8184: The Madison Avenue Senate.

When the 112th Congress is sworn in this coming January, there will be zero Black U.S. Senators, which inspired MultiCultClassics to create a name for the governmental body: The Madison Avenue Senate.

Look for the elected officials to do the following:

• Insist that Blacks simply aren’t interested in being senators, opting for more lucrative careers in hip hop or the NBA.

• Grumble behind closed doors, “There’s an Afro-American in the Oval Office—what more do these people want?”

• Hire a lame duck Chief Diversity Officer.

• Delegate diversity to minority delegates in the U.S. House of Representatives.

• Declare, “We’ve got to do a better job with diversity.” Then do absolutely nothing for at least the next 80 years.

• Complain that all opposition is being orchestrated by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

• Organize a Congressional Diversity Development Advisory Committee featuring lots of friendly celebrities—except Kanye West.

• Admit in a self-deprecating tone, “Hey, I’m just an Old White Guy.”

• Sponsor a special U.S. Senate ADCOLOR® Award.

• Reposition themselves as having a cross-cultural agenda.

• Launch inner-city minority youth outreach programs to woo future candidates—because, doggone it, Blacks aren’t even aware that the U.S. Senate exists.

8183: The Joy Of Six.

The Chicago Sun-Times presented the 6 Black U.S. Senators in history.


Hiram Rhodes Revels, 1870-71, Mississippi


Blanche K. Bruce, 1874-81, Mississippi


Ed Brooke, 1967-79, Massachusetts


Carol Moseley Braun, 1993-1999, Illinois


Barack Obama, 2005-2009, Illinois


Roland Burris, 2009-2010, Illinois

8182: Senate Countdown To Zero.

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

U.S. Sen. Burris: ‘This is simply unacceptable’
THE ZERO EFFECT | Roland Burris is leaving as the only black U.S. senator—and in his farewell speech, he calls this fact ‘troubling’

By Lynn Sweet

There will be no African Americans in the U.S. Senate when he leaves office at the end of the month, a fact outgoing Sen. Roland Burris called “unacceptable” and “troubling” in his farewell speech Thursday.

Burris, the only African American in the Senate, will be replaced Nov. 29 by Rep. Mark Kirk, who won election earlier this month to a six-year term starting next year and also for the several weeks remaining of President Obama’s original Senate term.

Burris delivered his remarks at noon to a nearly empty Senate chamber—at the most there were four senators plus Burris and Senate staffers. The small crowd included an old friend from Illinois, Terrance Gainer, the former director of the Illinois State Police who is now the Senate sergeant at arms.

Burris did not mention the controversy surrounding his appointment by the impeached and now-convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And while he thanked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate staff down to the waiters, Burris made no mention of Illinois’ senior senator, Dick Durbin. Because of the uproar surrounding his appointment from the tainted Blagojevich, Durbin and Burris never became close.

Durbin was not present for the speech, although he did meet with Kirk to discuss Illinois issues where they could work across the aisle together.

When Burris was done, New Mexico’s two Democratic senators gave him hugs: Tom Udall, who like Burris is a former state attorney general, and Jeff Bingaman. Burris was also embraced by Gainer and Nancy Erickson, the secretary of the Senate.

Burris wore a red tie and red handkerchief for his last Senate speech after more than 22 months in office.

“Throughout 220 years of Senate history and 111 Congresses, only six black Americans have been able to serve,” Burris said. “This is troubling in its own right.”

Of the six, three are from Illinois and Chicago Democrats: former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Obama and Burris.

“When the 112th Congress is sworn in this coming January, there will not be a single black American who takes the oath of office in this chamber,” Burris said.

“This is simply unacceptable. We can—and we will—and we must do better.

“In this regard, and in any other, our political progress has proven less accessible—and less representative—than it ought to be, and although I have never allowed my race to define me, in a sense, it has meant that my constituency as a United States senator has stretched far beyond the boundaries of Illinois,” he said.

“Letters, e-mails, telephone calls have poured in to my office from black Americans from all across the country. And at times, as I have tried to bring their voices into this chamber, I have acutely felt the absence of any other black person to represent them,” Burris said.

Burris also took aim at the partisanship that has gridlocked the Senate.

“Our government hardly resembles the diverse country it was elected to represent. Partisan bickering has driven moderates out of both parties and made principle compromise more difficult for those who remain.

“Too often, our politics seems to have become a zero-sum game.

“It’s easy for people to feel that the best argument, or the plainest truth, won’t necessarily win the day any more. And such a destructive political environment, people are often left wondering who will speak up for them,” he said.

Burris also urged passage of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation to allow gay men and lesbians to openly serve in the military. He said he hopes he can vote for it before he leaves.

He is so in favor of the measure to let soldiers serve no matter their sexual orientation—he just might come back after his term ends, he quipped: “Don’t be surprised if I don’t come back because I’m from Chicago, and I’ll vote twice.”

8181: Big Tobaccoz N The Hood.

From MSNBC.com…

Tobacco lawsuit cites long-ago cigarette giveaways

By Denise Lavoie, AP Legal Affairs Writer

BOSTON—Marie Evans recalled she was 9 years old when she first started getting free cigarettes in the Boston housing project where she lived.

At first, she traded them for candy, but she said she started smoking them herself at age 13. Four decades later, Evans died of lung cancer.

Now, an unusual lawsuit is set to go to trial in Suffolk Superior Court, accusing the maker of those cigarettes — Lorillard Tobacco Co. — of deliberately trying to entice black children to become smokers by handing out free samples in urban neighborhoods.

Opening statements are scheduled Friday in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Evans’ son against Lorillard, the nation’s third-largest tobacco company. Willie Evans alleges that the firm used an illegal marketing strategy to get his mother to begin smoking Newport cigarettes, which led to a lifelong addiction.

In 1957, when Marie Evans first began receiving the free samples, Massachusetts law prohibited giving cigarettes to children. The lawsuit alleges that Lorillard broke that law in its zeal to attract new smokers. The giveaways in urban neighborhoods were “designed to attract African-American children and teenagers and to place cigarettes in their hands,” the lawsuit states.

The company’s attorneys say there’s no evidence Lorillard gave Evans cigarettes.

The lawsuit is believed to be the first in the country to accuse a cigarette-maker of targeting black children by giving away cigarettes in urban neighborhoods, said Edward Sweda Jr., senior attorney for the Tobacco Product Liability Project at Boston’s Northeastern University School of Law.

“This case really describes the whole history of one child being exposed to a deliberate marketing campaign of putting an addictive and deadly product into the child’s hands, literally, with the foreseeable result that at some point soon thereafter she would start using that product, get addicted to it, and unfortunately, 40 years later, come down with fatal lung cancer,” Sweda said.

Cigarette giveaways were a common promotional tactic across the industry from the 1950s through the 1980s, Sweda said. The practice became more widespread after cigarette ads were taken off the air in the early 1970s before tailing off in the 1990s, he said, citing Federal Trade Commission data.

Gregg Perry, a spokesman for the Greensboro, N.C., company, said Lorillard would not comment before the trial.

During a court hearing in August, Lorillard’s attorneys said that the family had not presented enough evidence to prove that the company was responsible for Marie Evans’ addiction and the effect it had on her health. Lorillard attorney Andrew McElaney also said there is no evidence to “support the finding that Lorillard Tobacco Co. gave Marie Evans cigarettes.”

In depositions before her death in 2002, Evans recalled getting free sample packs of Newports during giveaways in or near the Orchard Park housing complex in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. She said she received samples from a “Newport van” 25 to 50 times.

“At no time during any of these giveaway events did any Lorillard agent and/or representative refuse to give Marie Evans samples of Newport cigarettes because of her age,” her son’s lawsuit states. “She started smoking Newport cigarettes in part because she had access to them at no cost on a frequent basis through the Newport cigarette giveaway events conducted by Lorillard.”

Read the full story here.

8180: Fir Of Failure?

Not sure why State Farm thinks “Fearless” is pronounced “FIR-les”—maybe it’s an Ebonics thing.

8179: McRib® McAwful McShit.

On a personal note, made the mistake of stopping into Mickey D’s for lunch and ordering a McRib® sandwich. It tasted like a ketchup-soaked sponge. Truly awful.

8178: Undercovers Cover Goes Under.

The latest issue of Black Enterprise features a cover that appears to be a takeoff of NBC series Undercovers—which was recently canceled. Oops.

8177: Loco Account Review.

Adweek reported that El Pollo Loco is going into review for general market, Latino and digital duties. To not consider a Latino shop for the lead agency role on this account would be just plain loco.

Chicken Run: El Pollo Loco Goes Into Play
Client taps SRI to lead review of $15 mil.-plus biz

By David Gianatasio

Agencies hungry for new business can start queuing up for a taste of El Pollo Loco.

The client has hired consultancy Select Resources International in Santa Monica, Calif., to lead a review of its $15-20 million account.

Both general market duties and Hispanic marketing are in play.

The incumbent agencies, Krueger Communications (general market) and Cruz/Kravetz:Ideas (Hispanic), have been invited to defend. Krueger said it would not participate.

Both digital and traditional creative chores are up for grabs, with Southern California agencies—close to the client’s Costa Mesa headquarters—preferred as review participants. A decision is set for the first quarter of 2011.

Mark Hardison, El Pollo Loco’s vp, marketing, said he wishes to select a single shop for the assignment.

Media services remains at ID Media and are not part of the process.

The chicken chain has 400 locations, mainly in California and other Western states, but also in markets like Virgina, Georgia and Connecticut.

El Pollo Loco has struggled of late, suffering a nearly $12.5 million loss for the first nine months of 2010, though that was an improvement from the loss of $30 million it endured in the same time frame in ‘09. The company notched operating revenue of $207 million during the first nine months, a 2 percent dip from the same period in ‘09. Same-store sales are down almost 5 percent this year.

The relatively low-profile niche player—outspent ad-wise by many rivals and eclipsed by giants like KFC—finds itself battling in a market where recession-weary consumers have become more finicky about where they spend their money.

In fact, the entire restaurant category has been volatile all year. Darden recently concluded a review for its $300 million U.S. media account, which was awarded to Starcom. Other chains large and small have also shifted agencies and/or launched major campaigns. Some notable moves include Red Lobster hiring WPP’s Grey and Denny’s selecting IPG’s Gotham after separate reviews of creative chores this summer. Sonic and Arby’s are currently in play.

El Pollo Loco presents more of a turnaround job than most of those others. But plenty of shops—especially midsize and smaller firms with fast-food and retail experience—would savor putting the integrated, cross-cultural creative assignment on their plates.

8176: Google’s Gag-Inducing Garbage.

Based on the copy and layout, Google should do a search for a competent advertising agency.

8175: Diageo’s Diversity Disconnect.

Diageo is so serious about diversity, the premium drinks manufacturer has produced print ads and even a video to show their commitment. Yet the company doesn’t seem to mind partnering with advertising agencies staffed by exclusivity drunks.

Hat tip to Make The Logo Bigger.

8174: Mad Ave Kidding Around With Diversity.

At Advertising Age, Draftfcb President-CEO Laurence Boschetto posted a lengthy press release on his agency’s partnership with TORCH (Together Our Resources Can Help), an organization offering career training and opportunities in creative fields to—you guessed it—minority youth. Boschetto gushed, “Each time we provide more open industry access to young, diverse talent, we all take a meaningful step toward creating a more diverse industry for the future.” Right. Meanwhile, the 4As named Julius L. Dunn, II as Industry Liaison to High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media (IAM). Dunn was previously running Adversity before being unceremoniously dumped by The One Club. In his new role, Dunn’s responsibilities include “developing and instituting curriculum for the academic and career competencies required of students to become competitive candidates in the advertising and media fields.” Okey-doke.

As always, these minority youth outreach programs are commendable. But why the hell doesn’t anyone ever announce a major initiative involving minorities of legal drinking age? Does diversity not apply to colored people with a high school diploma or college degree? Additionally, why do all of these educational efforts never consider schooling the existing White executives on diversity?

The industry that brags about its innovative and breakthrough thinking hatches the same idea for inclusive workplaces over and over again. When it comes to diversity, Madison Avenue continues to take baby steps—literally and figuratively. Grow up already.

8173: MGP&AT&T.

From the Winter 2010 issue of Savoy.

8172: Haircuts And Healthcare.

From USA TODAY…

Barbershops can help lower blood pressure, study finds

By Steve Sternberg, USA TODAY

CHICAGO — Just as barbers doubled as doctors in days gone by, barbers and stylists in certain barbershops and salons have begun dispensing medical information with haircuts.

In some shops in certain low-income wards in Washington, D.C., you can even get your blood pressure checked.

Such hair cutteries, social centers in the heart of African-American communities, now lie at the heart of a program designed to bring down blood pressure among young black males.

“We asked them to take blood pressure, height and weight and asked them to serve as a (heart information) resource for the neighborood,” says Angela Silverman of MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, Md.

A study involving more than 800 men and women in urban Washington, D.C., showed that a blood-pressure screening and health education program run by barbers and stylists at 16 hair shopshelped to lower high blood pressure among their patrons, she said at a meeting of the American Heart Association here.

Ninety-five of those people came back for follow-up screening. Thirty-six of them had high blood pressure at the start of the study; 18 managed to bring it down, with the help of dietary advice, informational videos — even instruction in “chair dancing,” Silverman says.

High blood pressure is widespread among black males, affecting more than 40% of them, compared with about a third of white males, according to AHA statistics. Silverman says the idea has gained so much support that the Washington, D.C., Department of Health will expand the program beyond blood pressure to high cholesterol and diabetes.

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” says Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Let’s go where the people are.”

8171: Publicis’ Poop.

Anyone who can explain the concept behind this advertisement deserves a special ADCOLOR® Award.

8170: Maybe Kanye West Was Right.

Former President George W. Bush has been hawking his new book, and his media appearances have mostly focused on the tough decisions he made during 9/11 and the war on terror. The majority of attention surrounding Hurricane Katrina, however, centered on the criticism Bush received from Kanye West—which led to an apology from the recording artist. Yet when you really consider the response to the disaster, with bodies floating in the streets for days and people still awaiting aid as revealed by this story from The New York Times, well, maybe this is one instance when West’s crazy talk wasn’t so crazy after all.

Katrina Victims in Mississippi Get More Aid

By Campbell Robertson

GULFPORT, Miss. — Federal and state officials and housing advocates announced on Monday the creation of a $133 million program to address housing problems that remain for poor Mississippi residents five years after Hurricane Katrina.

The announcement comes after months of negotiations by officials from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Mississippi governor’s office and housing advocates on the coast, and could bring to a close a long-running dispute about the state’s spending of federal grant money after the hurricane.

“We’re pretty happy about it,” said Reilly Morse, a senior lawyer at the Mississippi Center for Justice, a nonprofit group. But, Mr. Morse added, it did not come easy.

Housing advocates have long criticized the state for not spending enough of its $5.5 billion in federal grant money on low-income residents, but that criticism reached a fever pitch in 2007 when Mississippi announced it was redirecting $600 million of federal money to refurbish and expand the shipping port here.

Mr. Morse and a group of public-interest lawyers filed a suit against HUD, charging that the diversion was an unlawful use of federal disaster money, especially with serious housing problems remaining. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in January, but the lawyers appealed the decision.

Mississippi had set up a variety of programs to address housing problems after the storm, and state officials argued that these were adequate. But in a series of meetings starting in April, housing advocates and HUD officials began to convince state officials that there were many Mississippians, especially poor ones, who had been left out.

“The assumption was that all of these unique programs were taking care of everything, including the hard cases,” said Gerald Blessey, a former mayor of Biloxi who was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to oversee post-hurricane housing issues. “When we started to look under the hood, we found that there was a number of hard cases that were not being taken care of.”

Over the summer, Mr. Morse worked with state officials to design a program around a list of 4,400 such hard cases in Mississippi. People in need of help had to fall below a certain income level and the problem had to be directly caused by the hurricane. In all the cases, some kind of adjustment needed to be made to the rules governing hurricane assistance.

Taking a random sample of these cases, estimators visited houses to assess damage. Based on those figures, they calculated that $93 million would be needed to close the financing gaps in the case list.

“Once the governor was convinced of that point by research and analysis, he was willing to make that move,” said Fred Tombar, a senior HUD official who oversees Gulf Coast recovery.

Mr. Morse and HUD officials also insisted that there were an unknown number of Mississippians who had been overlooked or had not applied for assistance, many of whom lived inland but nonetheless suffered severe damage from the storm. The governor agreed to set up an aggressive outreach program to find people who might qualify for assistance, and to set aside $40 million in a reserve fund for these cases.

All of the money in the new program comes from existing Hurricane Katrina assistance programs; any money left over in the reserve fund will join the nearly $600 million now dedicated to port expansion.

Some of the recipients will be poor residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by hurricane winds, but who did not have homeowner’s insurance. This marks a departure from the assistance plan that Mr. Barbour put before Congress in 2005, which excluded people who did not have homeowners’ insurance. (The federal grants in this program were mainly directed to people whose homes were swamped by the storm surge, but who lived outside the federally designated flood plain and thus were not required to carry federal flood insurance.)

In a news conference on Monday, Mr. Barbour said this new program came about largely because HUD was willing to show flexibility on that point.

“This administration made the decision that they felt like people who were damaged by wind, even though we had made that agreement with Congress, should be covered if they were poor,” he said. “That is why there’s a change.”

Mr. Morse, however, said that the state had been reluctant to show flexibility and that it was the lawsuit that, to a large degree, had moved the discussions forward.

The appeal of the lawsuit was dropped when officials agreed to the creation of the new program at the end of October. Arguments were to have started last Friday in federal appeals court.

8169: Harley-Davidson Cycles Exclusivity.

As the ad above shows, Harley-Davidson is bold and ballsy in declaring its commitment to diversity. Yet when the motorcycle company needed marketing help, Advertising Age reported they rode off with agencies where exclusivity rules the road. Now that’s full-throttle hypocrisy.

Harley Davidson Taps Three New Agencies

Starcom, Digitas and Victors & Spoils Will All Work on Iconic Motorcycle Marketer’s Account

By Michael Bush

NEW YORK -- Months after parting ways with Carmichael Lynch—its agency of three decades—motorcycle marketer Harley Davidson has picked a trio of new shops to handle its $11 million account, according to several industry executives.

The company is giving U.S. planning and buying duties to Publicis Groupe’s Starcom after a shootout against other shops, executives said, and has tapped Starcom sibling Digitas for digital work. And though Harley insisted it would not name a new creative agency when it split from Carmichael Lynch, it now has designated a new shop to help it with creative ideas: Victors & Spoils.

These agencies either could not be immediately reached or referred calls to Harley. A spokesman for the marketer said, “We have nothing official to announce at this point and don’t comment on rumors.”

The agencies will replace Interpublic Group of Cos.-owned Carmichael Lynch, which had served as Harley Davidson’s creative agency of record for the past 30 years and handled media as well. That relationship ended this August when, in a bit of role reversal, Harley Davidson was dumped by Carmichael Lynch. At the time of the split, agency President Doug Spong told Ad Age, “You can’t be in a relationship for 31 years and not have some differences. We’re very grateful for such a long and glorious time together, but we just feel like we’ve taken that brand as far as we can go.”

Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s chief marketing officer since 2007, had said of the breakup: “Our strategies have been moving away from a singular consumer target and a one-size-fits-all agency solution. Rather than accept this new reality, CL chose a different path, and we respect that.”

The company had also said it was not going to initiate a search for a new creative shop but would continue to work with a number of roster shops including VSA Partners in Chicago and McCann Erickson in the U.K.

That was before Boulder-based newcomer Victors & Spoils, announced on its blog in September that it had put out a brief to its crowd of creatives to come up with ideas for the Harley brand. It was a risky move that appears to have paid off, given it led to V&S being named to Harley’s agency roster.

For Starcom, the win is the third in the span of a month. After flying below the radar for nearly a year, Starcom has been making headlines on a consistent basis for the past couple of weeks with some high-profile new business wins and executive moves. Earlier this month, the agency won Darden Restaurants’ Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse media accounts, totaling nearly $300 million, and Best Buy consolidated its nearly $300 million media planning and buying account with the agency.

On the executive front, the shop named Chris Boothe, previously a president at Starcom, its new chief operating officer. Mike Rosen, who previously oversaw the GM business, was named president-director of activation and will oversee the ad spending of all clients. The agency replaced Mr. Rosen on the GM business with Jon Stimmel, a former Unilever executive who currently works on the Kraft Foods business at Starcom sibling shop MediaVest.

Contributing: Rupal Parekh, Kunur Patel

8168: Racism Is Alive And Well.

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

Racism is hardly a thing of the past

By Jesse Jackson

Is Jim Crow back? Are African Americans, particularly African-American men, once more suffering systematic discrimination on the basis of race—a discrimination that locks them out of equal rights and basic citizenship?

The question is incendiary—and seems unreal. This is the post-racial America, where an African American can be elected president. Overt expression of racism is no longer socially acceptable. So, how could anyone allege the revival of Jim Crow laws, the laws that locked blacks into a permanent underclass under segregation?

Listen to the hard logic offered by Michelle Alexander, a law professor and author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness. Professor Alexander makes the following points:

• More African Americans are under correctional control today—in prison or jail, on probation or parole—than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began.

• More black men were disenfranchised in 2004 than in 1870, the year the 15th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that explicitly deny the right to vote on the basis of race.

• More than half of working-age African-American men in major urban areas—according to one report, as much as 80 percent in Chicago—have criminal records and are thus subject to legalized discrimination.

These staggering figures aren’t because African Americans are more prone to violence and crime. As Alexander points out, incarceration rates are not related to the rate of criminal activity. Crime is at a relatively low level in recent years, but incarceration has remained high.

The primary reason for our high rates of incarceration is the war on drugs. The courts have given police a virtual exemption from the Fourth Amendment in the war on drugs. This freedom to stop, search, seize and arrest clearly has discriminatory effects.

This drug war has been waged intensively almost completely in communities of color, even though studies show that drug use is remarkably similar across racial lines. The use of drugs isn’t much different, but young African-American men are stopped more often, searched more often, arrested more often and prosecuted more often.

This isn’t about drug-related violence or even about major traffickers. Alexander cites studies that in 2005, for example, four out of five drug arrests were for possession, while only one out of five were for sales. Most people in state prison for drug offenses have no history of violence or significant selling activity. Most of the increase in incarcerated drug offenders came from marijuana use, a drug widely available on campuses across America.

These are stunning facts. The U.S. has developed a prison-industrial complex—with private prison companies listed on the stock exchange—that, in Professor Alexander’s words, “locks an extraordinary percentage of our population—a group largely defined by race—into permanent, second-class status for life.”

Yet, this system is largely immune from constitutional challenge. The courts have decided that overwhelming evidence of the discriminatory effect of policies—the fact that African Americans are deprived of their rights for life in disproportionate numbers—is not sufficient. Proof of conscious, intentional racial bias in intent and action must be shown.

The result is shocking—yet is accepted largely in silence. The drug war, the court system, the privatized prison-industrial complex have provided the means of disenfranchising African Americans in large number.

This has implications in elections, in juries, and in school and poverty subsidies. Clearly it is time to end the silence—and confront the reality.

8167: McCann’s Makeover Myth.

McCann is famous for its credo, “Truth Well Told.” Seems like the agency stretched the truth by implying its Chief Diversity Officer has created a Multicultural Mecca.

8166: Delayed WTF 11—HumanKind Kinda Bullshit.

Over the past few months, MultiCultClassics has been occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occurred without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

Leo Burnett honchos Tom Bernardin and Mark Tutssel recently released “HumanKind” with hype that included:

HumanKind is a book about people, purpose, and changing behavior, and is a firsthand look at marketing that serves true human needs and not the other way around.

HumanKind provides entree to the moment of germination within the inner sanctum of one of the advertising industry’s most creative shops through interviews, conversations, transcripts, and images.

HumanKind is fully illustrated and includes a step-by-step demonstration of how Leo Burnett is applying its unique approach to forever redefine the very nature of communications itself.

Ultimately, it’s people—not advertising agencies—who create great “people’s brands.” Brands like McDonald’s, Coke, Nintendo, Fiat, Kellogg’s, and Blackberry. Leo Burnett has always chosen to put people first, and to apply a people-centric approach to brand building it today calls HumanKind.

Welcome, to a HumanKind communications company. And welcome to the story that explains it all.

Okey-doke.

Forget that Leo Burnett is best known for creating non-human critters like the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Jolly Green Giant, the Keebler Elves, Tony the Tiger and countless others.

Forget that Leo Burnett clients like McDonald’s and Philip Morris have contributed to worldwide problems with obesity, cancer and heart disease—killing lots of humans.

It would be nice to know how the HumanKind communications company is doing with diversity. Are humans of every kind represented at this wondrous agency that “has always chosen to put people first”—or does Leo Burnett apply the standard White people-centric approach to staff building?

After all, how can you generate global and great “people’s brands” when the ideas are coming from an exclusive group of people?

Oh, if only Leo Burnett would use its proprietary tactics to develop a diversity recruitment campaign for the industry to change behavior and serve true human needs.

Now that would demonstrate HumanKindness.

(P.S. The excerpt below is odd. The graphic list includes Xenophobia, yet conveniently excludes terms like Discrimination and Racism.)

8165: Teaching Everyday Morons.

Institutions of higher learning should learn when to use “every day” versus “everyday”—or learn to hire a proofreader.

8164: Deutsch’s Diversity Dreck.

Deutsch deserves a hand—or a stock photo of many hands—for creating clichéd, contrived crap for the ADCOLOR® Awards.

8163: Ghost Stories.

Scary news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The chef at a Midtown Manhattan hotel resigned after being accused of pretending to be a Ku Klux Klansman and offending a Black coworker. The coworker charged the chef put a pillowcase over his head and said, “How does that make you feel? Do you feel insulted?” The chef denied the accusation, insisting he was being a ghost for Halloween. OK, KKKasper the friendly ghost, whatever you say.

• A new study revealed 17 percent of Americans have had sex at their workplace. And given the current unemployment rate, at least 9.6 percent of U.S. workers have been screwed by their former employer.

• Walmart and Sears announced extended hours for Black Friday sales. Why does Black Friday receive more attention than Black History Month?

8162: Camry Lacks Creative Horsepower.

This ad is, well, horseshit.

8161: Delayed WTF 10—Squeezing Old White Guys.

Over the past few months, MultiCultClassics has been occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occurred without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

Chris Rock once identified the most racist people: Old Black Men.

In the advertising industry, it’s easy to identify the most culturally clueless people: Old White Guys.

Whenever some adman admits (usually in a self-deprecating tone), “Hey, I’m just an Old White Guy,” rest assured he’s about to follow through with culturally clueless commentary of the highest order.

This phenomenon was demonstrated when Luke Sullivan recently spoke on “The Drum”—podcast of The Marcus Graham Project.

Sullivan, of course, is the author of “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising,” and he’s also a Creative Director at GSD&M in Austin, Texas. Anyway, the conversation was rolling along quite nicely, with Sullivan plugging his book and offering personal perspectives on various industry-related topics. But around 45 minutes into the broadcast, things took a clumsy turn.

MultiCultClassics can’t recall the exact details, and our busy schedule and general laziness prohibit typing a transcript. At one point, the interviewer brought up Millennials and minority consumers, and he asked Sullivan how GSD&M creates messages targeting such audiences when the agency might not be familiar with specific cultural nuances.

Sullivan initially claimed that the agency would hire specialists to join a project and deliver insights and relevant concepts. Then Sullivan remarked that he really didn’t subscribe to the notion of bringing in consultants to tell him if something would or wouldn’t resonate with minorities—which he added might be perceived as an “incendiary” viewpoint. Later, Sullivan copped the standard “A Big Idea Is A Big Idea” position; that is, big ideas have universal appeal. Plus, he appeared to imply that he didn’t believe in separating agencies by discipline or culture. Sullivan also segued to inclusive hiring, stating that the GSD&M staff reflects America pretty well. And he boasted that his agency supports supplier diversity to ensure “a bunch of Old White Guys” don’t give all the jobs to other “Old White Guys.” Throughout the awkward ramblings, Sullivan sprinkled in additional “Hey, I’m just an Old White Guy” references.

Sullivan’s words were not “incendiary” in the slightest; rather, they were sadly indicative of the ignorance plaguing too many iconic figures in our industry. To be clear, Sullivan is no Dan Wieden. And he’s no Alex Bogusky, as Bogusky opened the Pandora’s Box by making diversity the focus of an online show and inviting Black guests to examine the matter. However, Sullivan must definitely be categorized as an Old White Guy—along with Wieden, Bogusky, Mike Hughes, John Siefert, Rick Boyko, Tim Arnold and countless others. He certainly displays the common symptoms and cultural cluelessness for Old White Guy classification.

Blog visitors might now be asking, so what’s the problem?

Well, the problem is that our industry—with its legendary dearth of diversity—will have great difficulty making progress while Old White Guys are in control.

Chris Rock recognized why Old Black Men are the most racist people, as the comedian explained that a lifetime of discriminatory conditioning led to the anger and bias. In contrast, Old White Guys seem oblivious to their own cultural cluelessness and its root causes.

Let’s take Sullivan, for example. The man said he’s been in the ad game for 31 years, employed by The Martin Agency, Fallon McElligott and GSD&M. Mike Hughes of The Martin Agency confessed, “We’ve done a pretty poor job on diversity as an industry and we’ve got to do better.” Fallon McElligott is headquartered in Minnesota—‘nuff said. GSD&M is responsible for Popeyes Chicken advertising—‘nuff said again. In short, Sullivan has spent his entire career in exclusive environments. He’s used to being in exclusive environments. Hell, he’s probably proud to have been in exclusive environments. Old White Guys enjoy the privileges of exclusive environments—consciously or unconsciously—including the money, awards and business fame. As a result, Old White Guys don’t see diversity as something demanding attention. Deep down, they think fighting for inclusive workplaces is an unnecessary pile of politically-correct poppycock—an outrageous shakedown conducted by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Old White Guys conclude the true troubles reside with minorities. By golly, colored people simply aren’t aware of the advertising industry and the wondrous opportunities on Madison Avenue. Hence, Old White Guys opt for launching inner-city youth outreach programs and/or delegating diversity to the resident non-White person. Yet no action plans are devised to revamp the existing exclusive environments and the hiring practices that preserve the exclusivity. Mid- and senior-level minority executives are ignored or deemed extinct when searching for candidates. And heaven forbid Old White Guys might submit to education or rehabilitation in order to gain enlightenment.

Arrogance and ignorance prohibit Old White Guys from advancing beyond the cultural Cro-Magnon stage on the evolutionary chart. Indeed, they’ll probably take offense when reading this post. After all, Old White Guy is the new N-Word; that is, it’s OK for Old White Guys to use the term, but it’s an obscene slur when non-Old White Guys use it.

Sullivan updated his book to cover new media and DRTV. Plus, he mentioned inserting fresh case studies to keep the content from feeling outdated. But don’t expect future versions to include sections on multicultural marketing or diversity.

During the broadcast, Sullivan declared, “The world’s changing. You have to change with it or die.” Regarding diversity on Madison Avenue, it seems as if change won’t occur until Old White Guys die.

8160: The Most Tolerant Generation.

From The Chicago Tribune…

Most tolerant but desensitized? Today’s teens present a thorny contradiction

By Ted Gregory, Tribune reporter

Trying to avoid going home early on a Thursday night, Nate Hampton, Dionte Savage and Bernardo Izaguirre wandered down the sidewalk near the Oak Park Public Library after dinner. Three buddies, joking and enjoying the mild night.

Hampton and Savage, both 18, are African-American. Izaguirre, also 18, is Mexican-American. The friendship started when Savage and Izaguirre were in the same freshman gym class. They added Hampton last year when they met him skateboarding in Scoville Park.

As mundane as the start of their friendship was, it also was symbolic, walking proof of a generational shift: Today’s teenagers are the most tolerant generation in history.

That’s right. Despite recent, shocking reports of suicides prompted by anti-gay bullying, this generation of teenagers tolerates the widest assortment of what contemporary life tosses at them. The Pew Research Center, teen marketers, even teens and the people who work with them say it’s true.

“Millennials, A Portrait of Generation Next,” an extensive study of teens and 20-somethings released earlier this year, showed that members of the Millennial Generation, generally born between 1981 and 2000, are “more racially tolerant than their elders.”

More than two decades of Pew Research surveys confirm that assessment.

“In their views about interracial dating, for example, Millennials are the most open to change of any generation,” the report states.

The study goes on to report that nearly 6 in 10 Millennials say immigrants strengthen the country, compared with 43 percent of adults ages 30 and older.

When the generational movement was pointed out to the three teenagers walking along Lake Street in Oak Park, they shrugged and agreed: no biggie.

“In my history class, we talk about how it used to be all the time,” said Savage, a student at Triton Community College in River Grove. “Now, we have multiple ethnicities mixing and working together, and everybody’s cool about it.”

Izaguirre, enrolled at University of Illinois at Chicago, listed the mixed-race couples in their group of friends. A Japanese-American girl dating a Dominican-American boy, a Native American boy seeing a girl who is half African-American and half white.

Hampton noted that racism is fading with time. “People are people,” he said, “regardless of their skin color, religion or culture. We have no reason to be fearful of anybody.”

A few days earlier and 30 miles south, Jordan Pounder, 17, was hanging out at Sweet Annie’s Everyday Treats, a popular bakery in downtown Flossmoor.

“Now, at our age, that’s the big thing,” Pounder said, “being diverse and promoting equality and everything. Back then, it was more like separate cultures. But now, we live together, talk to each other in school. We don’t see many differences since we interact so much.”

Proprietor Anne Aboushousha has lived the difference. A practicing Catholic, she met and married a Muslim man from Egypt in 1994. Her co-workers at the time worried her husband, Mohammed, would force her to move to Egypt.

Today, they have two teenage children and live in Flossmoor. Their daughter, Franne, went to preschool at a Jewish temple and attends Catholic masses, as does Anne Aboushousha.

She said her children “never, ever” have experienced animosity for their mixed heritage.

“Our kids were babies with all the other kids,” Aboushousha said. “They don’t know the difference” and see diversity as the norm. “Until they go out into the real world, they don’t know how lucky they are.”

Read the full story here.

8159: Ruby Bridges Still Building Bridges.

From AOL News…

50 Years Later, Ruby Bridges Still Fights for Equality

By Dave Thier

When Ruby Bridges arrived for her first day at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans 50 years ago, she thought it was Mardi Gras. People lined the streets, shouting and throwing things—just like a Carnival parade. But these people weren’t celebrating.

At 6 years old, Bridges had been unwittingly thrust onto the grand stage of American history. Her parents had volunteered her to be the first black child to attend an all-white school in the South. Local law enforcement refused to protect her from the unruly mobs that surrounded her school, so every day she was escorted by four federal marshals—the scene immortalized by Norman Rockwell’s painting “The Problem We All Live With.”

That first day, all the parents had rushed into the building and taken their kids out—effectively boycotting the school. The school didn’t quite know what to do; Ruby was told to just sit in the principal’s office until it was time to go home.

“I remember thinking, ‘This school is easy,’” Bridges told AOL News.

Since then, Bridges grew up, raised four sons and worked as a travel agent before returning to a career as an educational activist that she had started at such a young age. But while her educational career eventually subsided into a normal New Orleans childhood—albeit one charged by forced integration—those exceptional first days in school had shaped her for life.

Ruby didn’t meet the person who would make the biggest impact on her until her second day of school. Walking down those long, empty hallways with federal marshals at her side was an intimidating experience. But when she finally got to her classroom, that disappeared in an instant. She found Barbara Henry, a young teacher who had come down from Boston to teach Ruby. Local teachers refused to do it.

“Before that day, being black, I was only accustomed to seeing black teachers—not to mention that she looked exactly like all of the people outside who were screaming and yelling outside,” Bridges says. “But soon after, she began to teach me, and I realized she was one of the nicest teachers I had ever had. She showed me her heart, and she was totally different from the people that were outside, angry and screaming.

“You can’t just look at a person and judge them—and I think that is the most valuable lesson that I took away from that experience in first grade,” Bridges said.

The forced integration that began with Bridges was based on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, where the justices reversed the earlier ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson and said that “separate but equal” facilities were inherently inequitable and unconstitutional.

Fifty years later, however, race remains an important factor in predicting a child’s educational success, and some argue that schools in many parts of the country remain effectively segregated by race and class. Earlier in the week, AOL News’ Mara Gay wrote about the latest in a long series of studies examining the deep achievement gap between white and black males. Educators say that the poor schools in predominantly black neighborhoods are to blame.

It’s that continuing inequity that spurred Bridges to pursue educational activism. She travels around the country giving talks at schools and now, as her hometown of New Orleans tries to build an education system better than the one it lost after Hurricane Katrina, she’s turning her attention local.

The school that Bridges desegregated so many years ago has since fallen into disrepair, but she wants to reopen it with a focus on teaching social justice and history, and to open a civil rights museum next door. In a city where many of the schools once again have racially homogeneous student bodies, she wants to put a special emphasis on diversity.

Bridges lost a son to the violence that plagues much of New Orleans, and for her, breaking that cycle of violence starts in the city’s schools.

“I really believe that education is the key—it was the key out of slavery, and I feel like it is the key today,” she said. “I’m hoping that someone will sit up and take notice and understand that it’s not just about building another school and throwing bodies in it.”

Bridges remembers her early years in increasingly integrated classes as uneventful; kids don’t really care what color their friend’s skin is, she says. But as she got older, the entrenched racial tensions of the time came to bear, and the enmity between black and white students grew every year.

She wants to give today’s children a chance to start differently.

“If we create an environment where kids can work together and play together, that’s the best thing for all of us, because we need each other—we need each other to stand up against what’s out there in the world.”

8158: Here Today Show, Gone Tomorrow.

From The New York Post…

Kanye West media trainer quits after disastrous ‘Today’ interview

Kanye West’s media trainer quit after just three days of working with the hotheaded rapper following his disastrous interview on the “Today” show this week.

West was invited onto the program to respond to comments ex-President George W. Bush had made to Matt Lauer about West calling him a racist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The rapper’s camp on Monday hired Susie Arons, an executive vice president at Rubenstein Communications, for help handling the interview. Collectively, they agreed West should cancel the interview, and it was called off Monday night.

But on Tuesday morning, Arons was notified that West was waiting at NBC’s Rockefeller Center studio for the Lauer chat, and she rushed over at West’s request.

According to a show insider, “West shut himself in a dressing room with Susie, and could be heard rehearsing possible questions and answers. But the interview began, and it was as though he had crammed for a test and then his mind went blank.”

West grew frustrated when a clip of him interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was shown and said, “Yo, how am I supposed to talk if you’re going to run the thing in the middle while I’m talking?”

When Lauer and West took a break, West “huddled again with the media trainer because he still hadn’t found a way to express himself,” said our source. The disastrous interview aired Thursday, and Arons resigned from working with him yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, West, who attacked Lauer on Twitter after the interview, claiming he “forced his answers,” canceled his upcoming concert on “Today,” which had been scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving.

A rep for West called our story “malicious and clearly manufactured.” Reps for “Today” and Rubenstein had no comment.

8157: Overreaction Of The Week.

OK, this organization likely has the best of intentions. But it looks stereotypical to promise “Skills4Life” to African youth by handing them a basketball and sneakers.

8156: Lack Of Black Reality TV…?

From Newsweek…

Where Are the Realistic Black Characters on TV?

By Allison Samuels

I thought Obama’s historic election would change the landscape of our entertainment, too—but it hasn’t yet.

When a new J. J. Abrams show featuring two African-American leads was announced earlier this year, I was gleefully overtaken by the implications it could have. Honestly, when’s the last time you’ve seen a prime-time network drama with two black people not only happily in love, but equipped with bilingual skills and a passport? Try never. Throw in the fact that Abrams was also the mastermind behind the megahit Lost, and you have the makings of a bona fide hit. Magazine ads and television commercials leading up to the show’s premiere in October promised fast car chases, exotic international locales, and steamy love scenes. I had my PJs, comfy seat, and bowl of popcorn all ready for a regular Wednesday night escape. Unfortunately, I was in the minority. The show premiered to lukewarm numbers—fewer than 6 million viewers—and never caught on with black or white audiences. Last week NBC canceled Undercovers after just one month on the air.

On Web sites such as Entertainment Weekly’s and Bossip theories ran amok as to why a flashy drama from a veteran producer sank before it could reach deep water. Some pointed to lack of star power, while a few fans complained of weak writing. Sure, all those things can cause any show’s early demise, but I’m not convinced those very fixable creative flaws explain the show’s short life span; ratings were low from the very first episode. I think it’s possible that a slightly more obvious, disturbing reason could be behind Undercovers’ failure, and it’s pretty familiar: race. Prime-time audiences just weren’t ready for “super-negros” on the small screen. And that’s exactly what Undercovers was: a show about black people doing very “unblack” things. Before anyone gets upset, let me explain. “Super-negro” was a term my family often used while watching old Sidney Poitier movies back in the day. In Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (our favorite), Poitier portrays a black doctor in love with a white, wealthy young socialite during the ’60s. Pretty early in the film, you begin to realize that Poitier’s character is not just any black doctor (an accomplishment in itself for most people then, and now); he’s a black doctor with degrees from several Ivy League universities, an internationally known scholar behind cures of dozens of diseases in Africa and elsewhere. Overkill. But Poitier portraying a “regular negro” was simply not good enough during those times, so the “super-negro” was born. The same could be said of his character from In the Heat of the Night, a Philadelphia cop with highly decorated awards.

Fast-forward 40 years, and it’s plain to see that Hollywood still hasn’t figured out a way to move beyond that absurd premise. It still can’t just fit us in. Yes, we often appear as sidekicks or backup characters in an array of popular shows in prime time, but rarely do we carry a show as the star or let the viewers come home with us. One exception is Jada Pinkett Smith’s turn as a no-nonsense nurse on the TNT show Hawthorne. Wonder why? It might have something to do with the fact that it’s a show that she and her husband, Will Smith, created and executive produce. Otherwise, it appears that the powers that be in Tinseltown feel quite comfortable relegating us to reinforcing every negative stereotype known to humanity in low-grade, embarrassing reality shows like Flavor of Love and Basketball Wives. So exactly how does the television audience (black, white, or other) make the gigantic leap from those constant images of foolery to a show like Undercovers? It doesn’t.

Not since the The Cosby Show has prime time successfully delivered a show featuring African-Americans leading normal, regular, everyday lives. That show was groundbreaking because it featured us as mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons. Can you name another show like that on the air right now? Not unless you count Tyler Perry’s TBS comedies—but it’s never been an issue for mainstream audiences to laugh at us. The same thing is true of the Chris Rock series Everyone Loves Chris, which enjoyed some success but is no longer on the air, or the cartoon The Cleveland Show. The brilliance of The Cosby Show was that while funny, it also changed the cultural landscape. It presented African-Americans in an entirely different and new context. It moved beyond the stereotypes of the inner city, jail cells, and basketball courts to present a more well-rounded look at who we are.

Somehow, I foolishly thought the election of the first African-American president would foster more interest in those types of African-American stories. Whatever anyone thinks of President Obama today, he and his wife Michelle’s story of true love, family, and achievement is a fascinating tale with a very unexpected and ongoing twist. I was sure their example alone would inspire networks, producers, and writers to burst at the seams with ideas for shows depicting typical African-American couples and families. I was wrong. Unfortunately, NBC miscalculated as well. They expected the prime-time audience to accept African-Americans in extraordinary roles like Undercovers before really having had much of a chance to see us as ordinary people first.

8155: Craigslist’s New Sex Ads.

With this actual craigslist ad, an “erotic photographer” offers a non-paying position for a Girl Friday—where the duties include “keeping the photographer … sane and productive.” Which means Girl Friday is code for Call Girl Sunday through Saturday.

Girl Friday/Assistant to an erotic photographer/web publisher

Date: 2010-11-10, 7:20PM CST
Reply to: job-sczrk-2053640837@craigslist.org

Girl Friday/Assistant to an erotic photographer and the editor or an erotic web site

This is not a paid position, all though you will be compensated for helping with any paid photo shoots and any income from the web site.

Looking for someone creative and eager to learn and contribute to something cool. This is a great job and experience for someone interested in web magazines, photography, art, eroticism and creative writing. Candidate will be helping with web site management, editing and writing articles and reviews, assisting with photo shoots, some minor user tech support and keeping the photographer/editor stay sane and productive.

Very flexible hours and a great work environment. Work and learn from one of the best.

8154: Fun With Animals.

Smoking guns in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Camel cigarettes seems to be ignoring the latest FDA label proposals by introducing hip designs for its packages. The new designs depict imagery intended to resonate with hipsters in Williamsburg. The FDA will probably force the integration of pictures from the Williamsburg morgue.

• An Australian rugby star turned in his resignation after photos of him engaged in a sex act with a dog appeared on the Web. “I accept total responsibility for what happened,” said the player. “It was a moment of madness, and while it was totally out of character, I have to cop the consequences. I’m disappointed that the photo was distributed, but I should never have put myself in that situation. It’s something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.” Michael Vick is probably thinking, “And they put my ass in jail?”

• The latest study from the American Psychological Association shows 75 percent of the American population suffer from unhealthy levels of stress. Americans are encouraged to ignore tips for relieving stress offered by Australian rugby stars.

8153: Adding Spice to Pepper Miller’s Post.

At The Big Tent, Pepper Miller responded to the Advertising Age report from the ANA Multicultural Conference on the cry for White and minority agencies to get along. Miller covered the topic well, negating the need for MultiCultClassics to comment extensively on the matter. So here are a few quick shots:

• Clients are so full of shit it’s downright offensive. The few clients who engage minority agencies are doing so for professional or political reasons—that is, it’s either a business decision or a tactic to satisfy corporate supplier diversity initiatives. And if it’s the latter, clients must realize corporate supplier diversity initiatives will never be satisfied by only employing White agencies where exclusivity persists. In fact, partnering solely with White agencies displays total hypocrisy when considering the diversity pledges on nearly every major advertiser’s website. Besides, how can “cross-cultural marketing” be delivered by agencies where candidates with culture are crossed out during the initial hiring process? It would be great if these corporate maneuvers led to increased diversity at White agencies. It would also be great if pigs could fly. Place your bets on flying pigs appearing before the existence of an inclusive Madison Avenue.

• White agencies are so full of shit it borders on criminal. Plus, clients are guilty of conspiring with them to hold back minorities. When multicultural work is up for grabs, White agencies are free to compete for it. When general market work is up for grabs, minority agencies aren’t invited to pitch. It’s ludicrous to say, “…bring your best stuff to the table and it will work out for you,” when minority agencies aren’t allowed to come near the table. Clients should either level the playing field—equal resources, equal budgets, equal access to strategies and information—or shut the fuck up.

• The ANA is so full of shit it’s almost comedic. This latest controversy was sparked by discussions that occurred at the ANA Multicultural Conference. What is Bob Liodice’s position here? The man went on record by publishing 10 Industry Challenges Successful Marketers Have Overcome that included:

Multicultural marketing
Multicultural marketing exploded in the 1980s as the need to create more tailored advertisements based on cultural differences became increasingly essential. This growing emphasis, combined with media proliferation, has challenged marketers to align their brands closely with varied cultures. The next step in marketing’s evolution is to shed the arrogance of the “general market.” Marketers must avoid simply translating English ads into other languages and create campaigns targeted specifically for certain ethnic markets. They must also be acutely aware of cultural sensitivities that may be pertinent to their campaigns, embracing the many facets of multicultural marketing from start to finish.

Liodice’s Theory of Evolution doesn’t exactly match the revolution highlighted in the Advertising Age report.

8152: Agencies, Can We All Get Along?

From Advertising Age…

ANA Multicultural Conference: Agencies Must Learn to Play Nice

Marketers Favoring Cross-Cultural Idea Over Narrowcasting; Idea Over Agency Status

By Judann Pollack

MIAMI -- The term “inclusion” is taking on a new definition for multicultural agencies: that of making room to collaborate with general-market shops.

If there was one big theme at the Association of National Advertisers’ Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference this week, it was that the best marketing idea will carry the day, no matter whether it comes from a multicultural or general-market agency. From the podium and in response to often defensive questions from some of the 610 registrants, marketing executives from Coca-Cola to General Mills, State Farm, Best Buy and Unilever were unapologetic in urging agencies to work together with one another rather than against one another in this regard.

“The pressure is on us to deliver,” said Pam El, VP-marketing at State Farm, the country’s largest auto insurer. “I need to know that Agency X has my back and they can’t have my back if they are at it with each other.”

She added, “There is enough business for everybody,” so “do your part, bring your best stuff to the table and it will work out for you.”

Indeed, it was clear some multicultural agencies are seriously concerned about the migration of business to general market agencies and, in fact, were still smarting from Home Depot’s shift of its $37 million Hispanic account to a Richards Group unit in March.

At the same time it’s also clear that clients are demanding a holistic approach. “I believe an agency is an agency,” said Beatriz Perez, chief marketing officer, Coca-Cola North America. “We put them in a room together and reward those who deliver the best plan.” She added that can also work to the advantage of smaller multicultural agencies that don’t have enough scale for a Coca-Cola brand but can partner with a larger shop on an idea.

General Mills favors a “brand navigator” approach, said Mark Addicks, its senior VP-chief marketing officer. “We put together a team around a brand or category and the best idea wins,” he said. Though the Minneapolis food giant’s major agencies are Saatchi & Saatchi and McCann, “the best work often comes from our multicultural agencies,” he said.

Speakers were almost universal in their belief that narrow-casting one group, such as African-Americans or Hispanics, is missing the point. Teresa Iglesias-Solomon, VP-multicultural and Latino initiatives at Best Buy, said the company had a tendency to break out three groups: women, Latinos and business owners—but she herself could have been lumped into all three categories at once. The point, she said, is that there are commonalities within each target group. “We need to make sure we are looking at the whole customer.” For example, moms have similar interests whether they are African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic or Caucasian.

That kind of insight was the impetus behind OgilvyCulture, a new “cross-cultural strategic-service practice” now launching from the WPP Group agency.

“It is not multicultural advertising, which tends to focus on specific ethnic markets,” said a spokeswoman. Instead, “cross-cultural marketing has the objective of developing one brief for clients designed to communicate across different cultures by celebrating shared values and insights.” Ogilvy units that are a part of the initiative are Black Diaspora, LatinRED, RedLotus, OgilvyPride, Young Professionals, Working Parents, Women’s Leadership and Administrative Professionals, which will collaborate to “provide clients with a full range of services starting initially with marketing strategy, creative strategy, digital strategy, CRM and analytics,” she said.

“It gives us the capability to have a single voice to the consumer,” said Jeffrey Bowman, director of OgilvyCulture, who presented at the conference with his client, Ruy Yokoi, brand manager at Unilever. Together, they presented a case study of their effort to launch Hellmann’s light mayonnaise to the Hispanic community two years ago, which led Mr. Bowman to the realization that “we didn’t need to create a Hispanic agency within our agency,” but a cross-cultural one.

When asked whether he had considered working with a Hispanic shop rather than Ogilvy for the effort, Mr. Yokoi said, “I don’t want to disparage anyone, but we had been working with a Hispanic agency and the creative wasn’t working. It didn’t jibe with our general-market strategy.”

How? “Every Hispanic ad had a picnic” with a revolving cast of Latin musicians, he said. “It was almost patronizing.”