Does this Pistachios commercial stereotype Snoop?
Sunday, June 02, 2013
11177: Drawing Out Dawn Chambers.
In the latest installment of AMC series Mad Men Season 6, Dawn Chambers made a brief appearance, welcoming Don Draper back from a trip to California. Nothing else of interest occurred in the episode. A Google search for an image to accompany this post uncovered the illustration below by Adam Osgood in Ohio.
11176: Brazilian Ads Hard To Stomach.
Somebody ought to teach the advertising creatives in Brazil about appetite appeal—as well as the need for a decent concept.
11175: Roy Hibbert Fouls Out.
Pacers’ Hibbert Fined $75K For ‘Inappropriate And Vulgar’ Language
By Sekou Smith
Not all speech is free.
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert found out the hard way on the eve of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, when the NBA fined him $75,000 for using “inappropriate and vulgar language” during postgame interviews after the Pacers’ Game 6 win over the Miami Heat Saturday night in Indianapolis.
“While Roy has issued an apology, which is no doubt sincere, a fine is necessary to reinforce that such offensive comments will not be tolerated by the NBA,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern in a statement released by the league.
Hibbert’s apology, issued via Pacers.com earlier Sunday, summed up the big man’s feeling after realizing that he might have offended some people with his remarks:
“I am apologizing for insensitive remarks made during the postgame press conference after our victory over Miami Saturday night. They were disrespectful and offensive and not a reflection of my personal views. I used a slang term that is not appropriate in any setting, private or public, and the language I used definitely has no place in a public forum, especially over live television. I apologize to those who I have offended, to our fans and to the Pacers’ organization. I sincerely have deep regret over my choice of words last night.”
11174: Misty Copeland On Center Stage.
Dancer Misty Copeland has broken barriers to bring ballet center stage
By Maureen Callahan
When Misty Copeland was discovered at age 13 by a ballet instructor at her local Boys & Girls Club in San Pedro, Calif., she was so poor that she’d never seen a ballet, heard of ballet or knew what a ballerina looked like. She spent part of her teen years living in a single motel room with her mother and five siblings, hungry and afraid and just trying to make the hours-long commute to and from school each day.
“I had no introduction to the arts in any way — definitely not the fine arts,” she says. “Survival was our Number 1 priority, not extracurriculars, or a career. These were not things we thought about.”
Today, at 30 years old, Misty Copeland is the first black female in two decades to be a soloist at the American Ballet Theatre. This week, she stars in the Met’s production of “Le Corsaire,” just eight months after suffering a nearly career-ending injury. She has danced with Prince, become an advocate for opening up ballet to minorities and the underprivileged and has come to represent the future of ballet in America: more modern, inclusive, elastic.
She’s always been a fighter, and as hard as it is for her to revisit certain parts of her life — more than once during this interview, she visibly fought back tears — she feels compelled to share her story.
“For young African-Americans to feel that they have a chance to see a brown face on the stage, that ballet isn’t this white world that’s untouchable to them — I think having that visual does so much,” she says. “I think it’s so important for them to see me and to hear me.”
Aside from her origins, so much of Misty Copeland’s story is unprecedented. Most ballet dancers begin at age 5, studying in schools that serve as factory lines into the world’s most prestigious companies: the Royal Ballet, the Bolshoi, the Paris Opera Ballet. Most ballerinas are lithe and lean; Misty is 5-foot-2 1/2, muscular and curvaceous. Most study through their childhood and adolescence in a fugue state, ballet the sole focus; Misty was discovered so late that she had only a four-year window to complete 17 years’ worth of training.
She also had no desire to become a ballerina.
“I was pushed into it,” she says. “I was just a very nervous, fearful child, afraid of anything new.”
Her mother, Sylvia DelaCerna, had been a dancer and a professional cheerleader with the Kansas City Chiefs, but Misty didn’t realize that she, too, was a natural until she was 12 years old, auditioning for the drill team. “I choreographed a dance number to George Michael’s ‘I Want Your Sex,’ ” she says, laughing. “They made me captain, so I thought, ‘Oh, I can do this!’ Even though I had no idea what I was doing.”
Misty’s drill-team teacher sent her over to the local Boys & Girls Club, where a ballet instructor named Cynthia Bradley recognized her as special. “She told me, ‘You are the most gifted dancer I’ve ever seen, and this could be a path to have a career,’” Misty says. “And I was like, ‘That’s possible? There are people who do this and make money?’”
To compress nearly two decades of training into four years, Cynthia suggested Misty move in with her and her husband, Patrick, and their son in San Pedro on weekends. Misty could commute back to the motel. “It was really hard on my mom,” Misty says. “She was terrified to let me go. But she knew she had to.”
Three years on, Misty’s mother was alarmed: Her daughter was no longer coming to visit every weekend, and she felt Cynthia’s involvement in Misty’s life was out of control. In 1998, Misty won the Spotlight Award for best young dancer in Los Angeles, and as she was coming to national prominence, her mother and her teacher engaged in a nasty custody battle.
“It was a lot for a 15-year-old to go through,” Misty says. “It was everywhere. My life story was plastered on national television.”
Sylvia wanted her daughter back, and so Cynthia took Misty to an attorney, who suggested that Misty file for emancipation. “It was like: ‘This is what’s going to happen. Everything’s going to be better.’ I really had no idea what was going on.”
In September 1998, after much legal wrangling, Misty went back to live with her mom at the motel. She was devastated.
“Overnight, I was pulled from their home and their studio, and it was just, like, this world that I finally felt a part of was being taken from me.”
She was petrified that without Cynthia, she’d lose the tenuous momentum she had to become a professional ballerina. “That was my Number 1 fear: ballet. That was the one thing that was stable in my life. Ever.”
Soon enough, things settled down: Misty’s mother was able to move the family back to San Pedro, and she enrolled Misty in ballet classes in Torrance. It was eight years before she resumed any contact with the Bradleys, and today she says she’s grateful for the decisions her mother made, most especially because she was able to develop emotionally in ways most other professionals don’t, or can’t. “My mom said, ‘I want you to be a normal child, living at home, going to school.’ There are people who are completely ahead of me in terms of technique and experience, but I think, naturally, I was always a performer.”
She was so gifted, in fact, that once she got to ABT, she was chastised for coasting. “I kept saying to her, ‘I don’t think you realize the importance of what you could symbolize,’ ” says artistic director Kevin McKenzie. “‘So the bars and the levels will get raised much higher for you.’”
Not since Mikhail Baryshnikov — who, as a Soviet defector in the 1970s, represented so much more than the art form — has a ballet dancer exhibited demographic-smashing pop-cultural appeal. Google “Misty Copeland” and you’ll find a slew of YouTube videos, fans and casual observers alike. “Holy crud!” wrote one fan. “I started at 12. I’m now 13. I don’t have the perfect stereotyped dancer body! Neither does she! She is inspiration that I can make it!”
It’s that unusual body type that initially sent Misty into paroxysms of self-doubt: Like most dancers, she didn’t hit puberty until very late — she was 19 — and when she began to develop breasts, she freaked out. “All of a sudden, my body started changing,” she says. “It was terrifying.”
Today, her sex appeal is yet another quality that sets her apart: hired as a part-time dancer by Prince, who is so enamored he sees every performance he can; posing for her own calendar; creating her own line of dance wear for similarly shaped women. She is a ballerina for the modern age, a multiplatform brand beyond the Met. “Everything is odd about what I do,” she says.
Misty’s greatest priority remains racial integration, and she says it’s easy for the Obama generation to underestimate how difficult it remains to be a young, gifted, black ballerina. “People say, ‘It’s 2013, you live in New York City, you’re [being] dramatic’ — but they don’t understand the way the ballet world works,” she says. “We’re completely behind the way the world has evolved. Ballet is just kind of staid.”
Last fall, Misty was in rehearsals for the lead in “Firebird” when she began to feel weakness in her left shin. She suspected it was a stress reaction — the beginnings of a fracture — yet decided to dance through the pain. She was afraid to admit something was wrong, afraid she’d lose the part, and hoped to at least get through opening night. “I knew how important the night was, beyond me, for African-American women in ballet,” she says. “For the first time ever, half the audience was full of African-Americans. I’d never, ever seen that.”
After the show, she pulled out and went to the doctor, who diagnosed her with the “dreaded black-line fracture” — a near-complete break. She was told she needed surgery, and was in denial about it for months. In October, Misty underwent a new procedure at the Hospital for Special Surgery, getting a plate screwed into her tibia and bone marrow extracted from her hip and injected into the fractures. She spent weeks learning how to walk again.
Today, she estimates she’s at 80 percent; she performed for the first time a week ago. “It’s terrifying,” she says. “I don’t think I danced the way I wanted to, and I was very disappointed.” Her voice breaks. “It’s rare that this late in the game, you get opportunities to be pushed. I’ve had such a different path that I try not to compare myself to anyone else. Because I’m not like anyone else.”
11173: Skating Towards A Milestone?
Seth Jones, son of ex-NBA player Popeye Jones, could be first African-American taken No. 1 in the NHL draft
Whoever could’ve fathomed an African-American kid from Texas being the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft? Whoever heard of the son of an 11-year NBA veteran eschewing backboards for sideboards?
By Wayne Coffey / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
TORONTO - As 1999 turned to 2000 and both the world and the millennium were about to end, a 5-year-old kid from Denver began an unprecedented journey, not that anybody knew it at the time. To celebrate the New Year, the kid’s parents took him and his two brothers to nearby Beaver Creek. The kid decided to try something new.
He put on a pair of rental ice skates, waved off his parents’ attempt to get him to use one of those stabilizing walkers, and off Seth Jones went, ’round and ’round the Beaver Creek rink, drawn to ice like a bee to honey.
“You could see what a blast he was having, right from the start. He was pretty good on skates even then,” his father says.
Eighteen months later, Seth Jones had another little epiphany, pounding on the glass behind the goal of Pepsi Arena, celebrating the Colorado Avalanche and its Game 7, Stanley Cup clinching victory over the Devils, mesmerized by the speed and intensity and the virtuoso skills of the likes of Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg.
Hockey had stolen his heart, no matter what line of work his dad was in.
“It just kind of took off from there,” Seth Jones says.
Where exactly it has taken off to, in the dozen years since that June night in Denver, amounts to perhaps the most remarkable story in the annals of the NHL draft. Whoever could’ve fathomed an African-American kid from Texas being the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft, as projected by NHL Central Scouting? Whoever heard of the son of an 11-year NBA veteran, Nets assistant coach Ronald (Popeye) Jones, eschewing backboards for sideboards?
But here is Seth Jones, a 6-4, 208-pound defenseman, duded up in a gray suit and striped tie on interview day at the NHL Combine, fielding hundreds of questions from 17 NHL teams over two days last week, not one of them about his ability to get to the rim.
“It’s kind of weird that it happened this way,” Seth Jones says.
Nate Mackinnon, a 17-year-old center from Nova Scotia who also could turn out to be the top pick, agrees.
“It’s not the way it usually breaks,” Mackinnon says.
* * *
Popeye Jones, all 6-8 and 265 pounds of him, wowed nobody with mid-air theatrics or dazzling offensive moves in his basketball career, but made himself enough of a low-post presence to play for six NBA teams, averaging 7.0 points and 7.4 boards. His most memorable performance, though, may have come as a Murray State Racer in the Southeast Regional of the NCAA Tournament in 1990, when he put up 37 points and 11 rebounds against Michigan State, which needed overtime to avoid becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.
“He never told me anything about it,” Seth says.
Popeye Jones wasn’t going to lord his playing pedigree over his kids, and wasn’t going to dictate to them, either. If Seth and his brothers, Justin, 22, and Caleb, 15, a rising star himself (in September he will move to Ann Arbor, Mich. to be part of the same USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program that Seth went through), wanted to play hockey — and they all did — well, then they should play hockey. A lefthanded jump shooter with striking quickness and agility, Seth played basketball at home and in pickup games, but ice turns out to be much thicker than blood.
“Seth loves playing basketball,” says mother, Amy. “When he gets home from the Combine, I guarantee you he and his brothers will be at the gym playing the next day. But he was adamant about not doing anything organized. It probably killed Popeye, because he saw the talent he had.”
Seth was a hockey kid to the core. Not long after that first foray on the ice at Beaver Creek, Popeye ran into Sakic, then the Avalanche captain, in the weight room of the Pepsi Center. Popeye introduced himself and told Sakic that his three boys loved hockey and wanted to play.
“From the looks of you they are going to be huge,” Sakic told him. “Just make sure they know how to skate.”
The boys started taking lessons from a figure-skating coach in the area. Seth was a quick study, making his way through the youth ranks, standing out at every level, playing for the Midget Dallas Stars after the Joneses moved back to Texas in 2007. Before long Jones was off to Ann Arbor at age 15, playing for USA Hockey’s U-17 and U-18 U.S. national teams, where he was joined by his longtime friend and teammate, Quentin Shore, now a rising sophomore at the University of Denver.
“He’s one of the quickest 6-4 kids I’ve ever met,” Shore says. “You can be forechecking him and he’ll give you a quick shoulder fake and be by you before you finish the check.”
But Jones’ most notable quality, according to Shore, is an almost preternatural poise. It is something that those closest to Jones have long marveled at.
“He seems like he has it altogether even when things are going wrong,” says Shore, the younger brother of Florida Panthers’ center Drew Shore.
Adds Amy Jones, “From age 3 on, he was already a little man.”
Phil Housley, newly hired assistant coach of the Nashville Predators, was a prototypical rushing defenseman in his stellar blue-line career. He had Jones on the U.S. junior team that won the world championship last winter, Jones leading all defensemen with six assists. Housley came away hugely impressed by his skating, shot, hockey instincts and ability to lead a rush, but he, too, was mostly taken by Jones’ emotional steadiness.
“There’s no panic level in his game,” Housley says. “When he has the puck he’s poised and calm, and that has a great affect on his team.”
After graduating from high school in three years, Jones was close to accepting a scholarship from the University of North Dakota before opting to spend a year in the Western Hockey League, where he was rookie of the year for the league-champion Portland Winterhawks this spring, piling up 14 goals and 46 assists in 61 games, going +46 for the season.
In 21 playoff games, Jones had five goals and 10 assists, and was +15.
“Great players handle pressure situations really well, and that’s what makes Seth so special. He played his best hockey at the most important times.” says Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ coach and general manager.
In his final game with the team last Sunday, Jones made a rush up ice and scored on a wrist shot over the goaltender’s glove hand, but the Winterhawks fell to the Halifax Mooseheads, 6-4, in the Memorial Cup — the championship of Canadian junior hockey. Mackinnon had a hat trick and two assists for the Mooseheads, and linemate Jonathan Drouin had five assists, in a showcase of arguably the three top players in this year’s draft. Some observers believe Mackinnon now may go first overall, but as the three held a joint press conference last week, outfitted from hats to sneakers in gear from their new sponsor, CCM/Reebok, Jones insisted he wasn’t fretting about it, even though that top choice is owned by the Colorado Avalanche.
“It would be special to be the No. 1 pick (and) it would be pretty cool to be back where it all started, but there are lots of great players who were taken No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and a lot lower than that,” Jones says. “You don’t have to be taken No. 1 overall to have a great NHL career.”
* * *
Popeye and Amy Jones divorced two years ago, but as an inter-racial couple, were committed to not having their boys view the world through the prism of race. “It’s never been an issue, and I think the reason that it has never been an issue is the way Amy and I raised our kids,” Popeye Jones says. “We’d tell them, ‘You are white and black, you are both, and you are special, because not everybody has a chance to be both.’
“Our kids never saw color.”
Hockey, of course, is not exactly the rainbow coalition of sports. With Grant Fuhr owning five Stanley Cup titles and a plaque in the Hall of Fame, and Jarome Iginla piling up 530 goals and spending the better part of 15 years as one of the league’s most popular players, the NHL is not as homogenous as it once was, but there are still not many more players of color in the league than there are on one NBA bench. No one is saying that the racial spew that spilled all over social media by some Neanderthal Bruins fans after Joel Ward, a black Washington Capital, ended the Bruins’ season in 2012 playoffs, is the norm, but still … could that ever happen in, say, basketball?
“I’ve never had an issue in the sport,” Seth Jones says. “Some NHL players have an issue, but I haven’t. Hopefully, me playing the sport will encourage other African-American kids to play hockey. It would be pretty cool to be a role model for little kids.”
Seth Jones’ father isn’t in a position to pass along pointers to his sons, never having been known for his slap shot. What Popeye — and Amy — Jones have stressed is that nothing is given, and there isn’t a single talent that measures up to a strong work ethic.
Or as Amy Jones says, “Whether you are a plumber or whatever you do, you always want to make sure you do the best job you can, because somebody else is always going to be ready to take your job.”
As he prepared to run and lift and provide NHL evaluators with some metrics to pore over, Seth Jones, the most improbable hockey story of them all, the man-child who may become his sport’s first African-American superstar, considered his parents’ wisdom, and tried hard to hold on to his famous calm. The world didn’t end the day he fell in love with skating. The NHL draft is June 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Seth Jones smiles.
“It seems like it’s taking forever to get here,” he says.
Saturday, June 01, 2013
11172: Beyoncé’s Bona Fide Booty.
Beyoncé upset to learn H&M had trimmed her curves for summer collection campaign: report
The bootylicious ‘Mrs. Carter Show World Tour’ diva wanted her full figure un-Photoshopped, say sources.
By Rachel Maresca / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Beyoncé’s body is Bootylicious, and she wants to keep it that way.
The 31-year-old singer, who is the stunning face of H&M’s summer collection reportedly was not happy to find out they had retouched the original shots and were planning to use them.
Queen Bey insisted that only the non-altered pictures be published for the campaign.
“When Beyoncé found out they had edited the way her body really looked, she hit the roof,” an insider revealed to The Sun newspaper.
“She’s a true diva and was furious that she had been given such a snubbing. Her people refused to give the pictures the green light so H&M were forced to use the originals.”
A spokesman for H&M admitted there were “discussions” about the ads but the photos that have been publicly released are of Beyoncé’s real bod.
“As with all campaigns there are discussions on which images should be used. Both H&M and Beyoncé are very happy with the final result,” he added.
Beyoncé, who has recently been performing in Europe for the “Mrs. Carter Show World Tour” is set to headline this Saturday at London’s Twickenham stadium for the “Sound of Change” concert, which will be raising funds for worldwide projects that support women and girls.
Other notable artists set to take the stage are Madonna, Florence + the Machine, Jennifer Lopez, Ellie Goulding, Haim, John Legend and Timbaland.
Friday, May 31, 2013
11171: Adland—Immigration Leader?
Advertising Age published a unique perspective on immigration by P.J. Pereira. The writer makes some interesting observations about the industry’s open-minded attitude when wooing foreigners and its arguably close-minded ways regarding local grassroots recruiting. Yet should our industry be saluted for welcoming international adpeople? As Pereira points out, acquiring an O1 visa usually requires winning awards and accolades abroad. So it could be argued that such recruitment essentially constitutes extended exclusivity. No one in the U.S. appears to be scouring the inner cities of other countries for minority employees. It would be nice to see numbers supporting Pereira’s contention that the ad business is doing a great job of reeling in top talent from around the globe. A lot of industry immigrants fail to assimilate and/or ultimately reveal themselves as idiots with an accent. Besides, Adland might look a tad hypocritical touting its success with immigration when there has been total failure with integration.
Why the Ad Industry Should Speak Up as Part of America’s Immigration Policy Debate
What Would American Advertising Be Without Linus Karlsson, Nick Law, David Droga, Rei Inamoto, and Jose Molla?
By P.J. Pereira
What would American advertising be like without people like Linus Karlsson, Nick Law, David Droga, Rei Inamoto, or Jose Molla? In a moment when this country discusses its immigration policies, its ad industry should be proud of the fact that it has been, for decades, bringing the world to our backyard.
And if a lot of the discussion around this theme ends up on border protection, low wage immigrants, and amnesty for illegals, the issue also influences how open we are to bringing in highly skilled academics and professionals that can’t be found enough around here. The Silicon Valley in particular has been fighting for years on better ways to attract great minds, but they are always pushed back.
Well, we can help. Not with a campaign though. We can be an example.
The ad world’s accomplishments in its ability to attract global talent is ahead of most industries. Although it’s important to note that this happened at least partially because of a very peculiar advantage we have. When I immigrated from Brazil to work in the states, my first visa was given as an “O1” type. This designation surprisingly caused every immigration officer I met to ask me why I was so special. O1 was a type of visa originally created for Nobel Prize winners, Olympians and other super humans, as one officer once explained. It so happens that because our industry has international awards, it’s easier for us than other disciplines to provide the evidence necessary to receive that prestigious code; a visa that is otherwise hard to prove your worth yet very fast and painless once you do.
The ad world just took advantage of this opportunity, as we should have. With the O1, it became easy to follow who was doing great work abroad and attract them to the biggest and most powerful market in the world. And that’s the reason why we are ahead of other segments. Our advantage isn’t based on any kind of moral superiority, global taste or vision, but on a blurry opening in the system that allows us to use a mechanism created for brilliant scientists and super athletes.
In other disciplines that don’t have the same kind of validating evidence that award shows provide our industry, restrictions to hosting foreigners become so daunting that most of the time it amounts to far too much work, and risk. But because things have been easier for us, we have been ensuring America remains consistently among the top leaders in our sector. And this is a very timely and valuable stance! The American ad industry is proof that making it easier to attract top talent will make us more competitive. It’s this ease, and its impact, that we should highlight and demonstrate, not the intention or even the fact that these immigrants create jobs, etc. Let the Valley do that part. Our story is the proof of how making immigration processes easier works for the nation as a whole. Period.
This business gets knocked around a lot, but the ad industry can confidently say it’s good on bringing foreigners into the business. However, it should make a bigger noise about to underscore the importance of making things easier.
At the same time, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels and only go for the tried and tested. And we shouldn’t import the best and brightest minds exclusively. It’s imperative for us to be training young talent too. And it’s downright scary how little of that is going on.
A few years ago I told some colleagues that I was planning to hire three kids straight from school to work on a big client. An account guy screamed at me, “You want to hire these first-timers to work on a Fortune 500 account? No way! Let those beginners learn their craft somewhere else, and then come here after they are 3, 5 years into this.” A CD joined him, “I looked at their books. They aren’t professional enough to work here. Let them learn first so we can use them on something.” Luckily my boss was more open-minded and gave me all the support to do it, because he also believed that someone had to help these people start. Six months later, those 26-year-old “kids” were kicking ass, doing amazing work, growing that account and winning awards. And both the CD and the account guy came to apologize.
When we get too used to looking outside for proven talent, we create a pattern of going for the guaranteed bet, instead of investing on nurturing new, slightly risky ones. So while we praise our own modernity as global recruiters, we should also be ashamed of fueling the exact opposite side of the issue.
Rather than blindly taking sides, our industry has a job to do on both camps of this battle of “let’s-bring-in-the-geniuses-that-will-create-more-jobs” versus “let’s-employ-the-Americans-that-need-those-jobs-so-badly.” We are shirking responsibility if we don’t position our industry as an example of how an easier process of bringing in top global talent makes us more competitive as a nation. But denying how lazy we have been with the just-out-of-school-kids may be worse—it may be immoral.
P.J. Pereira is co-founder and chief creative officer at San Francisco-based Pereira & O’Dell.
11170: Color Commentary On Cheerios.
Lots of sources have already addressed the controversy and commentary surrounding the Cheerios commercial featuring an interracial couple and their daughter. Even AdFreak has collected 175 comments and counting.
Is there really anything here to be offended over? Yes, but the insulting issues have nothing to do with the actual commercial.
For starters, Saatchi & Saatchi New York created the spot. It’s always annoying when White advertising agencies try to come off as oh-so-progressive with race and culture—yet completely fail to demonstrate bona fide progress in their own hallways. When and why did the agency creatives decide to mix things up with the casting? Does such open-mindedness occur when hiring decisions are made at Saatchi & Saatchi? Don’t bet on it.
Annoyance must also be directed towards General Mills, the company behind Cheerios. Would the client ever have allowed its minority agencies to produce an integrated message like this one? Don’t bet on it. Hell, General Mills probably cut the crumbs typically handed to the minority partners, figuring the interracial family covered White and Black audiences.
Saatchi & Saatchi and General Mills are likely patting themselves on the back for being pseudo-forward thinkers. Too bad their day-to-day actions show their true colors.
11168: No Quiero Coors.
Seen as Offensive, Beer Can Has a Shortened Shelf Life
By Winnie Hu
The special cans of Coors Light beer started popping up in New York City in recent weeks ahead of the coming parade. The vitriol followed soon after with elected officials and others saying that the cans were tasteless and sent the wrong message.
So now the commemorative cans are no longer being produced for the 2013 Puerto Rican Day Parade.
The cans were imprinted with a circular logo that depicted the Puerto Rican flag as an apple along with the words: “National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc.” It was produced by MillerCoors — based on a modified version of the parade’s official logo — and was reviewed and approved by the parade’s organizers.
“The flag is a symbol of a nation, of a culture, and slapping it on a can of beer is disrespectful and trivializes a community and its contributions,” said City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She added that the beer can was particularly inappropriate this year because the parade’s official theme was “Salud: Celebrate Your Health.”
MillerCoors, which brews Coors Light, issued an apology over the can hours before a protest outside a beer distribution center in the Bronx that was organized by Boricuas for a Positive Image, a group of Puerto Rican activists. The annual parade down Fifth Avenue, scheduled this year for June 9, is one of the nation’s largest parades and attracts more than 80,000 marchers and two million spectators, according to the parade’s organizer, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. (This year’s grand marshal is Chita Rivera.)
“We apologize if the graphics on our promotional packaging inadvertently offended you or any other members of the Puerto Rican community,” Nehl Horton, a spokesman for MillerCoors, wrote in a letter to the Boricuas group.
Mr. Horton said that MillerCoors was no longer producing the packaging and would stop distributing it by Friday morning. He said that the company had “a strong history of supporting the U.S. Latino community” and that its intent in sponsoring the parade was “to highlight the cultural strength and vibrancy of the Puerto Rican community and to provide scholarship funds to deserving individuals who are seeking to improve their lives through higher education.”
The company declined to say how many cans had been sold or how much had been spent to produce them.
It was the second time that MillerCoors, which has been a sponsor of the parade for seven years, has faced criticism in the partnership. In 2011, the company canceled an advertisement displaying three beer bottles and the word “emboricuate,” which would translate as “make yourself Puerto Rican,” after people complained that it could also be interpreted as a play on the Spanish word “emborrachate” (get drunk).
Madelyn Lugo, chairwoman of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, said through a spokesman that the board had worked with the company to try to avoid potentially offensive promotional elements, and apologized for any misunderstandings caused by the final product.
Ms. Lugo added that the organization was taking steps to develop new guidelines for using and displaying the parade’s logo by third parties.
Ramon Jimenez, a lawyer for the Boricuas group, said that it was still considering whether to accept MillerCoors’s apology, and that the issue pointed to a larger problem with the parade’s organizer. His group has called for a change in leadership, and for more accountability in the marketing of the parade.
“They’ve commercialized the parade to the point where big floats for Budweiser and Coors dominate the parade while the cultural exhibitions and the various towns that march are minor players,” Mr. Jimenez said. “They’re overshadowed by the commercial interests.”
Thursday, May 30, 2013
11167: Batting Around With Hank Aaron.
Hank Aaron broke records, barriers both on and off the field
Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports
ATLANTA — Hank Aaron, surrounded by hatred and bigotry in the Deep South, refused to leave when they wanted him gone.
He broke the record many in America didn’t want him to break.
Now, he speaks at a time when it’s just as easy to be silent.
Aaron, 79, a man who symbolizes excellence and grace, will forever be remembered as the man who broke perhaps sports’ greatest record, hitting his 715th homer in 1974, and eclipsing Babe Ruth’s all-time mark.
Yet, the greatest feat in his lifetime, Aaron says, is the barrier broken in Washington.
“I never thought we’d ever have a black president,” Aaron tells USA TODAY Sports. “President Obama has done such a tremendous job. … He just has been unable to get what he needs to be moved at the level it should be moved. My wife and I pray that people will understand that.”
Aaron received death threats, constant hate letters, and vicious racism when he broke Ruth’s sacred record on April 8, 1974.
“People were not ready to accept me as a baseball player,” Aaron says. “The easiest part of that whole thing, chasing the Babe’s record, was playing the game itself. The hardest thing was after the game was over, dealing with the press. They could never understand. Here comes a young black player from Alabama, he’s challenging one of the most prestigious records in the world, and they couldn’t handle it.”
Aaron doesn’t want to be known as simply one of the greatest ballplayers who ever lived, with 755 homers and a record 2,297 RBI and 25 All-Star Game appearances, but remembered as a great American.
“I am very proud to be an American,” Aaron says, “This country has so much potential, I’d just like to see things better, or whatever, and I think it will be.
“I hope (young adults) understand they are very lucky to be born in this country. The most important thing they need to understand is that when they go to school, go to college, and graduate, it’s to make a contribution to this country.”
Aaron is aware of the statistics that still plague this country. There are currently only two African-Americans in the U.S. Senate, both of whom have been appointed. The unemployment rate for African Americans (as of April) is 13.2%. Aaron believes there can’t be a level playing field in the corporate world, Aaron says, until there are more black CEOs and presidents in the boardrooms.
“I still think we have a ways to go,” Aaron says, “to make people understand. We still have problems. In all walks of life.”
Even Major League Baseball, which has just three African-American managers and one general manager among its 30 teams.
“In baseball, I’d love to see black ownerships,” Aaron says. “People say, well, we have Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner), but that’s a carrot really.”
DISAPPOINTING JACKIE
While Aaron is grateful that Jackie Robinson cleared the way when he broke the color barrier in 1947, he wishes it had happened earlier.
“Too bad integration didn’t come sooner because there were so many ballplayers that could have made the major leagues,” he says. “That’s why you look back, and not to take away anything from Babe Ruth or some of those other guys, they didn’t play against the greatest ballplayers in the world.”
Aaron says that he owes so much to Major League Baseball, but he also believes MLB owes African-Americans a greater avenue for participation.
“I think Jackie certainly would be disappointed in the way things are today, especially for African-Americans,” Aaron says. “Let’s face it, baseball was down, and when he came along, he put a big spike into baseball with the way he played, and along came other great black ballplayers.
“And to see where it is today, he certainly would be disappointed. You look at baseball. The African American (segment) is not one they’re concerned with.”
African-Americans accounted for just 7.7% of players on MLB rosters on opening day, the lowest mark since the Boston Red Sox became the final team to integrate its roster in 1959, according to a USA TODAY study.
“A lot of people want their kids to play baseball, but can’t afford it financially. Today, black kids don’t have places to play,” he said. “They don’t have the bats, balls, gloves. They don’t have coaches.
“I think Major League Baseball has to reach back in their pocket and do something to help these kids. I know they’re trying to, but I know there’s so much room for improvement.”
HAPPY FOR BONDS
Aaron’s record stood until Bonds eclipsed it in 2007, invoking a different type of controversy. Bonds broke the record amid allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs. A federal jury acquitted Bonds on three counts he committed perjury in 2003 grand jury testimony regarding steroid use, and Bonds’ appeal of a felony conviction of obstruction of justice is still pending.
“That is mind-boggling,” Aaron says. “When you think about all of the guys who have been accused of cheating, and didn’t necessarily have to cheat. If you cheat, and you lie, the public holds you accountable.”
Despite the controversy over Bonds’ record, Aaron insists he is happy for Bonds, and his absence when Bonds broke the record was misperceived. He purposely stayed away, he said, out of respect for Bonds.
“I was glad he did it,” Aaron says, “I sent a congratulatory note. It was his day. It was not my day.
“I had already been through it. I didn’t want to go through that again.”
11165: ADC’s 50/50 Is Half-Assed.
AgencySpy posted an inane video from the Art Directors Club calling for the industry to embrace gender equality with its 50/50 initiative. First of all, if any art directors were involved in the production of the video, they should have their club memberships immediately revoked. An organization that routinely displays sexism, exclusivity and racism should not be lecturing culturally clueless co-conspirators on the virtues of affirmative action. BTW, does the ADC even realize that the group which most benefitted from affirmative action is White women? ADC Executive Director Ignacio Oreamuno admitted the 92-year-old club’s creators were discriminating White men who refused to open the doors to women until 1942 (although the ADC website states it happened in 1943). Of course, Oreamuno failed to mention that the first Black member—Georg Olden—wasn’t allowed in until 1952. The organization’s current Board of Directors comes close to reaching the 50/50 goal; however, the numbers aren’t nearly so rosy when held up against the screen of diversity. Maybe Oreamuno can host another soiree featuring Neil French. Hell, advertising women like Karen Mallia seem to corroborate the old man’s perspectives. In the end, the ADC’s 50/50 is 100 percent bullshit.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
11164: Wendy’s Mucho Bullshit.
Advertising Age reported Wendy’s ranks dead last among fast food chains with Latinos—even behind Taco Bell. Given Latinos’ feelings for Taco Bell, no amount of commercials featuring soccer, mariachi bands or telenovelas will help Wendy’s. Yet the burger joint’s new targeted tagline reads: Mucho mejor (which translates to “far better”). Mucho mejor than what? Eating caca?
Wendy’s Last Among Big Burger Chains With Hispanics: Survey
Comes in Behind Both McDonald’s and Burger King
By Maureen Morrison
Can the Rojas family make Hispanics more likely to eat at Wendy’s? Whether the fictional family, which is featured in a new Wendy’s Hispanic campaign launched earlier this month, can move the needle remains to be seen. But a new study by market-research firm Placed suggests that the No. 2 burger chain may have an uphill battle compared to its rivals.
According to the report, called “Dining Out in America: The Quick-Service Restaurant Landscape,” Hispanics were least likely to visit Wendy’s compared to McDonald’s, Burger King and Taco Bell. Overall, the survey, based on direct measurement of 70,000 U.S. smartphone panelists in April that opted in to location measurement, found Hispanics 16% less likely to visit Wendy’s than the average U.S. consumer.
While the report didn’t give specific reasons, it’s likely Wendy’s is not high on Hispanic’s fast-food list in part because the chain isn’t spending as much to lure the demographic as rivals. Though it has said it plans to increase spending on the segment by double digits, Wendy’s in 2012 spent close to $11.7 million on Spanish-language network TV, according to Kantar Media—and that was down from $13.2 million in 2011. Meanwhile, McDonald’s, the largest advertiser in Spanish-language media, was the chain most likely to be visited by Hispanics in the study, compared to Taco Bell, Burger King and Wendy’s.
Last year, McDonald’s spent nearly $85 million on measured media on Spanish-language networks, according to Kantar and the Golden Arches has long courted the Hispanic demographic, said Julia Gallo-Torres, category manager for U.S. foodservice at Mintel. “McDonald’s has really for a long period had great outreach to Hispanics.” She added that Burger King also had a leg up on Hispanic marketing last year with a major menu rollout and campaign featuring Hispanic actors like Salma Hayek.
So beyond the big burger chains, where are Hispanics going for fast food? Pollo Tropical, El Pollo Loco and west coast burger chain In-N-Out ranked in the study as the top Hispanic-skewing fast food destinations; Steak ‘n Shake, Culver’s and Arby’s ranked at the bottom of that list.
There is good news for Wendy’s, however: It’s visited by African-Americans more than Burger King, McDonald’s and Taco Bell. African-Americans were 13% more likely than the average consumer to visit Wendy’s, showing the strongest skew among those four brands. Taco Bell showed the lowest index with African-Americans being 14% less likely to visit than average. Subway, by comparison, was visited by two in five Americans and Starbucks was visited by one in four, the study found.
Among all demographics Wendy’s is the fifth most-visited fast-food chain overall in the U.S., behind McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks and Burger King. McDonald’s, the most-visited, saw more than half of all U.S. consumers walk through its doors in April, according to the study.
Other findings: Women visited McDonald’s the most; men visited Burger King and Taco Bell the most. Taco Bell saw the youngest visitors, with those under 44 over-indexing; Taco Bell visitors also skewed slightly lower in income compared to other chains.
11163: Staples—That Was Not Easy.
Advertising Age reported on the Staples pitch where the client wound up mixing and matching agencies throughout the review. Ironically, Staples was allegedly “seeking greater collaboration from agency partners.” According to Ad Age, “In an unusual move, the company paired up a handful of agencies on its own and invited them to pitch in teams. Later in the process, it reworked the agency groups and asked its incumbent shops—which include Interpublic Group of Cos’ McCann, WPP’s MediaCom and Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish—to pitch as one team. In the final round, that group of incumbents competed with the Dentsu team.” For a brand known by its iconic “Easy Button,” Staples managed to complicate matters—and demonstrate that agencies will prostitute themselves without hesitation. Choosing The Three Stooges of mcgarrybowen, Carat and Edelman shows the client has low expectations and even lower standards of excellence. Hell, Staples should simply use its in-store Copy&Print services to produce the advertising.
Staples Consolidates Advertising with Dentsu-Owned Shops, Edelman
Retailer Spent $90 Million on Measured Media in 2012
By Alexandra Bruell and Natalie Zmuda
After a review launched earlier this year, Staples has selected Dentsu agencies to handle its North American marketing business.
The team includes McGarryBowen for integrated creative duties and Carat for media. Also on the roster will be independent giant Edelman for PR.
The selection follows Dentsu’s acquisition of Carat parent company Aegis and marks the first time Carat and McGarryBowen have won a piece of business together within the same holding company. Aegis’ IProspect, the incumbent on the search business, also helped pitch the account.
According to people familiar with the matter, Staples launched the review early this year seeking greater collaboration from agency partners. In an unusual move, the company paired up a handful of agencies on its own and invited them to pitch in teams. Later in the process, it reworked the agency groups and asked its incumbent shops—which include Interpublic Group of Cos’ McCann, WPP’s MediaCom and Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish—to pitch as one team. In the final round, that group of incumbents competed with the Dentsu team.
Agencies either couldn’t be immediately reached or declined to comment. Staples didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Steven Fund, senior VP-global brand marketing, is understood to have led the search. He joined Staples in 2010 from Procter & Gamble, where he led the Gillette global business unit.
Santa Monica, California-basd consultancy Select Resources International managed the review. Despite the change, as recently as February, Staples said it was “pleased with the quality of work” from the incumbent agencies. The office retailer said its new strategic plan, launched in 2012 was the impetus for the search. “As part of this effort, we launched a new corporate vision,” a Staples spokeswoman said at the time. “In light of these changes, this is a perfect time to get new thinking on branding and advertising.”
Staples, which also owns B2B supplies brand Quill, spent $90.7 million on U.S. measured media in 2012, according to Kantar Media. That’s down from the $115.8 million it spent in 2011.
The company has struggled with competition from online and big box retailers in the commoditized office supply category. The retailer reported sales of $5.8 billion for the first quarter, a 3% decrease from a year ago. Profits fell 9%.
“We’re gaining momentum in many parts of our business,” said Ron Sargent, Staples’ CEO in a statement, following the disappointing earnings. “We’re driving growth online and in categories beyond core office supplies, and we look forward to building on our progress throughout 2013.”
Still, for the winners of the pitch it’s good news in a relatively dry new business year. It’s especially welcome for McGarryBowen, which has had some client losses and management changes in the past year.
In April, John McGarry III—the son of McGarryBowen founder and veteran adman John McGarry – announced his departure from the Dentsu-owned shop where he founded the digital practice. That news came a few months after co-founder Stewart Owen said he was retiring from the agency, and came one year after his father left day-to-day agency operations.
In January, the agency lost its Reebok account and late last year it lost a chunk of its Marriott business. Last summer, it parted with AB Inbev.
Carat, meanwhile, adds to its roster another win. Since picking up General Motors in early 2012, it has won Macy’s, Burberry, GoPro and PlayStation.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
11162: Mad Men Are Ad Whores.
AMC series Mad Men has become a promotional whorehouse. John Slattery hawks the Lincoln car brand. Christina Hendricks is the spokeswoman for Johnnie Walker Red Label. Now, Jon Hamm provides voiceover for American Airlines. Oh, and let’s not forget Elisabeth Moss whining about migraine headaches for Excedrin. So when will Teyonah Parris land an appearance in the My Black is Beautiful campaign?
Monday, May 27, 2013
11160: Football Star Kicks Out Racist.
Australian soccer player gets girl, 13, removed after she calls him ‘ape’
TV footage shows Sydney Swans star forward Adam Goodes — an Aboriginal Australian — pointing out the teen racist to security. Goodes says it isn’t the first time he’s been called names during a game.
By Lee Moran / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
An Aussie soccer player confronted a racist teen fan who’d called him an ape — and had her escorted away from the game.
TV footage shows Sydney Swans star forward Adam Goodes — who is an Aboriginal Australian — calling out the 13-year-old who’d screamed out the word.
The 33-year-old is seen running past the girl — a fan of city rivals Collingwood — but then turning around and pointing her out to security.
She is then taken from her seat at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The incident, during Friday night’s bitter derby game, was seen by millions.
Goodes, whose side went on to win 15.12 (102) to 8.7 (55), said the abuse had rendered the victory “meaningless.”
“To come to the boundary line and hear a girl call me an ‘ape’, and it’s not the first time on a footy field I’ve been referred to as a ‘monkey’ or an ‘ape’, it was shattering,” he told ABC.
Cops questioned the girl, who has not been named, for two hours and she was released pending further inquiries.
She has since apologized to the football star, who revealed he would not be pressing charges and would prefer she undergoes an education program instead.
”It’s not her fault, she’s 13, she’s still so innocent, I don’t put any blame on her,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it’s what she hears in the environment she’s grown up in that has made her think that it’s OK to call people names,” he added.
In the aftermath, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard described Goodes as “someone we can all look up to.”
“His words and actions displayed the highest levels of respect and fairness — qualities he carries on and off the field,” she added.
11159: Students Bond Through Differences.
Differences give mixed-heritage students a common bond
Increasing numbers of college campus clubs give voice to those who don’t fit into the traditional perceptions of race.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
No matter what their ancestry or their skin color, many members of UCLA’s Mixed Student Union say they have repeatedly been asked the same question by classmates and strangers curious about an ambiguous racial appearance: “What are you?”
And that shared experience, they say, helps to bond the otherwise extremely diverse group, which is devoted to the rising numbers of students who are biracial and from mixed ethnic heritages.
Jenifer Logia, 20, a UCLA sophomore who is one of the Mixed Student Union’s directors, said much of campus life is defined by distinct ethnic, religious or social groupings. But none comfortably fits someone like her — from a family that blends Nicaraguan, Filipino and Guamanian heritages.
In contrast, she recalled her first Mixed Student Union meeting: “I looked around the room, and every person was different, every person had a unique background. Yet I felt we all face similar experiences. We all know what it’s like.”
Faced with questions about their backgrounds, “mixed” students are aware that they “don’t quite fit into people’s perceptions of race,” said Logia, who is from Redwood City.
The UCLA group, which started three years ago and has about 50 members, is part of an increasing trend at colleges across the nation to give a social and political voice to these students. The movement began in the 1990s, inspired in part by early activism of Hapa organizations for people with part Asian ancestry. Campus clubs, including those at several UCs, are growing in response to demographics and increases in transracial adoptions.
Beyond social events, the UCLA group has been active in pressing the UC system to change its application forms to include a self-identification category as “mixed.” The form currently allows applicants to check several boxes for race or ethnicity but does not include specific “mixed” or “biracial” ones. The club also has been involved in health issues, by volunteering for genetic tests in case a multiethnic person needs a bone marrow donation that is difficult to match.
The growth of such campus organizations “reflects the kind of world we live in,” said Benjamin D. Reese Jr., a Duke University administrator who is president of the National Assn. for Diversity Officers in Higher Education. “It is the result not only of intermarriage but also reflects the broader, more complex way people, especially young people, think about things like this.”
Biracial college students increasingly refuse to identify themselves as belonging to just one category, even if they feel pressure to do so, he said. For example, his own daughter, with a white mother and an African American father, identifies herself as multiracial and multicultural.
UCLA sophomore Farhan Mithani is the son of immigrants from Burmese Buddhist and Pakistani Muslim families. Raised as a Muslim in a mainly white, Christian town in Texas, he said he did not focus much on his ethnic identity until he enrolled last year at UCLA and was stunned by the diversity.
He attended meetings of the Islamic and Pakistani student clubs, which welcomed him, but he became a leader at the Mixed Student Union. “It was a great way to meet different kinds of people who are passionate about their own cultural aspects and are willing to learn more,” said Mithani, 20.
Such explorations of self-identity often are sparked during college years “when you’ve left the nest and left your hometown and meet people from very different backgrounds,’” said Kendra Danowski, a recent Smith College graduate who co-founded the National Assn. of Mixed Student Organizations in 2010.
Another influence, she and others noted, was the 2008 election of President Obama, who is the child of a black Kenyan father and a white American mother. Obama’s personal narrative has encouraged young people to emphasize their biracial backgrounds more, they said.
Off campus, groups such as the Assn. of MultiEthnic Americans and Multiracial Americans of Southern California have been active for decades. The “mixed” movement won a breakthrough in 2000 when the U.S. census allowed people to self-identify with more than one race.
By the 2010 census, the percentage of people who reported more than one grew to nearly 3% of the overall population. However, since the census methodology did not include a separate category for Latino or Hispanic, critics say, the true level of “mixed” Americans was greatly undercounted. The census also experimented in 2010 on a limited basis with questions that listed Latino or Hispanic “origin” alongside white, black, Asian and other designations and allowed more than one to be chosen; in those tests, the mixed-race population rose to as high 6.8%, officials said.
At recent meetings of the UCLA Mixed Student Union, leaders put posters on the walls around the room with handwritten statements that generated lively discussion.
“Sometimes I feel like an outcast in my family,” one placard said. Others stated: “I sometimes feel I can pass for white, but I don’t feel like I really fit it in.” “I feel like a minority no matter where I go.” “Sometimes I think it’s weird my parents got together.”
Students talked about happy blends of family customs and food as well as painful racial rifts between family factions and pressures to choose one side. They told childhood stories, blending humor and sadness, of strangers in supermarkets assuming that their mothers, with a different skin color than the youngsters, must be a baby sitter or, worse, a kidnapper.
Others, some wearing club T-shirts proclaiming “Mixed Love,” spoke about exhilarating and difficult overseas trips to investigate complicated family trees.
“There’s always some conflict, and there’s always some triumphs,” said Matthew Sanchez, 18, a UCLA freshman from Moreno Valley, referring to the life stories recounted by fellow members of the group. Sanchez, whose family combines Mexican, Ivory Coast, African American and Native American roots, said it is a relief to join with other students “who try to embrace all that they are all the time.”
Sunday, May 26, 2013
11158: University Of Phoenix Rising.
This University of Phoenix commercial—which has over 2.2 million views on YouTube—reverses stereotypes. For example, a White man is shining the shoes of a Black man. And it looks like a Black job applicant will beat out the White candidates. The guy is clearly not interviewing for a position at an advertising agency.
11157: Mad Men And Racial Profiling.
The latest episode of AMC series Mad Men Season 6 failed to show any people of color at all, opting instead to only mention their existence. It happened when Peggy Olson came home to discover her boyfriend, Abe, had been attacked at the subway station. Abe refused to identify his assailants to the police officer writing the crime report, and he later revealed to Peggy that he didn’t want the cops profiling every Black guy in the neighborhood. This is the second week in a row that the program has depicted Blacks as criminals. Yep, Mad Men continues to perfectly reflect the advertising industry.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
11155: Real Questions For Mickey D’s CEO.
Mickey D’s CEO Don Thompson recently faced off with members of Corporate Accountability International and children likely prepped by the consumer group. Additionally, Michelle Dyre knocked Thompson with the following:
“CEO Thompson, when is McDonald’s going to stop its aggressive marketing to communities of color? Especially outrageous is McDonald’s targeting children of color. Children of color are already more likely to live in environments where healthy food is less available. That they are more likely to develop diet-related diseases than their white counterparts should be no surprise considering how McDonald’s overwhelmingly targets them with predatory marketing.”
Ms. Dyre is on target with the commentary regarding the health issues facing minority kids. However, the charges of “aggressive marketing to communities of color” are arguably overblown. While Mickey D’s is among the few advertisers actively engaged in multicultural marketing, the fast feeder is still offering McCrumbs to minority advertising agencies—especially compared to the piles of loot handed to White agencies to peddle menu items.
It would have been more appropriate to ask Thompson when Mickey D’s is going to start aggressive marketing to communities of color. When will minority audiences receive their fair share of marketing dollars? When will major advertisers begin treating minority advertising agencies with equal respect—and stop forcing the shops to produce stereotype-riddled messages? Will Mickey D’s ever weigh in on the dearth of diversity on Madison Avenue? These key questions point to the especially outrageous conditions in the advertising industry.
11154: Godzilla Fries Attack Japan.
McDonald’s Mega Potato back at select Japan restaurants
The eateries will sell the massive servings of fries for about $5 and the serving size is the equivalent of two large orders.
By Sasha Goldstein / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Super-super-super-size me!
In Japan, they want fries with that — and McDonald’s is giving it to them.
On Friday, the country’s fast-food lovers will welcome back the Mega Potato, a gigantic, unwieldy looking box of those delicious golden fries. It’s the equivalent of two large orders, Japan Today reported, and will set you back 490 yen — about $5.
It might also be your only meal for the day. The thing weighs about three-quarters of a pound and clocks in at 1,142 calories, Muripo reports. It also has about 57 grams of fat and almost 800 milligrams of sodium.
But McDonald’s insists the carton is perfect for sharing. The promotional photo of the beast shows four different hands digging in.
The Mega Potato is a limited-time offering at the fast-food restaurant, like the on-again, off-again McRib sometimes found at McDonald’s in the U.S.
Japan Today said the hefty potato package is about three times the size of your standard hamburger.
It’s not the first time Japan’s love for those Golden Arches fries has made headlines. Last year, Japanese students were photographed having “potato parties” in McDonald’s. With a low promotional price of about $2, kids were getting together to buy huge amounts of fries. In one instance last October, a group of high schoolers bought 60 servings of large fries and spent three hours downing each and every last one.
Friday, May 24, 2013
11153: Mickey D’s CEO Grilled.
McDonald’s CEO: ‘The Way You Describe Us Is Not Who We Are’
Thompson Answers Critics Charging Chain with Contributing to Obesity, ‘Predatory’ Marketing
By Maureen Morrison
McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson delivered a pointed retort to critics at the chain’s annual shareholders meeting Thursday morning: “The way you describe us is not who we are.”
Mr. Thompson was responding to critics who say the chain markets unfairly to kids and exploits children of color in its marketing. Corporate Accountability International, a consumer advocacy group that routinely criticizes McDonald’s for marketing to kids, was on hand at the meeting to confront the company about its marketing and issue a proposal. Like last year, CAI brought a proposal up for vote that would call on the company to issue a report assessing the chain’s impact on public health. And like last year, it was struck down, this time with 6.3% of shareholders voting for the proposal.
After Mr. Thompson was asked by a CAI representative when the company will stop targeting kids and undermining childrens’ health, he said: “The way you describe us is not who we are.”
McDonald’s—and many other fast-food chains—for years has been under fire for marketing directly to kids, particularly with its Happy Meal, TV ads and, in recent years, online games. But the chain has said it’s made strides through a modified Happy Meal announced in 2011 that includes apple slices and low-fat milk. It also last year launched Happy Meal ads that focused on nutrition and highlighted the apples and milk.
Though it’s a common occurrence for critics to call on the company to reform its marketing tactics, Mr. Thompson said the issue of kids of color hit close to home for him when he was asked: “CEO Thompson, when is McDonald’s going to stop its aggressive marketing to communities of color?”
The question was posed by Michelle Dyre, a young African-American woman and self-described millennial who recently completed an internship at Corporate Accountability International.
“Especially outrageous is McDonald’s targeting children of color,” she said during the Q&A session. “Children of color are already more likely to live in environments where healthy food is less available. That they are more likely to develop diet-related diseases than their white counterparts should be no surprise considering how McDonald’s overwhelmingly targets them with predatory marketing.”
Mr. Thompson, an African-American, said that McDonald’s has not and will not try to “target people of color with subversive tactics.” He began his response by saying that the issue hits close to home, followed by, “I wonder why.”
“I grew up in the neighborhood,” said Mr. Thompson, a native Chicagoan who is from Cabrini Green, a low-income public housing project. He said that his family often couldn’t even afford McDonald’s. He added that though there needs to be more fresh foods available to people who grew up in circumstances like his, “the epidemic of obesity is not about McDonald’s.”
Ms. Dyre also brought up athletes that appear in McDonald’s marketing such as LeBron James, Gabby Douglas and Venus Williams. “Not only does McDonald’s use athletes of color in advertising such as Gabrielle Douglas, Venus Williams and LeBron James, it also invokes culturally inappropriate stereotypes and borrows liberally from hip-hop culture, to aggressively target children of color.” Mr. Thompson said that the athletes “don’t view us as the brand you view us as…. We’re not the brand that you describe.”
Other critics asked Mr.Thompson when the chain would leave children alone and let parents decide what’s best for them. Mr. Thompson noted that McDonald’s is part of the Children’s Food and Beverage Initiative—a marketing-industry self-regulation group—also noting that the average McDonald’s customer visits the chain three to four times per month, and thus McDonald’s cannot shoulder all the blame for the obesity epidemic. “We’re not the cause of obesity,” he said, adding that the chain doesn’t market unjustly to kids. He said that in recent years the chain hasn’t included Ronald McDonald in ads and noted that it offers apple slices and low-fat milk in its Happy Meals. He added that the chain offers a $1 side salad and also recently unveiled its Egg White Delight McMuffin, which has egg whites and fewer calories than the standard McMuffin.
Other adversaries included a group of protesters outside the meeting that called for $15 per hour wages and the right to form unions without interference—a move that’s part of a campaign called Fast Food Forward. A similar group protested outside of Wendy’s annual meeting Thursday.
McDonald’s wasn’t just barraged with accusations, though. The Humane Society appeared at the annual meeting, not to criticize, but to applaud the company for being a pioneer among fast-food chains to end the widely criticized practice of using gestation crates, which give confined pigs little to no movement for extended periods of time. Since McDonald’s announced the policy to phase out the practice, more than 50 other major pork buyers in the country followed the chain’s footsteps, said a representative of the Humane Society.
The accolades didn’t go unnoticed by McDonald’s. Mr Thompson said the company appreciates the recognition and Chief Operating Officer Tim Fenton said, “We are an industry leader and we take that seriously.”
11152: Brainless Or Bulging?
Mickey D’s via DDB in Australia shows kids will give up mindless video games for obesity-inducing junk food.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
11151: Why Ask, “Is It Racist?”
Gitamba Saila-Ngita, Founder and Chief Innovation Strategist of Deft Collective, posted a perspective at AgencySpy titled, “Is it Racist?” So far, the piece has drawn few responses. Don’t expect much more. AgencySpy is hardly the pulpit for smart commentary. The site is TED for the intellectually challenged. Additionally, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has already noted our nation of cowards is reluctant to engage in race-related dialogue—and Madison Avenue may be the most cowardly place in the country.
While contemplating the recent Mtn Dew campaign, Saila-Ngita wrote:
So, is it racist? No. It’s not. But it’s pretty offensive to some folks; I’ll give you that. But for an ad clearly meant for [a] demographic of folks who listen to Odd Future & Tyler The Creator, the creative is on point. Should the offended folks even have been watching these ads? That’s a topic for another post.
MultiCultClassics begs to differ with Saila-Ngita on some points.
First, no one can declare whether or not something is racist. As always, everyone is entitled to their own opinions—which are usually based on personal experiences and perspectives. If you think it’s racist, it’s racist.
Saila-Ngita appears to take the standard stance that the work was not racist partly because it was conceived and crafted by Tyler the Creator. Problem is, the message didn’t come from Tyler the Creator; rather, it came from Mtn Dew and parent company PepsiCo. Big difference. BTW, remember when Mountain Dew commercials featured Willy the Hillbilly? Perhaps integrating Tyler the Creator should be viewed as a sign of progress.
Saila-Ngita also seems to state the ads were intended for a specific audience and folks outside of said audience probably shouldn’t even have been watching. Um, it’s quite possible that many of the offended never viewed the videos at all. Is it necessary to witness an event to feel outrage? Does not being the intended target invalidate the insult? Sorry, but until somebody finds a way to exclusively and accurately aim spots at specific individuals, advertisers must show respect to the general population. It’s just a matter of responsibility and common courtesy.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
11150: Jimmy Smith’s Reality TV Check.
Amusement Park Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Chairman and CEO Jimmy Smith discusses his experience on new VH1 series Model Employee.
11149: FAB Awards Campaign Not So Fab.
The 15th International Food and Beverage Awards presented a campaign featuring advertising agency executives apparently very serious about winning trophies. Of course, they’re all White men.
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