12765: What’s Funny In France…

This campaign from France—where Jerry Lewis is revered—finds humor in God being bored and a Latino being lynched.

From Ads of the World.

12764: Google Search Shows Hypocrisy.

The Google Doodle above salutes Ida B. Wells on the civil rights advocate’s 153rd birthday. Would Wells be comfortable receiving this tribute from a company failing to embrace diversity? Most outrageous is the positive press Google garners from such stunts. Rather than link these hypocritical Google Doodles to Wikipedia pages, it would be more honorable for Google to link to content like this, this, this and this.

12763: White Squad To The Rescue.

MTV launched a campaign featuring a TV commercial and website for White Squad, a fictional service comprised of “carefully selected White representatives who act on behalf of people of color.” If challenged with helping minorities land jobs in the advertising industry, White Squad would fall to the unstoppable White Mob on Madison Avenue and beyond.

12762: The Origin Of RaceMan.

From South Side Weekly

12761: Joan Smalls Undies.

12760: Seeking White Americans…?

Advertising Age reported American Airlines is launching a global agency review. Before choosing its next White advertising agency, the client ought to consider making good on the message in the advertisement above.

American Airlines Launches Global Agency Review

Carrier Has Been With McCann, TM For More Than Two Decades

By Maureen Morrison

American Airlines is putting its global account into review.

The carrier has been working with Interpublic’s McCann Erickson and its agency TM in New York and Dallas for more than 20 years, an American Airlines spokeswoman said. McCann is invited to participate in the review, which is being handled by AAR.

“We remain deeply committed to American Airlines here and globally and will participate in the review,” said a McCann spokeswoman in a statement.

American expects to select an agency in early October.

American Airlines and U.S. Airways merged in December 2013, though some operational issues are still being dealt with. Just a few days ago, the company announced that it is merging all U.S. Airways reservations into the American computer system, with a targeted completion date of Oct. 17. Other steps that still need to be completed include the combining of labor groups, the painting of U.S. Airways’ planes to show American Airlines signage and the selection of uniforms. The $11 billion merger was first announced in February of 2013.

“As part of a broader objective since we entered our merger with US Airways, we have begun to do our due diligence to evaluate all major partners to ensure we are receiving competitive and effective service provisions,” said the company in a statement. “This includes advertising and marketing plans. The competitive landscape of our industry and the advertising industry has changed since the last time we put our business out for bid. We want to ensure we align ourselves with the right agency who understands our goals as the world’s largest airline and can provide the best resources and services to meet our needs globally.”

The statement continued: “We have had a partnership with TM and McCann Worldgroup for more than 20 years, and value all of the great work they have done worldwide for American Airlines. McCann and its office in Dallas, TM Advertising, continues to be an excellent global partner for American, helping us with the recent “Going for Great” campaign launched in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as Europe, Asia and Latin America with local agency teams engaged on our business.”

American Airlines’ U.S. measured media spending plummeted last year, according to Kantar Media. In 2014 the company spent $27.8 million on U.S. measured media, down from $59.7 million in 2013.

12759: Preferring White Culture.

Adweek reported on a study showing 60 percent of executives and potential clients would rather work with firms that care about culture. Of course, they weren’t referring to racial or ethnic culture—as evidenced by the typical account reviews that end exclusively with the selection of a White advertising agency. Hell, you don’t need to conduct a survey to see that roughly 100 percent of executives and potential clients would rather work with firms that care about White culture.

60% of Execs Would Rather Work With Firms That Care About Culture

Focus on that, not dominance or even innovation, in pitches

By Katie Richards

Culture not only helps draw the best talent to your company, but as a new study from the Fortune Knowledge Group and ad agency Gyro found, it also helps other companies—say, potential clients being pitched by agencies—decide whether or not they want to work with you.

Sixty percent of the 500 executives surveyed said knowing a company’s mission statement, and what it stands for, is one of the most important factors in a business decision. Additionally, 68 percent said they would make short-term financial sacrifices to foster these long-term relationships with a business partner.

“We all know that the strongest companies in the world, they nurture their mission statement and have a strong belief in why they started the business,” Christoph Becker, gyro CEO and CCO, told Adweek.

Becker added that any agency, or company for that matter, that doesn’t have a firm idea of its own mission statement and why the company exists, will have trouble forging relationships with other companies.

“You need to know, what’s your point of difference, and why you do what you do,” Becker said.

Check out other key points from the survey in the infographic below.

12758: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 43.

(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)

A MultiCultClassics visitor pointed out a tweet from a twit—Ann Nurock—who proclaimed, “Diversity in advertising is also about women not just black people.” Nurock directed her White woman whining at Joe Public United, a unique union of African advertising agencies represented in 14 countries across the continent, Joe Public Executive Creative Director Xolisa Dyeshana and The One Club, presumably targeting its Creative Boot Camp. Prior to abandoning adland for the world of consultancy, Nurock spent 25 years at White advertising agencies, reaching levels as high as President and CEO. Way to shatter the glass ceiling, girlfriend! One can’t help but wonder how much commitment and energy Nurock devoted to diversity when she had the power to make a positive impact. Oh, and to top it all off, the White woman hails from South Africa—the world’s bastion of inclusivity.

Nurock’s cultural cluelessness has earned her the distinction of joining a small group of women to be honored by this exclusive series—which by no means supports her position that White women are held back in adland.

C’MON WHITE MAN!

12757: Porter Rico With Joan Smalls.

12756: Adland And White Privilege.

Campaign published a perspective by Maisie McCabe titled, “Ad industry must not abuse its position of privilege.” Not sure what planet McCabe is living on, as adland has blatantly and unapologetically abused its privileged status forever—on every continent where it does business. As examples of the industry’s alleged commitment to accountability and change, McCabe pointed to the faux concern for gender equality and obesity. Um, the handwringing over these particular issues only underscores that White admen and White adwomen are big, fat liars. Additionally, the ad industry has historically abused its position of White privilege, as evidenced by the open admission of exclusivity in the USA and UK. Adland has provided more than enough proof to condemn its practitioners as undeserving of operating via self-regulation in any area.

Ad industry must not abuse its position of privilege

By Maisie McCabe

On a stiflingly hot summer’s day last week, a coterie of executives from the advertising, media and political worlds came together for a glass of Prosecco.

The culture minister, Ed Vaizey, had been due to speak but, after he had to bow out, it was left to the Advertising Association president, Andy Duncan, to do a “Florence and the Machine”—but with less jumping and fewer flashing orange lights.

Duncan used the podium to reaffirm the AA’s commitment to working towards a more responsible adland. If the ad industry wants to continue to have the “privilege” of self-regulation, then it needs to learn what it means to be responsible, Duncan said.

Since taking over from the BT chief executive, Gavin Patterson, in January 2014, Duncan has encouraged this theme of responsibility. It’s no longer enough to stick to “the line in the sand that we’ve had for the last five decades”, he said. Instead, Duncan wants the industry to “tread over that line, however challenging that might be”.

At a recent meeting, the AA’s council affirmed the plans, paving the way for action. And they’re jumping straight in. First on the agenda is obesity and kids. Mike Hughes, the ISBA director-general, is already “engaged in that discussion”, according to Duncan. After five decades of insisting that obesity isn’t the fault of food high in sugar, salt and fat, it seems that a proper shift might take place.

Also in attendance was the former Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson. She was heavily involved in campaigning about airbrushing and body image even before becoming the minister for women and equalities in 2012. Instead of ignoring the issue, or trying to shut down the debate, the AA worked with her to ascertain whether there was a problem.

The AA’s think-tank, Credos, produced research into ethnicity and body image in advertising, including 2011’s Pretty As A Picture, that has informed the industry’s approach. Where the ad industry once might have just disagreed with campaigning feminists, this time it took the initiative to really look at what people thought about the issue and changed its position as a result.

And a renewed practical impetus is not before time. The issue of self-regulation of advertising came up in the House of Lords last Monday. Criticism came from not only Baroness Deech, who has crossed swords with the Advertising Standards Authority before, but also from Channel 4’s diversity executive, Baroness King, who one might have hoped would have got the message.

With charter renewal and more over the next few years, it seems as though everything is up for grabs. We should all make sure these good intentions around responsibility come to something over the next 18 months. Because, if we don’t, the power to change things might be ripped away from us.

12755: Bromley Communications (1981-2015).

Advertising Age reported Ernest Bromley is closing his 34-year-old Latino advertising agency, effectively reducing the dismal diversity figures at Publicis—the White holding company that owns Bromley Communications—by about 40 minorities. Fortunately, the global loss is offset by the roughly 8,000 Indian employees acquired by Publicis in the recent Sapient purchase. Bromley announced he’s shuttering the shop to pursue a PhD in consumer behavior; however, sources believe the scenario is the result of “total market” shiftiness leading to total destruction of minority advertising agencies. There’s probably much truth to the opinions, as Ad Age estimated Bromley Communications’ revenue at under $10 million, despite the fact that its client roster includes General Mills brands such as Cheerios, Fiber One, Yoplait, Totino’s, Pillsbury and Progresso, as well as Western Union, the NBA and Enterprise Car Rental—which clearly shows the true value of crumbs.

Last week, MultiCultClassics noted how a 3.5-year-old White advertising agency received favorable press when announcing plans to cease operations—and its founder was already lining up “consulting” gigs with major clients. Meanwhile, the Bromley piece reads like an obituary for a 34-year-old minority advertising agency that was once the largest Latino shop in the U.S.—and its staffers are lining up at the unemployment office. ¡Ay, caramba!

U.S. Hispanic Market Pioneer Ernest Bromley Is Closing Shop

Publicis-Owned Agency’s General Mills Business Is Likely to Go to Saatchi and McCann’s Hispanic Shops

By Laurel Wentz

U.S. Hispanic ad agency Bromley Communications is closing its doors after 34 years, and Chairman-CEO Ernest Bromley is retiring from the agency business—and planning his next step, a PhD in consumer behavior.

Mr. Bromley said he broke the news to the agency’s 40 employees yesterday, and that clients have been informed and some could move to other Publicis Groupe agencies. (Publicis Groupe increased its stake in Bromley to 100% in 2012).

“My desire to go back to school and get a PhD has been in my head since I got my MBA in 1980,” said Mr. Bromley, who is 64. “I’m not going away. I’ll be very much in the cross-cultural multicultural space, from an academic bully pulpit. Now I can do the research clients won’t pay for. I started in research, and that’s how I want to end my career. I have a unique opportunity to do it now. Unfortunately I had to close the agency.”

Mr. Bromley was one of the early leaders in the U.S. Hispanic market, and a decade ago Bromley Communications was the biggest Hispanic agency. The shop is now No. 22 in the top Hispanic agency ranking in Ad Age’s Hispanic Fact Pack, with estimated revenue of less than $10 million.

Much of the agency’s revenue comes from a long list of General Mills brands, including Cheerios, Fiber One, Yoplait, Pillsbury, Totino’s, Pillsbury and Progresso. Agency execs said many of those brands are likely to go to Casanova Pendrill and Conill, the Hispanic shops for General Mills’ main creative agencies, Interpublic’s McCann Erickson and Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi. One agency exec said that independent shop Grupo Gallegos might also get one of the General Mills brands.

Bromley also handles Western Union, and just broke a campaign for its money transfers to Cuba in a series of TV spots shot in Cuba. It’s unclear where two other accounts, the NBA and car rental company Enterprise Holdings, will land.

Mr. Bromley said that when he broke the news to staffers yesterday “they were surprised a little bit” but that “old-timers” were aware of his long-term plans, although maybe not the timing.

Mr. Bromley came to the U.S. as a young man, after growing up in Mexico City with a Canadian father and a Puerto Rican mother. In 1981, he started one of the early U.S. Hispanic shops, Sosa & Associates, with Lionel Sosa. By 1994, the agency was Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar, Noble & Associates, and was part of the MacManus Group holding company. After several more partners and mergers, it morphed into Bromley Communications in 2000 under the Bcom3 holding company, which was purchased by Publicis Groupe in 2002.

He said the Bromley agency will close sometime between the end of July and late August, depending on how long it takes to wind things up, with a party on Aug. 1 when he’ll invite all Bromley’s alumni to celebrate the company’s legacy.

“It’s not like we’re bankrupt or anything,” he said. “We don’t want to leave any clients in the lurch.”

Mr. Bromley is full of plans, academic and otherwise. An avid cyclist, he’ll compete in the Vuelta Puerto Rico, a 375-mile, three-day bike race that passes through his mother’s hometown in Puerto Rico. And he’ll take his 95-year-old father fishing, another of his interests, along with wine collecting. He and his wife are also caring for her parents.

“I just had to do something for me, and for my family,” he said. “I’ve lived on an airplane for 34 years.”

He expects to start his PhD coursework next year followed by a dissertation, and is planning to narrow his choices down to a few top schools and go visit them to discuss admission.

“I’m used to pitching things,” he said.

12754: Editing Hollywood Diversity.

USA TODAY reported on a video series that underscores the dearth of diversity in Hollywood by showing blockbuster movies edited to only feature the words spoken by people of color. For example, the video for “Into The Woods” is just eight seconds long. Imagine if someone did a similar series for Madison Avenue, editing only the words spoken by people of color in general market commercials—excluding celebrities, recording artists, sports figures and Annie the Chicken Queen. It would make Hollywood look downright progressive.

Video series highlights shocking lack of diversity in Hollywood movies

By Lindsay Deutsch, USA TODAY Network

Hollywood has a diversity problem. If you disagree, watch Into the Woods — all 8 seconds of it.

Dylan Marron, a 27-year-old actor in New York, asks movie lovers and budget-controlling film execs to take a hard look at white-washed blockbusters in a YouTube series called Every Single Word. The series dramatically cuts critically acclaimed films into seconds-long clips, only highlighting portions where a person of color is speaking.

Oscar winners American Hustle (the clip: 54 seconds long—total), Her (47 seconds) and Black Swan (27 seconds) are among the selected films. The cut-down version of Disney’s Into the Woods is the shortest, followed by Noah (11 seconds) and Moonrise Kingdom (11 seconds).

“It all started with Enough Said, and I had no idea it was going to take off in this way,” Marron, who identifies as biracial and was born in Venezuela, tells the USA TODAY Network. “I first saw it on a plane and was astounded how it got approved.”

The film, Marron explains, features one person of color — a Latina maid who “serves as the punchline.” “She’s just a bad maid who has nothing shown through her eyes. It’s something we’re going to look back on and say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this was ever allowed.’”

USA TODAY’s Arienne Thompson breaks down Hollywood’s well-documented diversity issue in her January cover story, tied to Into the Woods’ release.

In it, she cites a study by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism that found that of 100 highest-grossing films of 2013, only about 25% of speaking roles featured non-white actors.

Marron, who’s a film buff (and whose voice can be heard on the popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale), said he took the straightforward approach of cutting popular films because they speak for themselves.

“Laying out a pattern in front of people is so much more effective than posting an angry blog post or getting on my metaphorical or literal megaphone,” he explains. “The underlying theme of the variety of films I chose is that they are not about whiteness,” he says.

“Movies like Her are about love and relationship and courtship and what it means to fall in love with humans and reality in the future — I’ve said this many times but I love theses movies! But why must we see these universal themes from a white lens. When that keeps happening, you start to erase stories of people of color.”

Marron says he’s faced the entertainment industry’s unwillingness to cast diverse roles first-hand.

“I’ve been brown all my life and I worship movies. It’s the medium that I really identified with my whole life,” he says. “When you are a brown person or any other race that isn’t represented and you don’t see yourself, sometimes you feel theres something wrong with you or bad that you’re different. But as you become an adult, you start to question it.”

“I’ve been told openly, ‘I don’t know how much work there is for you, and you’re not going to play the romantic male lead,” he says.

As of Thursday, the 12 clips in the series have collectively garnered more than a million views on YouTube.

Marron says the best reaction is from people who say they didn’t notice the diversity issue in Hollywood.

“We sit in the movie theaters and are dazzled,” he says. “But when you’re dazzled by comedy or suspense, there are a lot of things you miss. It’s so insidious that we don’t even notice it. This is systemic racism, one that goes under the radar.”

Marron says he plans to continue his series.

12753: Olive Gardening For White Shop.

Adweek reported Olive Garden is launching a creative review that will include incumbent Grey, the White advertising agency that has serviced the account for nearly 30 years. Not sure what’s more astonishing: Grey holding the account for roughly three decades or Olive Garden actually working with an agency to produce its mediocre creative campaigns. Olive Garden’s parent company, Darden, states the following about diversity and inclusion:

Darden’s vibrant culture embraces diversity and inclusion as business imperatives. This spirit of inclusiveness is woven into our strong, values-based culture that we believe gives us a competitive advantage.

So why will Olive Garden likely opt to partner with a White advertising agency where diversity remains a dream deferred and denied? The restaurant chain’s hypocritical leadership should be beaten with breadsticks.

After 3 Decades With Grey, Olive Garden Launches Creative Review

The lead agency since 1986 is defending

By Noreen O’Leary

Olive Garden, a mainstay account at Grey for nearly three decades, has launched a review of its creative business.

The restaurant chain spent $155 million in media last year, according to Kantar Media.

Grey, which handles the business out of its New York headquarters, is defending. Pile + Co. in Boston is managing the process.

In a statement, Olive Garden evp of marketing Jose Duenas confirmed Grey’s participation, noting that the WPP Group agency has been a “tremendous partner and has played an important part in helping build the Olive Garden brand.”

The search is in its early stages and won’t conclude until the fall.

Grey first landed the business in 1986 and has retained the account through several management changes.

Olive Garden parent company Darden earlier this year reviewed its media planning and buying, keeping Olive Garden at Starcom and shifting its Longhorn Steakhouse business to Carat and 360i.

12752: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 42.

(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)

Campaign published a patronizingly pathetic perspective from Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Chief Creative Officer Tham Khai Meng, who devoted over 60 percent of his essay gushing that the progress made by the LGBT community indicates “we’re entering a new era of inclusion,” and “It’s all part of the tapestry of difference that we now live.” He then meandered through brief mentions of racial and ethnic diversity, as well as cyberbullying, before arriving at the ultimate purpose of his pontification: to salute the rise of fighting for gender equality—aka promoting White women—by the advertising industry via the Glass Lion at Cannes. “Advertising can do more than just reflect the mores of society,” declared Tham. “[W]e can change them too.” Um, O&M can’t even change the makeup of its predominately White staff, let alone affect societal shifts. Tham’s agency reflects adland’s absolute lack of progress regarding true inclusion. We’ve been re-entering the Mad Men era for over 50 years. By dodging, diverting, delegating and denying the discrimination festering at the core of our industry—and doing so in classic contrived and clichéd fashion—Tham wins the honor of becoming the first Singaporean recognized by this exclusive MultiCultClassics series.

C’MON WHITE MAN!

Cannes Perspectives: Time adland smashed the glass ceiling

By Tham Khai Meng, Ogilvy & Mather

David Ogilvy was wrong: advertising can do more than just reflect the mores of society — it can change them too

Today’s adults came of age when homophobia was tolerated—even encouraged—by playground peers. Today, we’re entering a new era of inclusion.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had a number-one hit with their gay-rights anthem Same Love.

Even the often-puritanical US is hurtling towards universal recognition of gay marriage.

Glittering (literally) gay-pride events take place in nearly every major world city, and I am proud to say that the advertising industry has been a staunch partner in the move towards the mainstreaming of gay culture.

From the frankly homoerotic ads of the first half of the 20th century to the cross-cultural work of today, advertising has helped our society move its stance on homosexuality from oppression to appropriation and now to acceptance.

Work from Oreo, Coca-Cola, Gap, Absolut and now Tiffany & Co has normalised LGBT individuals and families as simply another demographic.

This is happening outside of the US too. To promote the ZenFone, Asus released a heartwarming film about a young gay couple learning how to love. PFLAG China used a hard-hitting video to urge families torn apart by homophobia to reunite for the Chinese New Year.

The ANZ bank in Australia took a lighter approach, sponsoring Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and marking the occasion by turning its ATMs into GAYTMs. Get a glitter-and-disco reward when you deposit your paycheck.

We’re moving towards a time when the fact of one’s sexual identity just doesn’t matter — even in the boardroom. It’s all part of the tapestry of difference that we now live.

A tapestry that has grown more intricate in recent years as society learns to embrace the trans-person community. Conchita Wurst shocked the world when she appeared on — and then won — the Eurovision Song Contest.

Bruce Jenner is transitioning on the world stage and so is episodic television. Orange Is The New Black and Transparent feature main trans-person characters.

We’re moving towards a cross-cultural world, one in which a new, polyglot majority holds sway. We are, at last, intermingled.

But our work is not done.

We in advertising have done a good job of late in crafting a vision of a gender-, colour-, and orientation-blind society. But recall the words of David Ogilvy: “Advertising reflects the mores of society, but it does not change them.”

And what are we reflecting?

A society that is trying hard to eradicate the appearance of gender and sexual-identity prejudice but which still has a long way to go in rooting out the reality of it. What about how we ourselves reflect it? Well, one need only look at the levels of diversity in creative departments worldwide to find the answer to that.

A society that is striving to efface racism in every nation on earth. Tribalism and xenophobia rush in where political systems have failed — and even where they haven’t, as the epidemic of police shooting unarmed black men in the US makes clear.

A society that is striving to adjust to the peculiar tension between digital mass intimacy and the distancing effect of technology. Eighty-three per cent of girls and 79 per cent of boys are bullied, many of them via cyberbullying.

Is our increased tolerance, then, just on the surface?

I don’t think so, but neither do I think the work of inclusion is anywhere near over.

But something remarkable is happening now.

We’ve seen breathtaking work that has taken on gender prejudice, particularly from Pantene, Always and Dove. We are past the point of patting ourselves on the back and are now facing our unspoken prejudices. Those who have been discriminated against in the past now have the power to force society to face its own ugliness.

Advertising can do more than just reflect the mores of society. With apologies to Mr Ogilvy, we can change them too.

And that’s why I’m so delighted by the debut of the Glass Lion at Cannes this year. The Glass Lion “recognises work that implicitly or explicitly addresses issues of gender inequality or prejudice, through the conscious representation of gender in advertising”.

Hallelujah.

By Tham Khai Meng, worldwide chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather

12751: Lowell Thompson’s Down In Uptown.

Recovering Artist/Writer/Adman Lowell Thompson has finally decided on the opening reception date for his exhibition at the Uptown Arts Center. Get the details here.

12750: Samsung’s Sexual Assault…?

Is this Samsung campaign implying women in India face greater dangers than normal?

From Ads of the World.

12749: Old White Guys Billing Less…?

Advertising Age reported a 4As survey showed billing rates for senior-level advertising executive—presumably Old White Guys—have dropped in recent years. Given that White admen make significantly more money than minorities in the field, it’s safe to guess Blacks are receiving even greater cuts to crumbs. Hell, the allegedly beleaguered White women might be getting less loot too. The 4As report apparently reflects information from 326 White advertising agencies including Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO, Grey, JWT, McCann and Leo Burnett. So why are these shops willing to divulge billing numbers but refusing to disclose EEO-1 data?

4A’s Survey Finds Drop in Billing Rates For Senior-Level Ad Execs

Rates Rise For Digital, Social and Analytics Jobs As Demand Grows

By Felicia Greiff

The 4A’s released its Labor Billing Rate Survey Report today that benchmarks hourly rates for roles in the ad industry, and the short take is this: It’s a great time for those in web, social and analytics. For top dogs, on the other hand, things have been better.

The survey, which was previously released in 2012 and reflected 2011 hourly rates, includes 125 pages on 2014 hourly rates for positions including creative, account management, digital, media services, analytics and others. This year’s report reflects a few changes in data collection, particularly a bigger census size (the 4A’s used to ask for one weight average rate per position, but this time asked for three actual rates, yielding about three times the responses — 32,000 rates instead of 2011’s 9,700 rates).

The findings show billing rates for senior execs took a hit: comparing the reports from 2011 and 2015, hourly rates decreased from $784 to $660 for director of client service; $1,000 to $861 for chief creative officer; and $626 to $605 for exec director of account planning.

Interestingly, the largest agencies charge more than smaller agencies for senior and executive-level positions, but smaller agencies charge more than larger agencies for mid and junior-level positions. The operative thought, said Tom Finneran, exec VP-agency management services at the 4A’s, is that smaller agencies have fewer than a hundred people, so the core positions are apt to be people who have a broader range of responsibilities than at a larger agencies where there are more layers in the hierarchy. So, if you’re a mid or junior-level employee at a smaller agency, you’ll have more to do and be compensated better than if you are at a larger agency equivalent. (An art director could make $136 per hour at the largest agencies and $150 at smaller agencies.)

Those entering adland for jobs in web, social media and analytics are coming at the right time—rates at the largest agencies increased with demand for talent. Comparing the reports from 2011 and 2015, hourly rates increased from $111 to $122 per hour for creative bloggers; from $169 to $177 for senior web developers; from $129 to $137 for digital designers; from $247 to $283 for director of content management; from $284 to $290 for director of marketing analytics; from $181 to $201 for technical lead; and from $97 to $136 for social-media strategist.

Several hourly rates remained consistent. At the largest agencies, the mid-average rates for account execs were $98 in the 2012 report and $97 in this year’s report; associate media director was $164 in 2012 and $166 this year; media buyer was $89 in 2012 and $87 this year; senior art director was $176 in 2012 and $178 this year; and senior copywriter remained at $175 in both reports.

This year’s report included responses from 326 agencies on 115 positions within 16 service departments. Agencies included Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO, Grey, JWT, McCann and Leo Burnett as well as shops such as 72andSunny and the Martin Agency.

12748: Bull-White House Bullshit.

Adweek interviewed Bull-White House Founder Matthew Bull, who explained why he’s closing his White advertising agency this month. Bull presented his sob story to Campaign as well. Only in the advertising industry would a White man receive favorable press coverage for his failed shop. The moron admitted his agency delivered work that was not “magical.” How many minority-owned advertising agencies have gone down without even a mention? Bull is an appropriate name for the White adman.

12747: Legit Shit.

Not sure what inspired this unfunny Rent.com commercial featuring JB Smoove as the Legit-a-Master. Who’s next? MC Hammer performing Too Legit to Quit?

12746: Special K Kookiness.

Advertising Age reported Leo Burnett lost Special K—which will probably lead to losing thousands of pounds in staff weight—and JWT picked up the business. Given the automatic shift from one White advertising agency to another White advertising agency via a seemingly exclusive account shootout, perhaps the brand should be renamed Special KKK.

Leo Burnett Loses Special K to JWT

U.S. Account Shift Comes Amid Brand Struggles, Big Food Woes

By E.J. Schultz

Kellogg Co. is moving creative duties for its struggling Special K brand to JWT and away from long-time agency Leo Burnett in the U.S., Ad Age has learned.

Leo Burnett, which has been Kellogg’s lead agency for some 65 years, will retain other parts of the business, including big breakfast brands such as Frosted Flakes and Pop-Tarts. The agency will also continue as Special K’s agency in Europe and Canada, according to an internal Leo Burnett memo obtained by Ad Age.

But in the U.S., the Special K loss is significant because it is has long been a priority for Kellogg. The brand consumed more than $120 million in measured media spending last year, according to Kantar Media. JWT also has a longstanding relationship with Kellogg, working with the company in some markets since the 1930s. The agency created work for Special K Red Berries in the early 2000s.

“We are incredibly proud of the contributions this agency has made to the success of Special K. In a little over a decade, we helped build the business from $412 million to almost $3 billion,” Rich Stoddart, CEO at Leo Burnett North America, stated in the internal memo. “I’m proud of the smart and strategic work the team developed to help the brand address its current business challenges. We put great work on the table, but in the end, Kellogg bought an idea from JWT that tested better.”

The memo noted that JWT, which currently works on Special K in Asia-Pacific, will also pick up the brand in Latin America.

A Kellogg spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on Friday morning. A JWT spokeswoman declined to comment.

Special K has been stuck in a long-running sales slump, as it has struggled to adapt to the changing eating habits of Americans. Special K cereal sales in the U.S. fell 14.5% from 2013 to 2014 to $365.7 million, according to Euromonitor International. And the sales woes have leaked into other Special K branded products, including snack bars and cracker chips.

Kellogg has recently sought to repair the brand with a new strategy that moves away from marketing the brand as a diet food, as had long been the practice. Instead, the brand’s marketing is playing up nutrition benefits, including whole grain, fiber, folic acid and Vitamin D. Ads by Leo Burnett that launched in April used the tagline “Eat special. Feel special,” showing a woman leaping in slow-motion, while a print ad refers to the cereal as “nutritionally awesome.”

The account shift is further proof that the struggles of big brands across the food and beverage industries are starting to take an increased toll on agencies and marketers, putting long-term relationships at risk and causing upheaval in the C-Suite.

Just this week, Anheuser-Busch InBev made yet another agency change on Bud Light brand, moving it to Wieden & Kennedy and away from BBDO. The brand was once safely parked at DDB, but in recent years has cycled through multiple shops as sales sagged. The account move came on the same day that MillerCoors changed chief marketing officers, promoting David Kroll to replace Andy England, who had been at the helm since 2008.

Meanwhile, the merger of Kraft Foods Group and Heinz, which finalized Thursday, led to the departure of several Kraft executives. Adland—including agencies—will surely be watching closely as the newly constituted Kraft Heinz company charts its course.

12745: MillerCoors Musical Chairs.

The beer industry has made lots of dramatic moves in recent days. Now Advertising Age reported MillerCoors is playing musical chairs with White CMOs, which will likely lead to dumping White advertising agencies. Give MillerCoors credit for cleaning its own mess first before blaming White shops for poor sales. But not too much credit, as the brewer has consistently produced awful advertising for at least a decade—and produced awful beer for even longer.

CMO Andy England Leaving MillerCoors

David Kroll Named CMO, Kevin Doyle Named President-Sales and Distributor Operations

By Courtney Fishman

Today MillerCoors announced that CMO Andy England will be replaced by David Kroll, effective immediately. As a part of restructuring at the company, Ed McBrien, president-sales and distributor operations, is also leaving after 21 years with the company. His successor is Kevin Doyle.

Messrs. Kroll and Doyle will report directly to Gavin Hattersley, interim CEO, who expressed confidence about the brewer’s restructuring efforts.

“We’re not satisfied with our volume performance, so we need to take action to change that dynamic,” Mr. Hattersley said.

Mr. Kroll joined MillerCoors in 2012 as VP-innovation. He previously held positions in marketing at Procter & Gamble and served as VP-innovation at Dyson.

“David Kroll has played a critical role in introducing Redd’s and Smith & Forge,” said Mr. Hattersley in a statement. “He is a bold and decisive leader with marketing experience beyond beer, and I am excited to see what he can do to shape our marketing efforts in the digital age.”

Mr. Doyle has climbed the ranks since joining MillerCoors in 1983. He most recently served as chief commercial solutions officer.

“Kevin Doyle has a long track record of success and a healthy level of impatience and commitment to sales execution. Kevin is an inspiring leader with a deep understanding of the beer business, the current state of retail and the opportunities for our portfolio,” Mr. Hattersley said.

12744: Whassup, Wieden + Kennedy?

Adweek reported Anheuser-Busch InBev moved its U.S. Bud Light and global Corona accounts to White advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy—which probably was a sobering experience for staffers from incumbent White advertising agency BBDO. The brewer is likely hoping W+K can deliver an “Old Spice” big idea. The real challenge, however, is Old Spice tastes better than Bud Light.

Bud Light Leaves BBDO, Moves U.S. Business to Wieden + Kennedy

Corona’s global business goes to W+K, too

By Kristina Monllos

Wieden + Kennedy in New York has won the creative business of America’s largest beer brand, Bud Light. And owner Anheuser-Busch InBev has also tapped the agency’s Amsterdam office to lead the Corona brand globally.

“We’ve always looked at Wieden from the sidelines as an agency that one day we would potentially want to work with,” Jorn Socquet, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s vp of marketing in U.S., told Adweek.

Bud Light and Corona’s business shift comes on the heels of Wieden + Kennedy’s split from another beer brand, Heineken, just a few weeks earlier. Measured media spending for Bud Light is estimated at $350 million.

Wieden + Kennedy takes the reins from BBDO, which has run Bud Light’s creative business since 2013, delivering two breakout Super Bowl spots for the brand. The brand is covered for its creative through the end of the year, according to Socquet, who said the first work from W+K will “probably be for Super Bowl next year.”

“We are extremely proud of the work we’ve done with BBDO,” said Socquet. “But we always want to improve ourselves, and from our perspective, in order to raise the bar in the next few months and years, we believe that Wieden + Kennedy is a partner that is better suited to get us to that next level.”

Earlier this year, the brand did face some backlash for bottles of the Anheuser-Busch beer bearing the line, “The perfect beer for removing ‘No’ from your vocabulary for the night.” The tag, which the brand said came from creative shop BBDO, upset quite a few consumers. But, according to Socquet, that has nothing to do with the shop’s split from BBDO.

“[We] shared responsibility to get there [with the tagline], but the accountability 100 percent lies with AB-Inbev, and it is absolutely not the reason why we were separating with BBDO today,” said Socquet.

Andrew Robertson, president and CEO of BBDO Worldwide, issued a statement: “BBDO will no longer be working on Bud Light in the U.S. We gave it our best shot, and I would like to thank all of our people who worked so energetically and diligently on this business over the past two years. We did some work we are proud of, and wish our Bud Light clients and their new agency partner well.”

It is too early to say if Bud Light will continue with its “Up for Whatever,” campaign or its Whatever, USA festivities. “Maybe we continue with Whatever, USA, maybe we don’t,” said Socquet. “But in any case we will have a very hard look at it, and if it is worth doing it a third time we will bring it back. If not, we will do something even bigger and bolder than what we did with Whatever, USA.”

Wieden + Kennedy’s agency culture also impacted Bud Light’s decision to move its business. “If you look at the trust with Wieden + Kennedy, they have longstanding relationships with a lot of partners throughout the world,” said Socquet. “Predominantly, of course, their flagship partnership with Nike. Those are the kinds of partnerships we want to develop, with agencies and all of those marketing partners throughout the world. We truly see this as a long-term relationship of like-minded organizations from a cultural perspective.”

“A-B InBev is a very unique company with a global portfolio of brands that is the envy of the beer industry,” said Dave Luhr, president of Wieden + Kennedy, in a statement. “They are strong in talent and culture and high in passion and ambition. Reminds me of an agency I know. We are fortunate to be starting our relationship. Creatively and culturally, I can’t think of a better partnership.”

12743: Heineken Embraces Creativity…?

Campaign published a story titled, “Why Heineken embraces creativity”—then contradicted the piece with another report indicating Heineken dumped Wieden + Kennedy in favor of Publicis Worldwide as its White lead creative agency. The folks at Heineken must be drinking something much more potent than Heineken.

12742: Let’s Not Go Places.

Toyota Global Head of Communications Julie Hamp resigned after being arrested for allegedly importing drugs into Japan. Hey, Hamp, you should be concentrating on importing cars versus controlled substances. And what exotic drugs inspired the creative teams responsible for the Total Toyota bullshit campaign that included depicting a former slave plantation?

Toyota’s Communications Chief Resigns Following Arrest

Police Said Julie Hamp Allegedly Imported a Controlled Drug into Japan

Toyota Motor Corp. said Julie Hamp, its first female managing officer, resigned the position after her arrest last month for allegedly importing drugs into Japan.

Toyota accepted the resignation “after considering the concerns and inconvenience that recent events have caused our stakeholders,” the Toyota City, Japan-based company said on its website. Hamp, 55, had been named the global head of communications for the world’s largest carmaker in April.

Hamp’s resignation comes after President Akio Toyoda called a press conference one day after her June 18 arrest to express confidence that she hadn’t intentionally broken Japanese law. The company had pointed to Hamp’s appointment as evidence that it was diversifying its executive ranks, which is predominantly comprised of Japanese men.

Tokyo metropolitan police arrested Hamp on suspicion she had imported the pain medication oxycodone, police spokesmen have said, asking not to be named in accordance with its policy. She joined the company in June 2012 from PepsiCo Inc., where she was a senior vice president, and worked previously for General Motors Corp.

Oxycodone is designated as a narcotic in Japan and users need advance permission from the health and welfare ministry before bringing it into the country, according to the Narcotics Control Department.

--Bloomberg News--

12741: Travelocity Traveling.

Adweek reported Travelocity will jettison its White advertising agency—and probably the White gnome created by the shop too. Travelocity VP and General Manager Brad Wilson wrote, “In the hyper-competitive online travel space, breaking through the clutter with both a trusted brand and a fresh consumer message is of paramount importance. By reviewing our creative agency of record, we are ensuring that Travelocity can continue to effectively perform on both of these dimensions.” Wow, let’s hope Wilson doesn’t try to write the fresh consumer message on his own—because anything he typed would be hyper-shitty, breaking wind with paramount poopiness in all dimensions.

Travelocity Wants to Replace the Agency That Created the Roaming Gnome

Splits with McKinney, launches review

By Noreen O’Leary

The Roaming Gnome is looking for a new home. Travelocity launched a creative review to replace McKinney, which has done two tours of duty working for the online travel agency.

The Cheil agency, which created the popular gnome spokescharacter, originally won the account in 2003 and worked on it until 2010, when it moved to Leo Burnett and Razorfish. Two years later, the account moved back to McKinney without a review.

Travelocity said it has already shortlisted a number of agencies and will not be accepting any unsolicited proposals.

The travel company said it launched the agency review in light of a consolidating online travel industry and increasingly complex travelers. In an internal email, Brad Wilson, Travelocity vp and general manager, explained the decision.

“In the hyper-competitive online travel space, breaking through the clutter with both a trusted brand and a fresh consumer message is of paramount importance,” he wrote. “By reviewing our creative agency of record, we are ensuring that Travelocity can continue to effectively perform on both of these dimensions.”

Earlier this year, Expedia acquired Travelocity after signing a 2013 marketing agreement that called for it to run much of Travelocity’s operations, with the exception of marketing. Post-acquisition, Expedia has pledged to retain the Travelocity brand, alongside Expedia’s other consumer sites like Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Trivago, Venere, eLong, and CarRentals.com.

12740: Black Face For Facebook.

It looks like Facebook improved its 2 percent Black employees figure by hiring Ogilvy & Mather South Africa CEO Nunu Ntshingila to run a sales office opening in Johannesburg. If Ntshingila leaves O&M to assume the Facebook role, the global diversity factor is almost a wash, as the predominately White advertising industry loses a Black person while the predominately White technology industry gains a Black person. And since Ntshingila is a female, the global gender factor shuffles too.

Ogilvy Alum Will Oversee Facebook’s Expansion in Africa

For the World’s Largest Social Network, Africa Holds Vast Potential

North America has a population of about 500 million, and two-fifths of them are on Facebook. In Africa, with more than 1 billion people, just 120 million use the social network. That’s an opportunity Facebook can’t ignore, though the region poses challenges unlike those the company has faced in more developed markets.

To spur growth on the continent, Facebook next month is opening an office in an affluent suburb of Johannesburg. The sales office will be headed by Nunu Ntshingila, 51, chairman of WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather agency in South Africa, who will oversee Facebook’s business in the region.

The company will find that winning customers in Nigeria or Kenya is tougher than in Nebraska or Kansas. Africa has few fixed internet connections, so Facebook’s original website isn’t well known. And while mobile internet is booming, data is expensive and smartphones are rare, with most people using cheaper—and less capable—devices called feature phones that can’t run Facebook’s full mobile application.

“This is one of the places where our next billion users are coming from,” said Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s VP-Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “It would be a massive missed opportunity. Africa matters.”

To win over consumers concerned about the cost of data or who live in areas with lousy signals, Facebook is partnering with mobile-phone companies to offer what it calls Internet.org, which gives people free airtime when they access Facebook and a few dozen other selected websites. And it will soon introduce Facebook Lite, a low-bandwidth app that uses just a fraction of the data of the standard application.

“There’s no point sending a video to someone with a 2G connection,” Ms. Mendelsohn said in an interview. “You really want to make sure that you’re delivering the right messages to right devices in the right way.”

For the world’s largest social network, Africa holds vast potential. Facebook has been blocked by China’s censors since 2009, and in Russia it trails local sites such as VKontakte and Odnoklassniki. As sales growth slows, Facebook is working to broaden the reach of its advertisements, which generate more than 90% of its revenue.

A further challenge in Africa is the cost of smartphones, which are rarely subsidized with long contracts as they are in Europe and the U.S. MTN Group and Vodacom Group, with a total of more than 225 million subscribers on the continent, are trying to change that by selling house-brand smartphones for less than $50.

Chris Gilmour, an analyst at Absa Asset Management in Johannesburg, said Facebook will need to be patient if it hopes to succeed in Africa. While the potential is huge, the region is notoriously difficult for outsiders to crack.

“Facebook has the capacity and skills and they will succeed, it’ll just take longer,” Mr. Gilmour said. “Africa is a fantastic prospect but it is a long-term prospect.”

One way to keep data charges low is with what Facebook calls “missed call ads.” Advertisers place links in Facebook newsfeeds. When those are clicked, the advertiser rings the user with a promotion—and foots the bill for the call.

“We were conscious of airtime, which is the problem of most of the population in Africa,” said Gil Sperling, co- founder of Popimedia, a Facebook partner in Johannesburg that uses the technology. “You need a product that’s actually useful to them on a feature phone.”

Ms. Ntshingila will take over the new Johannesburg’s office in September. She joined Ogilvy & Mather in 1999 and was the agency’s South Africa CEO for seven years before becoming chairman in 2012. Her mission is to persuade businesses and advertising agencies to promote themselves through Facebook.

“Increasingly marketers are focused on what is the next frontier,” said Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s VP-global marketing. “There’s going to be an incredible opportunity to develop a consumer base in Africa.”

—Bloomberg News