of Webber’s bio will show the man has accomplished more in a fraction of his career than the rest of us will probably achieve in a lifetime. He always seems to run a few paces in front of everyone else.

Divide And Conquer was—and continues to be—a book ahead of its time. Ten years ago, Webber already foresaw the challenges at traditional advertising agencies, spotting the key issues plaguing today’s practitioners. Declaring the death of mass marketing, Webber started leading the way toward segmentation, which he referred to as selective marketing. The wake-up call included straightforward thinking like, “Markets must be efficiently selected before they can be effectively sold.” Webber created the agency and acronym SMART—Selective Marketing Advertising Research Technologies—to move to the next level.

The book is comprised of 15 case studies demonstrating selective marketing in action. These chapters are different than typical branding reports, however, as each unfolds like a short story. Webber recorded the inherent human drama in the scenarios, presenting iconic or soon-to-be-famous players collaborating to invent breakthrough solutions. It’s a celebration of the creative spirit, highlighting the passion and enthusiasm that fuels the search for ideas.

The tales are diverse—from classic views of Madison Avenue’s Golden Age to explorations into the Web 2.0 world. Advertising aficionados will appreciate the historical references while applying the lessons to contemporary contexts. For example, the Ford Motor Company case study almost mirrors the current auto industry spectacle. Let’s hope a Webber wannabe will handle matters with equal savvy and success.

Webber continues his pioneering drive into 2009. His website boasts phrases like, “The Journal of NeoAdvertising,” and “Harry Webber Will Now Reinvent Advertising.” Additionally, he’s directing The Gasp Company, offering “Creative Solutions For The Post-Advertising Era.” Check out what the man is doing now. You won’t be able to catch up if you wait ten years.

Divide And Conquer: Target Your Customers Through Market Segmentation by Harry Webber is still available via major booksellers. Cost-conscious consumers can find used copies at abebooks.com.

6307: Subliminal Advertising. Blatant Huckster.

Parade magazine published a story by marketing guru Martin Lindstrom titled, “How Subliminal Advertising Works.” What’s next, Mr. Lindstrom—an exposé on Chariots of the Gods? If you have about five minutes of your life to throw away, go ahead and read the drivel. Did Lindstrom use subliminal techniques to persuade Parade to publish the pap—or plain, old-fashioned hucksterism? Bet on the latter.

6306: Stinkin’ Situations.

Scouting through the news with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Los Angeles Times reported the Boy Scouts have launched a campaign to increase Latino participation in California. The organization is currently about 3 percent Latino. The Boy Scouts are aware of the challenges. “We go in in a uniform that looks like the Border Patrol,” said the head of the Scouts’ Los Angeles Area Council. “Then we ask [adult volunteers] to fill out complex applications that ask for their Social Security numbers. I think we’ve found some good ways in L.A. to deal with some of these things, but we have to do a better job of getting parents to see Scouting as something that aligns with their hopes and dreams for their kids.” Badges? Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ merit badges!

Update: Advertising Age reported on the Boy Scouts too.

• Sears and Kmart employees don’t need no stinkin’ employer matching contributions programs. Actually, they won’t have the option, as the struggling retailer announced it will stop contributing to employee 401(k) plans.

• Apple is facing a lawsuit over charges that iMac screens are defective. Hey, the PC character in the Apple advertising campaign will have a field day with this scenario.

6305: Digitally Disabled?

There is something almost sad about this actual craigslist ad. If someone has the ability to create a Word document, why can’t they turn it into a pdf? And why do they need someone else to retype the Word document? You get the feeling this individual will be delivering the Word document on a floppy disk.

Make a PDF for me.

Reply to: gigs-979066104@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-01-03, 4:35PM CST

I am looking for someone to retype a Microsoft Word Document for me and make it into a PDF for me.

I think $20 is fair for this.

Send me your phone number if you can type fast and convert a file into a PDF.

I also want someone to make a picture on the first page of the PDF so I call sell this as an ebook.

I can tell you the name I want on the cover and I want you to make it look like a picture of an ebook on the first page of the PDF.

IF this project works out, maybe you can help me with a different project too.

6304: Surveying Scoundrels.

The New York Post conducts an online survey to name the biggest scoundrel. Meanwhile, FRS says a recent survey of FRS.com customers showed “93 percent of the respondents indicated they prefer FRS over Red Bull.” Um, if you survey your own damned customers, shouldn’t you get a 100 percent preference rating?

6303: The First Overreaction Of 2009.

The New York Times spotlighted Publicis Groupe Overlord Maurice Lévy, who gushed about Barack Obama’s presidential victory. Lévy had emailed the 15,000 Publicis drones in the United States and declared, “Congratulations on such a great choice. Once again the American people have proved that they are right there when it comes to turning points in history—and they know how to make history.” Lévy elaborated in the New York Times interview by saying, “I have always thought politics, that is something I should not get involved in. But I had to because this is so fantastic. It erases all the bad images, the bad pictures of the last eight years with one vote. It is a wonderful demonstration of the strengths of America, a formidable lesson for the world.”

Um, that’s just swell, mon ami. Too bad your advertising agencies can’t show similar progressiveness. Publicis Groupe shops know how to make history by failing to embrace diversity for decades. It is a wonderful demonstration of the strengths of White male dominance.

6302: Safe And Insecure.

Flying through a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• A Muslim family was kicked off an AirTran flight after other passengers reacted to hearing family members talking about the safest place to sit on the plane. Despite being cleared by FBI agents, the family claims the airline refused to rebook them. Looks like AirTran was just answering the family’s initial question—the safest place to sit is on another airline’s plane.

• Bratz are back. Despite an initial ruling ordering Bratz be removed from stores, a judge decided such an act might adversely affect retailers, and allowed for a modification. This scenario is starting to feel like the alleged feud between Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie.

6301: New Year, New Nonsense.

Purely religious and ridiculous in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Atheists filed a lawsuit demanding references to God and religion be deleted during the upcoming presidential inauguration. The lawsuit stated, “Plaintiffs are placed in the untenable position of having to choose between not watching the presidential inauguration or being forced to countenance endorsements of purely religious notions that they expressly deny.” Hey, we all have a cross to bear.

• Former NBA star Charles Barkley was busted on suspicion of drinking and driving in Arizona. Barkley allegedly insisted to cops that he ran a stop sign to pick up a woman for oral sex. The man’s ability to create legal alibis, um, sucks.