12897: Deleting Play From Playboy.

Adweek reported on Playboy’s decision to—starting in April 2016—strip away the nudity that has essentially symbolized the magazine’s brand. Playboy pulled a similar move with its website in 2014, apparently increasing traffic, lowering the median age of visitors and attracting broader advertisers. What’s next—turning Playboy Mansion into a children’s amusement park? Can’t help but think this action is the New Coke of the decade—except it’s not a soft drink, but rather, soft porn. Playboy without Playmates is like Madison Avenue without culturally clueless racists.

Playboy’s No-Nudity Revamp Could Mean More Ad Dollars and Higher-End Brands

Magazine may compete with Esquire and GQ

By Emma Bazilian

That old line about “reading Playboy for the articles” is about to become a lot more legitimate. This morning, Playboy announced that beginning in March 2016, it will no longer run nude pictures in the magazine. While the move has been attributed to the rise of Internet pornography—after all, who really needs to buy magazines to see naked women in this day and age?—there’s another important factor at play: Fewer nudes may mean more advertiser dollars.

The safe-for-work approach has certainly benefited Playboy.com, which underwent its own nudity-free revamp in August 2014, shifting focus to more Facebook-friendly lifestyle and entertainment content. Since then, the site’s average monthly unique visitors have increased by 400 percent, and median reader age has dropped from 47 to 30, according to the company. The site has also managed to attract advertisers like Stoli Vodka, Hornitos Tequila and The Weinstein Company.

By instituting similar changes in the magazine—among them, higher-quality paper stock, more coverage of visual artists and liquor content, per the New York Times—Playboy might hope to compete with men’s magazines like GQ and Esquire for high-end fashion, automotive and spirits advertisers.

The no-nudity move could also help broaden Playboy’s appeal among mass brands that tend to be more conservative. “This opens up the conversation to marketers hesitant to go into what was a highly provocative environment,” said Robin Steinberg, evp, publishing and digital director, investment activation at MediaVest.

Whether advertisers really will embrace the “new” Playboy remains to be seen. But even if brands bite, the magazine will still need to win over its target millennial audience. “Readers and revenue are the two most crucial factors for success,” Steinberg said.

Take, for example, former laddie magazine Maxim, which relaunched in an attempt to reposition itself as a destination for stylish urban males. Since then, the magazine’s fashion advertising has grown, but newsstand numbers are still struggling: According to the Alliance for Audited Media, single-copy sales dropped 36 percent in the first half of 2015.

12896: Toujeo® Scary Side Effects.

According to this Toujeo® insulin commercial, side effects include nightmarish hallucinations of being trapped in a totally White world.

12895: Exclusively Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs really highlighted the dearth of diversity in the tech industry. The movie depicted images of Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Think Different campaign—which, appropriately enough, was created by White advertising agency Chiat Day. And there was a single scene in the film where Jobs walked past a Black person (an Apple employee?) and briefly acknowledged the man. But besides those three instances, the only thing Black was Jobs’ t-shirt.

12894: Deutsch Socializes Exclusivity.

Business Insider reported Deutsch has been using social media like Instagram and Reddit to find and recruit talent. Deutsch Chief Creative Officer Pete Favat explained, “The idea of hiring people in advertising is over. We will just regurgitate what has already been done. If advertising continues to copy itself and take influence from itself, that’s why people will get put off of advertising.” Besides not being very articulate, Favat is full of shit, as Deutsch is completely guilty of employing all the same hiring and promotion tactics that have kept the industry exclusively White for decades. Then again, social platforms such as Instagram allow Deutsch to more quickly identify candidates as being Caucasian, ultimately streamlining the staffing process. According to Business Insider, “Deutsch is telling the entire agency to ‘stuff yourselves with culture as much as possible’—paying attention to Instagram, Vine, art, comedy, shows on Netflix—and keep an eye out for potential new hires.” Um, the last time the White advertising agency gave its employees Internet-related instructions, the place wound up getting seriously spanked by the FTC.

Here’s why one ad agency seeks to hire ‘internet kids’ from Reddit and Instagram rather than people from the ad industry

By Lara O’Reilly

Recruiting for new young creatives to join the ad agency is a tough job at the moment.

At one time, the competition for creatives was just between other agencies and brands’ marketing departments, Winston Binch, chief digital officer at ad agency Deutsch, told Business Insider: “Now we compete with BuzzFeed, Vice, Google, Facebook, or what we call ‘two f—kers in their garage’ — everyone is in the marketing business now.”

But rather than fight against the democratization of tech and the ease at which people can publish their creative efforts, Deutsch has embraced the internet, by using it to be more creative about the way it recruits talent.

Instead of looking to other ad agencies, or people that have just finished college marketing courses, the agency is actively seeking out “internet kids.”

Pete Favat, Deutsch chief creative officer, said: “The idea of hiring people in advertising is over. We will just regurgitate what has already been done. If advertising continues to copy itself and take influence from itself, that’s why people will get put off of advertising.”

Recently, Deutsch has handpicked three of its young creatives via Instagram, and one via Reddit.

Deutsch discovered brothers Bryan and Beau Abbot through their “Baseball Card Vandals” website and Instagram account, which sees the pair sabotage baseball cards with funny illustrations. Neither had worked in advertising before, but now they are an art director and copywriter, respectively, working on the Sprint account.

Dan Atwater joined as a junior art director, but was found by Deutsch staff via his “kickass” Instagram profile, in which he cleverly repurposed his creative portfolio.

Meanwhile, Kurt Gassman was offered a place on the agency’s “DPrep” summer residency in Los Angeles because he made an unusual application via Reddit. He posted a series of images transforming his paper job application into an origami crane, that he took wherever he went.

Deutsch duly responded by sending his acceptance letter back via Reddit too.

Deutsch is telling the entire agency to “stuff yourselves with culture as much as possible” — paying attention to Instagram, Vine, art, comedy, shows on Netflix — and keep an eye out for potential new hires. “Talent is everyone’s job,” according to Favat.

It’s that kind of thinking that saw the agency hire TJ Miller, the comedian, writer, and actor from the HBO show Silicon Valley. He’s been brought in as a freelance writer when he’s not on set.

Binch said: “What makes this place different is that we’re passionate about innovation. We are investors and we invest ahead of revenue and that’s very rare for an ad agency — most of which are just busy managing their margins. And that’s the quickest way to die. Invention and innovation has to be the biggest part of our business model. We’ll make mistakes, but that’s what makes it exciting for us.”

Both Binch and Favat admit that hiring “internet kids” hasn’t always worked — and it’s too soon to say whether they’ll go on to get senior roles — but they encourage other businesses to adopt a tech-like “fail fast” attitude. They believe the larger business community — banks, retailers, healthcare companies — should be hiring “internet kids” too to bring new thinking into their sometimes stodgy organizations. Those kinds of people are more likely to bring ideas that a fan — not a corporation — would make, they added.

12893: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 44.

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

Crazy Client Brad Jakeman grabbed a mic to perform an encore to his revolutionary act on diversity.

But rather than escalate his outrage on the Whiteness of the advertising industry, the PepsiCo Global Beverage Group President seized the moment to advocate for—you guessed it—gender equality. People, it’s time to raise your voice for more White women in C-Suites and CD roles on Madison Avenue!

Jakeman is now available for bookings at 3% Conferences and ADCOLOR® extravaganzas.

C’MON WHITE MAN!

From Advertising Age…

PepsiCo’s Brad Jakeman: Adland Lacks Diversity

He Calls for More Women in Senior Roles

By E.J. Schultz

At this week’s Association of National Advertiser’s conference, PepsiCo’s Brad Jakeman, president of the global beverage group, drew attention for his harsh critique of ad agencies. But he was equally aggressive in calling for more diversity in Adland. He elaborated on the topic in this video.

12892: Why Brad Jakeman Is Insane.

Albert Einstein is often credited with having said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Based on that popular definition, PepsiCo Global Beverage Group President Brad Jakeman is totally insane—and he’s definitely no Einstein. Advertising Age reported on ranting and raving spewed by Jakeman at the ANA Masters of Marketing conference, where the lunatic criticized the advertising agency model and even ripped the industry’s lack of diversity. Jakeman’s jabs included:

“The agency model that I grew up with largely has not changed today. Yet agency CEOs are sitting there watching retainers disappear … they are looking at clients being way more promiscuous with their agencies than they ever have. … I am really worried that this model is not going to bend—it’s going to break if we don’t really think about how to innovate.”

“I am sick and tired as a client of sitting in agency meetings with a whole bunch of white straight males talking to me about how we are going to sell our brands that are bought 85% by women. Innovation and disruption does not come from homogeneous groups of people.”

Okey-doke. If Jakeman is really worried about the soon-to-break agency model, perhaps he should stop hiring Omnicom shops and global garbage makers. Hell, the same basic advice applies for his tough words on diversity—that is, if you want to deliver on PepsiCo’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, stop conspiring with White advertising agencies where exclusivity reigns. As a global client, PepsiCo certainly has the power and authority to demand change from its shops. But to believe a blowhard like Jakeman might actually take action on such matters would demonstrate, well, insanity.

PepsiCo Exec Has Tough Words for Agencies

PepsiCo’s Brad Jakeman Suggests Shops Have Not Kept Pace With Change

By E.J. Schultz

Ad agency models are breaking. Pre-roll ads are useless. Measurement models are outdated. The ad industry lacks diversity. And the phrase digital marketing should be dumped.

Those statements were among the declarations made Wednesday by PepsiCo exec Brad Jakeman in a fiery, truth-telling presentation at the Association of National Advertising’s annual “Masters of Marketing” conference in Orlando, Fla.

Mr. Jakeman—who is president of PepsiCo’s global beverage group—went so far as to suggest that even the phrase “advertising” should go by the wayside. He did so before 2,700 marketing and agency professionals at an event put on by an association that has the word advertising in its name. “Can we stop using the term advertising, which is based on this model of polluting [content],” he said.

“My particular peeve is pre-roll. I hate it,” he added. “What is even worse is that I know the people who are making it know that I’m going to hate it. Why do I know that? Because they tell me how long I am going to have to endure it -- 30 seconds, 20 seconds, 15 seconds. You only have to watch this crap for another 10 seconds and then you are going to get to the content that you really wanted to see. That is a model of polluting content that is not sustainable.”

But Mr. Jakeman, whose talk was called “Designing for Disruption,” saved his toughest words for ad agencies. “The agency model that I grew up with largely has not changed today,” he said, noting that he has been in the ad industry for 25 years. “Yet agency CEOs are sitting there watching retainers disappear … they are looking at clients being way more promiscuous with their agencies than they ever have.”

Continuing the rant, he said that the “global alignment agency is a dinosaur concept” and he questioned the level of innovation. “I am really worried that this model is not going to bend—it’s going to break if we don’t really think about how to innovate,” he said.

Mr. Jakeman also ripped the industry’s lack of diversity. “I am sick and tired as a client of sitting in agency meetings with a whole bunch of white straight males talking to me about how we are going to sell our brands that are bought 85% by women,” he said. “Innovation and disruption does not come from homogeneous groups of people.”

Indeed, agencies—or at least the agency of record concept—had a tough day in the opening session of the ANA event, which ends Saturday and is being held at the sprawling Orlando World Center Marriott.

Harley-Davidson Chief Marketing Officer Mark-Hans Richer—who delivered a late morning presentation—responded to a question about agencies by pointing out that the motorcycle marketer works with a lot of shops and takes a “boutique” approach. “We have not had a lead agency in about five years,” he said. “Clients must take more responsibility for creativity. It’s not the kind of thing that you should offshore.”

Disruption has been an early theme at the conference. Marketers presenting on the stage so far appear to be taking less time showcasing big campaigns and TV ads, as in years past, and more time talking about how they need to rethink their organizations and approaches from the ground up.

Mr. Richer—whose presentation was called “Fake Fight: Millennials vs. Boomers”—sought to dispel the popular notion that growth comes solely from marketing to young adults. “Youth does not own cool. Youth does not own growth. Youth does not own innovation or disruption.” he said. “Old people are a growth market, too.”

Mr. Jakeman’s presentation was almost completely devoid of self-promotional Pepsi marketing, with the exception of the blue Pepsi can he carried in his right hand. And while he questioned agency models, he was also critical of marketing organizations for not changing with the times.

He said he has been to many marketing conferences and has seen some really creative things, which he said was “awesome.” But he “hasn’t seen our industry really push for incredibly disruptive things,” he added. “We are still talking about the 30-second TV spot. Seriously?”

12891: Raise Your Voice Repercussions.

The theme for Blog Action Day 2015 is Raise Your Voice.

If you raise your voice for the alleged plight of White women in the advertising industry, expect to receive respect, reverence, rewards, kisses, kudos, compliments, applause, accolades, acclaim, praise, prestige and payouts—even if you’re a pathetic and patronizing douchebag.

If you raise your voice for the acknowledged plight of Black people in the advertising industry, expect to be blacklisted, blackballed, black eyed and blacked out—unless you’re a White, wonderful, wise, witty, worldly douchebag. Or a Chief Diversity Officer.

It’s time to raise your voice over such disparities in raising one’s voice on Madison Avenue.

12890: Three Million Dollar Baby.

Advertising Age reported the gender-bias lawsuit targeting Publicis Groupe and MSLGroup settled for $3 million, which is a lot less than the $100 million in damages from the original filing. But hey, it shows White women are still doing much better than minorities, who have failed to collect a single crumb for the institutionalized discrimination they face in the field.

Publicis Settles Class-Action Gender-Bias Suit for Nearly $3 Million

MSLGroup’s Monique da Silva Moore Originally Sought $100 Million in Damages

By Alexandra Bruell

In February 2011, a former employee of Publicis Groupe’s MSL Group started a class-action gender discrimination complaint against the Paris-based holding company and MSL, Publicis’ umbrella unit for public relations shops. The lead plaintiff, Monique da Silva Moore, was seeking $100 million in damages. Today, it was settled for nearly $3 million.

“The settlement, which resolves the claims of the named plaintiffs and pay and pregnancy discrimination claims of 101 other female MSLAmericas employees, has been submitted to the District Court for approval,” according to a statement from the plaintiffs’ law firm Sanford Heisler Kimpel. “Defendants Publicis Groupe and MSL Group have not conceded or admitted liability in connection with the settlement and deny that they have engaged in any wrongdoing,” added the statement.

“We are pleased to have resolved this matter, avoiding the cost of further litigation,” said MSLGroup in a statement. “We are confident that our workplace policies and practices are lawful, correct, and non-discriminatory. The Court has made no determination that any policy or practice was unlawful, and the settlement agreed to by the parties does not require any changes in our policies or practices. We continue to be fully committed to the fair, equal and respectful treatment of all of our employees.”

When they filed the suit, Ms. da Silva Moore and other female public relations employees in the U.S. claimed that they were denied equal pay, promotion and other employment opportunities by Publicis and its PR group, MSLGroup. Ms. da Silva Moore, a former global healthcare director for MSLGroup, had worked for the PR agency for 13 years.

Jim Tsokanos, MSLGroup’s U.S. president at the time, stepped down over a year after the claims were made. He was then succeeded by the company’s Chief Client Officer Renee Wilson.

Mr. Tsokanos’ alleged behavior was described in a version of the original suit.

Despite ongoing inappropriate conduct and complaints, Tsokanos was promoted to Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Company’s largest office in New York and ultimately to President of the Americas. In his new role, Tsokanos continues to make comments about the appearance of female employees often discussing their “looks” in front of other employees and during meetings. He is also known to take young female employees out for drinks frequently. Human Resources has never taken any action to end President Tsokanos’ ongoing inappropriate conduct.

In 2008, President Tsokanos proudly announced to many in the company that he “need[ed] a big swinging dick to lead the Midwest” while searching for a candidate to fill the head position for the Midwest region. The comment was widely circulated around the company.

MSLGroup has since made additional leadership changes under a new structure overseen by Arthur Sadoun, the CEO of creative agency network Publicis Worldwide.

Here, an original version of the suit:

12889: Buttery Bullshit.

Adweek reported Land O’ Lakes dumped Mithun—its White advertising agency of 80 years—and handed its buttery business to The Martin Agency. Both shops are in the IPG network, so the holding company’s accountants are probably breathing a sigh of relief, realizing that Corporate Cultural Collusion works. Hey, were any Native American shops permitted to pitch?

After 80 Years With One Ad Shop, Land O’ Lakes Hires The Martin Agency

Big changes at America’s top butter brand

By Patrick Coffee

Two months after announcing its creative review, Land O’ Lakes Inc. has picked The Martin Agency as the agency of record for its dairy brands including Land O’ Lakes butter and Kozy Shack puddings. This move comes after the account spent an incredible 80 years with Minneapolis agency Mithun (which, along with Martin, is owned by IPG).

Mithun was one of six agencies participating in the review, and three candidates competed in the final round. Moving forward, the Richmond, Va.-based Martin will handle communications planning and creative development in addition to all media-planning and -buying duties for the business.

Like so many agency reviews, this one followed the client’s appointment of a new CMO. Land O’ Lakes marketing chief Tim Scott served as international CEO of mcgarrybowen and president of the Dentsu-owned shop’s Chicago office before leaving the agency world to go client-side in April. He and his management team helped run the three-month review along with outside consultancy SelectResources International.

Regarding the decision, Scott said, “We’re delighted to begin work with The Martin Agency. From their speed in learning our business to their translation of strategy into impressive initial creative thoughts to their chemistry with our team, it’s already a strong partnership.”

Land O’ Lakes remains America’s most popular butter brand, but its parent company is not a particularly big spender—Kantar Media reports that Land O’ Lakes Inc. reduced its measured media outlay from $20 million in 2013 to $8.1 million in 2014. Still, Martin Agency CEO Matt Williams told Adweek that the new account will allow his agency to do what it does best: “To take brands that people know really well and inject them with a new sense of energy and momentum.” He noted that “Land O’Lakes is a household name and a company with big ambitions,” adding, “everyone has it in their fridge.”

Does this mean a new TV-centric marketing push for the client? “It’s a little early to know the specific media mix,” Williams said, “but one of the things we are most excited about is the opportunity to capture the essence of the brand and bring it to life across lots of different media from digital and social to mass media and internal communications.”

Land O’ Lakes is also keen to raise its profile among Hispanic consumers. Martin worked with fellow IPG shop Casanova Pendrill on the review, and Williams said, “We partnered with Casanova from the beginning so that our ideas would do well in both the general and Hispanic markets. We’re really excited about what’s to come.”

The first new work on this account will launch in 2016.

12888: New Award, Old Idea.

Brand Republic reported the UK advertising industry is launching its first LGBT award via the Marketing Agencies Association (MAA) and PrideAM. PrideAM President Scott Knox reiterated, “I began the PrideAM project saying that I wanted it to have bite.” So the inaugural initiative involves creating an award…? Yep, that bites all right. In lieu of actual, measurable and revolutionary change, let’s hand out more trophies.

MAA launches ad industry’s first LGBT award

By Omar Oakes

The Marketing Agencies Association has created the adverting industry’s first award to celebrate work supporting equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Following last month’s launch of PrideAM, the ad industry’s leadership group for LGBT people, a new PrideAM award as been incorporated into the annual MAA Best Awards.

PrideAM was co-founded by Scott Knox, the managing director of the MAA.

Knox said: “I began the PrideAM project saying that I wanted it to have bite.

“By building an award that celebrates work that reflects and targets LGBT people in a way they want, should be rewarded and heroed.

“I am truly proud that this will be the UK industry’s first ever advertising and marketing award for LGBT strategy judged by senior LGBT people.”

The award will be given to a campaign or project that shows a brand representing or targeting the LGBT community in a different way.

The MAA said the judges will be LGBT marketing and advertising professionals who will be looking for fair, accurate, inclusive and genuine representations of LGBT people in the work submitted.

They are also looking for work that could challenge and support LGBT equality.

The deadline for entries for the PrideAM award is Tuesday, 20 October. The MAA Best Awards ceremony will take place on 3 March 2016.

12887: AWXII Banner Bullshit.

One more note on Advertising Week XII. The banner above stated ABC takes targeting seriously. The advertising industry, not so much.

12886: Delayed WTF 31—Advertising Week XII.

MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

Advertising Week XII inadvertently spotlighted the diversity dilemma that has plagued Madison Avenue and beyond since, well, forever.

This year’s New York soiree actually featured a Diversity & Inclusion Track, presenting a pile of patronizing pap that did little to legitimately further and/or foster diversity and inclusion. Additionally, there was a separate Talent Track. Leave it to the advertising industry to decide Diversity & Inclusion and Talent should be segregated endeavors.

The Diversity & Inclusion Track opened with the following promotional copy:

Diversity & Inclusion

In the midst of the biggest effort in history to introduce comprehensive civil rights to the LGBTQ community, the media storm continues to swirl around national diversity challenges. Caitlyn Jenner has fueled much of the attention as of late, providing a high profile face to the debate around acceptance. Brands and advertisers still face biases in planning and executing media campaigns yet the buying power continues to grow in minority and historically excluded groups. The Inclusion of targeting and segmenting meaningful content to truly diverse audiences based on their consumer behavior and exclusive of their lifestyle choices, ethnicity or background is the recipe brands need to experiment with to optimize ROI. As the awareness and controversies rise in the media and progress is made and lost on various fronts, it is certain to be a passionate time in our history.

Only a handful of advertisers in the scheme of things have shown boldness in their work to understand, reach and service diverse audiences. Which brands are striving to understand and embrace diversity? What brave and bold campaigns will we see arrive on the scene? How will advertisers balance the perceived risks of polarizing audiences?

The diversity and inclusion track at advertising week is certain to provide insights into some of the biggest questions of our time.

Notice how the above bullshit makes zero mention of the biggest question of our time: Why are the staffs at most advertising agencies still predominately White?

Instead, the Diversity & Inclusion Track included: a single, obligatory panel discussing diversity of talent; a couple of LGBT events; an examination of media targeting women; the rise of diverse non-network shows; an autobiographical share with Lin-Manuel Miranda; an Emilio and Gloria Estefan self-promotional tour stop; a peek at Broadway Video’s Latino Network; a hand-wringing session on the Whiteness and maleness of the digital arena, and; a conversation on “the power of inclusiveness” in storytelling.

Hell, the most noteworthy diversity-related happening was the Here Are All The Black People incident—and The One Club program wasn’t even a part of Advertising Week XII.

Remember when Advertising Week served as the perfect stage to call out and condemn the dearth of diversity? Where are Cyrus Mehri, Patricia Gatling and the NYC Commission on Human Rights and John Liu? Why isn’t anyone demanding that Madison Avenue agencies publicly reveal the alleged progress?

Advertising Week XII put the “x” in exclusivity.

12885: Nancy Hill On Diversity.

Campaign US posted a video featuring an Advertising Week interview with 4As President-CEO Nancy Hill. At about 1:55 into the video, the interviewer segued to the Here Are All The Black People incident, prompting a short discussion on diversity. Hill stated she feels “people are taking [diversity] much more seriously than I’ve ever seen them take it before.” Too bad the more seriousness only seems to apply to promoting White women. Hill also stressed that when she took the 4As job, she assumed the role of Chief Diversity Officer for the organization as well. Sadly, Hill has been about as effective as the average CDO, although she instituted the Rooney Rule for 4As hiring—while the advertising industry continues to use Mickey Rooney Rules. Sorry, but Hill will take home an ADCOLOR® trophy long before she brings motivating, meaningful or measurable change to the complexion of Madison Avenue.

12884: Annie Goes Global—And Spicy.

Now Annie the Chicken Queen is a global expert on spices? This Popeyes commercial for Wild Pepper Tenderloins even features a South American woman. Oh, the humanity and diversity!

12883: JCPenney Shifts Again.

Adweek reported JCPenney hired mcgarrybowen to target middle-income shoppers—and the business was awarded without a formal review. The ragged retailer runs through mediocre White advertising agencies at a regular clip. Let’s hope the latest move doesn’t result in more Go Ligety garbage.

JCPenney Hires a New Agency to Help Grow the Brand With Middle-Income Shoppers

Mcgarrybowen already working on spring marketing

By Patrick Coffee

JCPenney, the once-dominant American retail chain that has taken steps to right itself after a series of missteps in recent years, has chosen a new creative agency to lead its revival. After two years with MDC Partners’ Doner Detroit, the account went to Dentsu’s mcgarrybowen without a formal review, and the agency will handle the business across its offices in New York and Chicago.

The client positions the change as a strategic move toward growth after a period in which its marketing efforts focused on overcoming recent challenges. A JCPenney spokesperson told Adweek, “After thoughtful consideration, JCPenney has decided to end its relationship with Doner as its advertising agency of record.”

The client went on to praise the MDC shop’s work, noting that “for the past two years, Doner has played an integral role in helping us reconnect with our customers as we stabilized our company. As we look to the future, we feel now is the appropriate time to make a change in agency as we build on the momentum of our resurgence and shift our marketing focus from stabilization to growing our business.”

JCPenney went with a trio of new agencies in October 2013, only six months after it had hired Young & Rubicam, picking Doner as its creative lead and naming the newly independent EVB and Omnicom’s Victors & Spoils to handle its digital and social media accounts, respectively. The client moves forward with a clean agency slate: Its digital and social media accounts will now be run by Narrative, the New York agency launched by Def Jam’s Russell Simmons in 2013.

Y&R was the shop in charge when JCPenney shifted its focus after moving away from its famous markdowns under then-CEO and Apple veteran Ron Johnson. The 2013 review followed the departure of Johnson, who was replaced by his predecessor Mike Ullman, and subsequent campaigns re-emphasized the chain’s roots as a provider of low prices on apparel and home goods.

The client spokesperson said, “We would like to express our deep gratitude to Doner for the incredible work they provided JCPenney during a crucial time for our company.” In an internal memo acquired by Adweek, Doner’s co-CEO David Demuth defended his agency’s work, citing “six quarters of same-store sales growth, reversing the nine consecutive quarters of sales decreases” since Doner took over the account. He added that the client also had “the top-rated campaign on the 2014 Oscars broadcast.”

The new business marks a needed win for mcgarrybowen, which ceded its lead creative status on the branding and strategy portions of the Verizon account to Wieden + Kennedy in 2014 and also lost the Chase business to New York’s Droga5 earlier this year. Tim Scott, the agency’s international CEO and president of its Chicago office, left in April to accept a new position as svp and chief marketer for butter brand Land O’ Lakes.

In response to the win, mcgarrybowen New York president and chief client officer Simon Pearce tells Adweek, “Collaborating with marketers to build iconic brands has been at the core of what we do at mcgarrybowen, since day one. JCPenney is a great American brand with a powerful heritage and an exciting future. We couldn’t be prouder to partner with JCPenney, as they continue to take their brand and business to the next level.”

A spokesperson for JCPenney, which made headlines this week by launching a menswear line created by Michael Strahan amid a renewed focus on middle-income shoppers, says, “Mcgarrybowen has a proven track record of building great, iconic U.S. brands and we are excited to have them on board. The agency has already begun working on our 2016 spring marketing plans.”

12882: Wendy’s BBQ BS.

This Wendy’s BBQ Pulled Pork commercial should be pulled pronto.

12881: IAB AOL BS.

A MultiCultClassics visitor pointed to a MediaPost column by Richard Whitman, examining the new diversity initiative from IAB and AOL. IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg gushed, “The IAB is the natural choice to lead these efforts because we know exactly what the digital technology, media and advertising companies are looking for. Our certification programs have, in the space of just a few years, taught and credentialed thousands of experienced sales and ad ops people. Now we will be able to help an even larger number of people from diverse backgrounds obtain similar credentials and qualify for entry-level positions in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.” And would Rothenberg’s contention be based on the diverse makeup of the IAB Board of Directors or the Agency Advisory Board? Hell, digital hasn’t even managed to integrate into White advertising agencies—so what makes IAB think it can crack the code for cultural diversity?

IAB Teams With AOL Chairman Tim Armstrong to Tackle Diversity

By Richard Whitman

Well, this is cute. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for diversity in advertising. Except when the industry launches program after program after program and nothing ever changes. Sadly, every diversity-in-advertising effort is just one failure after another.

And so pardon me if I don’t get all that excited about the latest effort—a partnership between the Interactive Advertising Bureau and AOL chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong. Together, we now have the IAB Education Foundation, “a new nonprofit organization to increase racial, ethnic, gender, and economic diversity and improve peoples’ skills in the digital media and advertising industries.”

Armstrong will lead the endeavor as Chairman of the Board.

Of the foundation, Armstrong said: “The IAB has a nearly 20-year history of solving the industry’s biggest growth challenges and will now focus on perhaps the most overlooked and untapped opportunity—recruiting and growing the talent and skill sets we need in our industry. We need a dedicated organization to focus solely on building a trained and professional workforce that includes all constituencies, many of which have been left behind through much of the digital revolution—minorities, women, the disabled, the economically disadvantaged, and military veterans and their families. Under the leadership of Randall Rothenberg, the IAB Education Foundation will be positioned at the forefront of helping solve this issue that confronts our industry. I couldn’t be more pleased to help lead this effort.”

For his part, Rothenberg added, “The IAB is the natural choice to lead these efforts because we know exactly what the digital technology, media and advertising companies are looking for. Our certification programs have, in the space of just a few years, taught and credentialed thousands of experienced sales and ad ops people. Now we will be able to help an even larger number of people from diverse backgrounds obtain similar credentials and qualify for entry-level positions in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.”

The foundation will launch with a cross-country “town hall tour” to listen to various constituencies within the digital advertising and media industry with the aim of gaining insight about how to improve diversity in digital media, marketing and advertising.

“We are calling this town hall listening tour ‘Voices United,’ because we want to hear from all constituencies, not just the department heads or top executives,” said Michael Theodore, Vice President, Learning and Development, IAB, and project head of the foundation. “The new curriculum and certification programs can introduce many new faces to our industries, but unless there are transparent paths toward upward mobility, true diversity will remain unrealized.”

The foundation’s first partner is the Year Up program, a national nonprofit organization that provides skills training to disadvantaged young adults and places them in Fortune 500 companies. Year Up will work with the IAB Education Foundation to develop an entry-level ad operations training program.

I wish them well.

12880: Cheerios Diversity…?

Oh, look! The latest Cheerios commercial features an all-Black cast, with no over-the-top interracial or lifestyle quirkiness. The only quirky thing: it’s highly unlikely that an all-Black creative team hatched the spot.

12879: Not Sweet On PopSugar.

Adweek published a ditzy perspective by PopSugar Founder and Principal Curator Lisa Sugar on how to stay influential—even after age 40—by considering three tips. Sugar could have included a fourth tip, adding that it helps to be a White woman. Hey, it puts you light-years ahead of any minority. (BTW, while the PopSugar website boasts a diverse staff, peeking at the company’s leadership—as well as the staff picture below—shows the sugar is pretty White.)

Closing In on 40? Here Are 3 Tips to Staying Influential (at Any Age, Really)

To be a perpetual student, look outside your own walls

By Lisa Sugar

As I’m about to turn 39, people often ask how I continue to lead a media company aimed squarely at 20-somethings. It often seems impossible to keep up with each new startup, platform or app we need to download right this second—I had barely started playing around with Meerkat and then it was all about Periscope, all while I’m still trying to find my friends to add on Snapchat.

It was easier when I was younger. I had no fear. I just kept playing and experimenting, and it all felt so intuitive. But as the PopSugar brand grows older and I age, admittedly it has become harder to keep up.

Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way to maintain that level of freshness and innovation as the company—and I—mature.

Don’t be afraid to move fast at any age or any stage. Not being afraid to fail is a stated company value, provided that we learn from it and get better next time. We don’t overthink launches; we can’t always wait for a sponsor because we need to innovate to stay relevant.

We may make mistakes, but we try, learn and then evolve so we can be proud of what we are producing as well as make something our audience wants. And let’s not forget our audience is always changing. Millennials may be the buzz generation of the moment, but soon we will all shift gears and focus on centennials, Gen Z, or whatever else you want to call them.

Being in an industry that’s constantly changing means that we are always adapting, and our jobs never, ever get boring. Learning new things—whether it’s mastering a new app or discovering a trend—is incredibly fun. That joy you feel when you finally figure out how you’ll tackle something new is an extraordinarily powerful motivator.

Surround yourself with young talent. Invest in recruiting and training them. Believe you can learn just as much from them. Despite our size, recruiting is one of my top priorities because I strongly believe in finding different types of personalities—all with a common passion to serve our mission to inform, inspire and create beautiful content.

And we believe in giving responsibility early and promoting from within. We create a safe environment to share ideas and support each other and encourage our employees to create the job they want and make their own path within.

The key to being a leader while also staying young is being able to switch gears from thinking about the microscopic details to focusing on the high-level big picture. We always have a five-year vision, but we also adjust our strategy every six months (or even every six days if something isn’t working) to adapt to the changes around us. We must learn to master the minutiae of our industry; leaders and influencers should never underestimate the value in knowing the details because innovation can happen by observing those micro details. But we also need to be able to step back and observe from a high level what’s working and what isn’t in order to adapt and make an impact.

Keeping an open mind to trends of today and to the young team I am learning from every day has even forced me to let go of old pet peeves. Personally, I had avoided abbreviated speak and acronyms, but even I have come around, simply because of FOMO.

Proactively seek inspiration from outside your own walls. Adweek’s list of Young Influentials (which I helped curate) offers up great examples of those creating their own paths. Take Jessica Alba, a talented actress-turned-entrepreneur and mom of two. She is truly an influencer in every way, be it fashion, beauty, healthy living, entrepreneurship or parenting.

Then there is Eva Chen, who continues to reinvent her career with an authentic, relatable freshness that’s only become more charmed with her adorable daughter Ren.

And whenever I need a reminder not to take myself too seriously, I turn to Mindy Kaling. Her wit, humor and wisdom are just the beginning of her intelligence that continually refreshes and uplifts me. She is my virtual best friend I’ve yet to meet.

In the end, they say age is just a number. I feel younger on the cusp of 39 than I did when I started PopSugar at 29. By keeping it playful, continuing to experiment and occasionally letting go, I have managed to be a perpetual student—first day of college, everyday.

It’s possible to feel younger as you get older. Plus, you now have the confidence and the wisdom experience brings. This is the formula to being forever young and forever influential.

Lisa Sugar (@lisasugar) is the founder and principal curator for PopSugar, and is also the chair of the Young Influentials selection committee.

12878: Ignorant Fool On Facebook.

A MultiCultClassics visitor pointed to a disturbing story—which has actually gone viral and global—spotlighting the firing of Polaris Marketing Group Ex-Employee Gerod Roth, who displayed racist commentary on Facebook involving the 3-year-old son of a Black co-worker. Roth actually had the ignorant audacity to attempt to defend himself on the local news in Atlanta. The most outrageous part is, Roth will have an easier time landing another job in the advertising field than most minorities—even in Atlanta, where there is a 54% Black population.

12877: Inspiring Karen Blackett.

Campaign reported MediaCom CEO Karen Blackett was named among the Top Ten Inspirational Women by Marie Claire. Are there even ten Black women in the UK advertising and marketing industry? Given Blackett’s accomplishments, you’d think she would serve as inspiration for adland to ignite its diversity efforts.

Karen Blackett named among Marie Claire’s top ten inspirational women

By Omar Oakes

Karen Blackett, the chief executive of MediaCom, has been named as one of Marie Claire’s ten most inspirational women at its Women At The Top Awards.

The annual awards, hosted by the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Trish Halpin, honours ten female “game-changers who have shaped 2015”, from business to the arts.

Blackett was included on the list after topping the Powerful Media ‘Power List’ as ‘the most influential black person in Britain’, as well as being in charge of a budget of more than £1.2 billion and helping launch the first government-backed apprenticeship scheme for the creative industry.

She said: “I create a culture where you’re allowed to bring yourself to work. I want to recognise if some of our female talent is struggling with blending their work and home lives. We have many family-based initiatives [new mothers receive one week’s salary as a “baby bonus”, and their wage is raised ten per cent in the first year after they return to help with childcare].

“I regularly ask the team to tell me what they’d do if they were CEO for the day. Then we implement the best ideas. One of the winning ideas was introducing life coaching for everybody at the agency; we’ve now got a happier, more productive workforce and a better, profitable business.”

The ten winners:

Bridget Christie; award-winning comedian;

Destiny Ekaragha, filmmaker and only the third black female director to have released a feature-length film in the UK;

Pip Black and Joan Murphy, founders of Frame gym;

Dr Safia Jabeen, founder of the Chadni sexual health clinic for Muslim women;

Paula Hawkins, writer of the bestselling novel, The Girl on the Train;

Kim Woodward, the first female head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill restaurant;

Major Natalie Taylor, a regimental medial officer for the British Army;

Emily Rawson, a DJ and founder of the all-female DJ collective, Rock the Belles;

Karen Blackett OBE, the chief executive of MediaCom;

and Josephine Goube, the director of strategic partnerships at Migreat, an online platform helping individuals with immigration.

12876: Good Golly, Hallmark!

Does anybody else think this Hallmark Halloween cat has golliwog characteristics?

12875: Dumb Questions.

During Advertising Week 2015, Campaign created a feature titled, “Just One Question,” presenting videos starring industry leaders answering inquiries on a variety of topics.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? Of course, no one expressed a desire to change the industry’s White exclusivity.

What is the one big issue nobody is talking about? Of course, no one mentioned the lack of constructive conversation on diversity.

If you could hire anyone in the world right now, who would it be? Of course, no one wanted to hire a minority.

12874: Playing Poker Or Solitaire…?

Advertising Age published a perspective by Reframe: The Brand Founder and Chairman Jeffrey Bowman, where the author attempts to rename “multiculturalism” as the “New Majority.” Um, the last time Bowman examined this specific topic, wasn’t he promoting the label of cross-cultural marketing while leading the segregated OgilvyCULTURE department? Whatever. Unfortunately, Bowman continues to clutter the conversation with fresh terms that no one really distinguishes from the stale terms—and no one really cares about. Hell, Bowman inadvertently underscores a key issue with his opening statements:

Let’s get a few of things out of the way. Yes, the advertising industry needs to hire more people of color. Yes, race relations are strained right now. Yes, immigration is a huge issue for the upcoming presidential campaign. And yes, Silicon Valley is still way too white. Do we all agree? Great. We’ve now all anted up in this particular game of poker.

The problem is, we do not all agree. The Current Majority on Madison Avenue—i.e., the confederacy of White folks—does not believe “the advertising industry needs to hire more people of color.” There is plenty of recurring evidence to support this fact. Plus, White people are holding all the cards in this “particular game of poker.”

As a result, Bowman’s “three big bets” likely won’t result in winning more credibility or crumbs.

How Brands and Agencies Can Win at Multiculturalism

Three Big Bets Companies Need to Place for New Majority Success

By Jeffrey Bowman

Let’s get a few of things out of the way. Yes, the advertising industry needs to hire more people of color. Yes, race relations are strained right now. Yes, immigration is a huge issue for the upcoming presidential campaign. And yes, Silicon Valley is still way too white. Do we all agree? Great. We’ve now all anted up in this particular game of poker.

None of this is news to brands and agencies. But something is changing fast—the complexion of America. The general market isn’t white anymore. In just a few years, the majority of people under 18 will be from minority populations. In a couple of decades, the majority of the nation will be minorities. And did you hear this? The millennial generation has come up with a new, better word for multiculturalism. They call it normal.

Winning this game is going to take a lot more than showing up and throwing a few pennies in the pot. Here are three big bets businesses need to place. Those that do will be guaranteed a winning hand.

1. Repudiate separate-but-equal marketing. Back in the 1960s, black-owned agencies were finally let into the club of major brand engagements. Now, Hispanic and Asian agencies are part of the mix, but the system is still a simple expansion of the 1960s quota system that first brought minority culture into advertising. We still have two “separate-but-equal” systems.

Procurement departments go out to secure external vendors and allocate a percentage of spend to what is called supplier-diversity programs. Internally, brands use diversity-and-inclusion initiatives to justify hiring and retaining diverse talent. That sounds good, but practically speaking, it’s just as flawed as the pre-Brown vs. Board of Education educational system was. As a result, brands are dramatically underinvesting in the fastest-growing parts of the marketplace. Nimble, authentic new brands are going to eat their lunch.

2. Change from the inside out. Today’s diversity-and-inclusion and supplier-diversity models falter in part because of the language used inside companies. Brands still speak of diversity as being an exercise in compliance. If they go beyond the strictures of the law, it’s a nice thing to do for society, but brands don’t yet act as if their future competitiveness depends on diversity—which it does.

The steady growth of diversity-and-inclusion and supplier-diversity systems has built up a large industry of training, education and organizational consulting. This industry is based on the belief that it is a civil right to have a diverse and inclusive work environment. The workplace that has been built adheres to that right and is compliant with the law. That’s table-stakes thinking again.

To succeed, companies need to drop the idea and nomenclature brought to them by compliance with external forces. Instead, brands need to see diversity as a crucial factor in being market-ready. In an era of unprecedented transparency and respect for authenticity, no company can fake diversity.

3. Put your money where your mouth is. Google recently created a new holding company called Alphabet, which got all kinds of press attention and anguished business hot-takes. In 2012, Walmart announced that 100% of its sales growth would come from multicultural segments. No one paid the slightest bit of attention. The former is a largely meaningless corporate reorganization, while the latter reflects a recognition of a massive cultural realignment by one of the world’s largest companies. Why no love for that?

Rebuilding companies from the inside-out to reflect the New Majority may not make the news yet, but it is going to shake up the way funds are allocated. Gone will be the days when, as I personally have experienced, shifting spending to the fast-growing Hispanic market means cutting marketing directed at blacks.

Once you place these bets, your brand or business will be open for New Majority customers. That means that, for the first time since the heyday of America’s white majority, your business will be ready to sell to every one of your potential customers. You will be targeting the real, total addressable market, not some artificial fraction thereof. And if you are among the first to figure this out, consumers and talent will seek you out.

Jeffrey Bowman is founder and chairman of Reframe: The Brand, a consulting firm that helps businesses prepare for the New Majority. Mr. Bowman was previously senior partner-managing director at Ogilvy & Mather New York.

12873: Exclusively D&AD.

Campaign reported four new White trustees were elected to the culturally exclusive D&AD board, joining new D&AD President and Pseudo Thought Leader Andy Sandoz. As previously noted, D&AD appears to stand for Discrimination & Anglo Dominance. Maybe the organization should create a campaign for diversity and inclusion worthy of a White Pencil.

Four new trustees elected to D&AD board

By Michelle Perrett

Four new members have been elected to sit on the board of trustees at D&AD.

They will join the new president Andy Sandoz, creative partner at Havas Work Club, who took over from former president Mark Bonner yesterday (1 October).

Bruce Duckworth, the principal at design agency Turner Duckworth, has been elected as deputy president.

Also elected are Nicky Bullard, the executive creative director at Lida; Caitlin Ryan, the former group executive creative director at Karmarama; and Hamish Gardner, a New Blood trustee. New Blood is a programme to showcase and nurture new entrants to the market.

The 16 board members are voted in by D&AD awarded and full members. Each trustee serves a term of three years and new blood trustees serve for a year.

The board is responsible for the overall direction of D&AD, its programmes, and where its money is spent.

Tim Lindsay, the chief executive of D&AD, said: “This is always a refreshing time of year; almost like a ‘back to school’ feel for us.

“Once again I am blown away by this supremely talented collection of individuals who will help to guide and shape D&AD over the coming months and years.”

“With an international calendar of events, exciting new categories for our Professional Awards, some big plans for D&AD Judging, and some ambitious plans for our New Blood programme and the D&AD Foundation, it’s sure to be a year to remember.”

12872: The One Club’s Exclusivity.

Adweek published a perspective from The One Club Director of Diversity Traecy Smith, discussing the hilarious image from the latest Here Are All The Black People soiree. First of all, “The One Club Director of Diversity” remains an oxymoron and/or contradictory juxtaposition that’s as peculiar as the photo sparking controversy. Smith sought to defend the image by pointing to a video featuring the “Advertising For Good” panel depicted (the relevant part begins at about 45:20). Ironically, the panel was moderated by Barbara Lippert, a White woman who once landed a job at Goodby Silverstein & Partners via cronyism—plus, Lippert actually joked about the lack of Blacks on the panel. Additionally, Smith argued the panel included DDB New York CCO and Global Citizen Icaro Doria and an Asian-American participant. Um, is that roughly the equivalent of counting janitors and receptionists as diversity hires? Smith also presented the realization that “Progress is messy. It doesn’t move forward seamlessly; it stumbles, sometimes veering off in the wrong direction before righting itself.” Is that an explanation or admission—or both? The One Club is becoming the next ADCOLOR®.

12871: Here Are All The White People.

AgencySpy noted a hilarious image from Advertising Week that appeared via the Twitter account of GSD&M. It depicts a predominately White panel discussion for Here Are All The Black People. Do any of the folks in the photo even know any Black people? Of course, the AgencySpy post garnered quite a few comments.