13072: Richards/Lerma Sucks.

This stuff looks like sophomoric scam advertising from portfolio school students. But it’s an actual campaign conceived and created by Richards/Lerma in Dallas, those wonderful folks who gave you talking vaginas for Summer’s Eve. Stay classy, guys.

13071: BHM 2016—Shades Of Color.

Make money during Black History Month? Maybe. Make profit? Doubtful.

13070: Michael Roth Is A Huckster.

Adweek questioned IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth on the firing of Campbell Ewald executives in light of the Ghetto Day incident. “I made a change in their leadership, and I have faith in the current leadership. I think what happened was unfortunate, but I wouldn’t view it as a systemic problem within the agency,” explained Roth. “We felt that individuals did not handle a situation appropriately, and we took immediate action in terms of removing those people from the agency because this was not consistent with our overall culture of diversity and inclusion.” Um, the email was sent in October, and the firings happened in January. So Roth’s definition of “immediate action” is pretty funky. And it’s still not clear if Campbell Ewald CEO Jim Palmer was axed before or after USAA terminated its contract with the agency. Come to think of it, did any Campbell Ewald employees participate in the Ghetto Day celebration? If so, when will they be fired? “We as a company have an extensive diversity/inclusion program,” boasted Roth. “We started this effort a number of years ago, and we continue to get awards and recognitions … while holding our people accountable.” Sorry, trophies from the New York Urban League and ADCOLOR® Awards do not trump EEO-1 data. And “holding our people accountable” does not mean much when the accountability standards remain company secrets. For a guy with a background in finance, Roth talks like the slickest of hucksters.

IPG Chief Michael Roth on Firing Campbell Ewald’s CEO and Being a Leader in Diversity

When it recently came to light that agency Campbell Ewald had for several months quietly tolerated a racist email sent by a creative director, the response from parent company IPG was a swift executive decapitation.

Not only was the San Antonio-based creative director behind the “Ghetto Day” note fired in January shortly after AgencySpy published the email, originally sent in October 2015, but CEO Jim Palmer was also terminated almost immediately. He was replaced by Campbell Ewald president Kevin Wertz.

The high-profile move, though quick, was not enough to stop major client USAA from dropping the agency, though it may have helped staunch the bleeding of any further client walkouts over the incident.

After IPG’s quarterly earnings call today, Adweek spoke to Interpublic Group chairman and CEO Michael Roth about several issues, including Palmer’s firing.

Here’s what Roth had to say about the termination and the standing of Campbell Ewald:

“I made a change in their leadership, and I have faith in the current leadership. I think what happened was unfortunate, but I wouldn’t view it as a systemic problem within the agency: We felt that individuals did not handle a situation appropriately, and we took immediate action in terms of removing those people from the agency because this was not consistent with our overall culture of diversity and inclusion. We are moving forward.

“We as a company have an extensive diversity/inclusion program. We tie our CEOs’ performance to certain objectives and we hold them accountable. Just yesterday we were awarded the New York Urban League’s Champions of Diversity award in New York, and we are well recognized as a leader in our industry.

“I believe we’re on track to making progress, but I think we’ve got a ways to go.

“We’ve moved beyond quotas. Our industry has to move toward inclusion because the marketplace demands it. If we don’t have people who represent the consumer, then how can we represent the client? We started this effort a number of years ago, and we continue to get awards and recognitions … while holding our people accountable.”

13069: IPG PR BS.

A MultiCultClassics visitor pointed to an IPG press release announcing the White holding company was saluted by the New York Urban League with the Champions of Diversity Award for Exemplary Best Practices. The dubious honor recognized a training program—IDEAL (Interpublic Diverse Emerging and Aspiring Leadership)—designed to develop and promote “high potential” minorities. IPG Chairman and CEO Michael Roth gushed, “IDEAL is unique in its design and the results so far are terrific, with over 60% of IDEAL protégés having been promoted.” The remaining roughly 40% were probably shipped to Campbell Ewald to enjoy Ghetto Day. Most outrageous is the fact that Campbell Ewald—the reigning Champion of Cultural Cluelessness—is actually referenced in the press release footer. Sorry, but IPG deserves to have a big asterisk placed beside its name for the award. IPG Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Heide Gardner boasted, “IPG has been working formally in the D&I space for over a decade.” Okay, but diversity has been an industry issue for at least six decades. And according to Wikipedia, IPG was created in 1960. So to say the White holding company has dragged its feet on matters would be the understatement of, well, the decade.

IPG Honored by New York Urban League

High Potential Training Program Recognized as Exemplary Best Practice

New York, NY – February 11, 2016 ¬ Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) announced that it has been recognized by The New York Urban League with the Champions of Diversity Award for Exemplary Best Practices. IPG was honored for its IDEAL Leadership program that focuses on developing and advancing high potential diverse individuals.

IDEAL (Interpublic Diverse Emerging and Aspiring Leadership) is based on research showing that relationships are central to promotion opportunities, and that career advice varies by demographic group. In addition, research indicates that access to informal networks and mentoring are important factors in upward mobility for diverse talent. The program is unique in that it includes classroom training for protégés and their managers as well as rotating mentoring and intensive career planning.

“IDEAL is a great example of the work we are doing in diversity and inclusion at IPG,” commented Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO, Interpublic. “IDEAL is unique in its design and the results so far are terrific, with over 60% of IDEAL protégés having been promoted. This is another positive step in our diversity and inclusion journey,” he continued.

“IPG has been working formally in the D&I space for over a decade,” said Heide Gardner, Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, IPG. “One of our key goals in this area is to ensure that we are the destination for top diverse talent, and that we retain and promote diverse talent. And IDEAL is doing just that,” she continued.

In 2011, IPG became the first company in the marketing and communications industry to have ever received the New York Urban League’s Champion of Diversity Award. IPG partners with the New York Urban League on initiatives that include the League’s Girls and Boys Empowerment Days that provide mentoring and shadowing opportunities for high school students.

###

About the New York Urban League

The New York Urban League was founded by a group of prominent New Yorkers concerned with the poor state of blacks migrating to New York City from the south. From its inception it provided employment and connections for migrating blacks bridging the adjustment from the agricultural/rural life to the industrial urban center. Each decade following, “The League” provided critical services such as emergency aid for the unemployed during the Great Depression; formed the Committee for Interracial Voluntary Hospitals to provide care and work in local hospitals; negotiated the opening of employment for blacks in the airline, brewing, and baking industries; created “Street Academies” which became a national model for high school students; published the first State of Black New York report; and created its signature events including Frederick Douglass Dinner, Whitney M. Young Jr. Classic, and Champion of Diversity Breakfast among many other milestones.

About Interpublic

Interpublic is one of the world’s leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include BPN, Craft, FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding), FutureBrand, Golin, Huge, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, MAGNA GLOBAL, McCann, Momentum, MRM//McCann, MullenLowe Group, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Other leading brands include Avrett Free Ginsberg, Campbell Ewald, Carmichael Lynch, Deutsch, Hill Holliday, ID Media and The Martin Agency. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.

13068: Red Lobster Red-Faced…?

Inc. published a peculiar perspective titled, “Béyoncé Hands Red Lobster the Marketing Opportunity of a Lifetime”—with subhead copy that read, “And then Red Lobster fumbles it. What we can learn about the importance of having a diverse work force from this social media fail.” The author, Amy Vernon, sports a “social media consultant” handle, which always warrants eye-rolling suspicion. Vernon opines that Red Lobster missed a chance to shine via social media when Béyoncé’s Super Bowl performance included song lyrics referencing the restaurant chain. Why, Red Lobster should have jumped on the opportunity like Oreo’s Super Bowl tweet during a power outage or Arby’s Grammys tweet about Pharrell Williams’ hat. The social media consultant pushed the argument further, declaring Red Lobster’s flop was rooted in its social media team’s lack of diversity. Now, MultiCultClassics can appreciate a decent speech on the imperative for inclusive workforces; however, Vernon seems to have fumbled herself in this scenario. Why do social media wonks believe real-time commentary is such a big deal? There are far more instances of advertisers pulling the tweet trigger too quickly—with disastrous results—versus typing Twitter treasures. It’s also silly to think Red Lobster could excel in social media when its traditional advertising is consistently lame. (Besides, the seafood seller saw sales spike from Béyoncé’s song after all.) But to declare the alleged blunder underscores the need for diversity is a stretch. Indeed, Vernon’s soapbox rant only garnered two comments—and the second comment was Vernon’s thank-you reply to the first comment. The revolution will not be televised. Or tweeted.

13067: BHM 2016—Macy’s.

For Black History Month, Macy’s celebrates with celebrities.

13066: U.S. Census Senseless…?

Adweek reported advertising agencies will be vying for the U.S. Census contract for 2020 work. In 2010, IPG dominated with Draftfcb taking the lead over other below-the-line and minority shops. It’s a safe bet IPG won’t serve up Campbell Ewald as a contender. But will the U.S. Census Bureau hire a White advertising agency to handle the top role? Or will the governmental client seek a partner whose staff reflects the diversity of the country? If so, they may have to wait until 2079 for a qualified agency to emerge.

Agencies Are About to Start Vying for the $415 Million U.S. Census Contract

Deadline looms for 2020 communications work

By Noreen O’Leary

It’s hard to believe another census count is nearly upon us. For agencies wanting to work on the estimated $415 million 2020 census multi-year contract, RFP responses are due Feb. 22.

This time around the Census Bureau is putting more emphasis on digital technology as the government wants to trim costs through greater use of mobile and social.

“The communications industry has changed dramatically since the conduct of the 2010 census, principally due to changes and advances in technology, communications mechanisms and consumer expectations,” according to the RFP. “The Internet, wireless technologies and mobile personal devices have opened new communications channels and media that have empowered consumers with increased connectivity to marketers. The Census Bureau fully intends to harness these emerging technologies and channels as part of the 2020 census integrated communications contract. …The [agency] contractor [selected] shall use an appropriate mix of communications tools with an emphasis on using new technology.”

The final RFP was issued in late January, and agency selections are expected in August. For the 2010 census, Interpublic agencies heavily dominated the team behind the census advertising. Draftfcb, now FCB, was the creative lead, accompanied by agencies GlobalHue, GlobalHue Latino, D’Exposito & Partners, Allied Media, G+G Advertising, IW Group, Plum Agency, Weber Shandwick, Jack Morton, Scholastic, Initiative and Draftfcb Puerto Rico.

13065: Carat’s Caucasian Collection.

Adweek handed the title of “U.S. Media Agency of the Year” to Carat. And the accompanying photo shows the agency’s leadership perfectly reflects the U.S.—at least in regards to U.S. media and advertising agencies. According to Adweek, thanks to Carat’s recent account wins, “the shop is currently looking to fill about 100 positions, boosting its domestic payroll roughly 10 percent.” How many of those new jobs will go to minorities? Based on the looks of Carat’s global leadership, minority candidates can expect to receive a 24-karat/carat golden shower.

13064: BHM 2016—Newport.

Okay, this is definitely not a BHM advertisement. But Newport deserves credit for its loyalty to Black consumers—even though the cigarette brand is seeking to kill the audience.

13063: Hall Of Fame Shame.

Oh, look! The Advertising Hall of Fame 2016 Inductees are essentially a clan of White men and White women. The honorees include W+K Co-Founder and Chairman Dan Wieden. Hey, making it into the Advertising Hall of Fame still doesn’t beat receiving his ADCOLOR® Award, right?

There is no “all” in Hall of Fame.

13062: Black Sheep, White Shop.

Campaign reported on a promotional video from Bartle Bogle Hegarty that has turned into a recruitment tactic. The video ultimately spotlights the exclusivity at BBH, featuring a predominately White staff with a miniscule sprinkling of minorities. Ironically, the copy is delivered via a poem hyping the power of difference. Sir John Hegarty still displays faux interest in diversity, but continues to fail to show up when presented with the opportunity to actually do something different. The self-proclaimed “Black Sheep” of the industry are just a flock of White sheep—which makes this narcissistic ode a pile of sheep dung.

BBH plots recruitment boost with online poem

By James Swift

Bartle Bogle Hegarty has focused its creative powers inwards to create an online recruitment film about the power of difference.

The two-minute film features an original poem on the power of difference by Harry Baker, a performance poet, set to images of BBH’s staff and the agency’s work. It ends with the line “Black Sheep Wanted”.

The film has almost 50,000 views on YouTube and has been watched almost 12,000 times on Facebook, and at the time of writing had attracted mostly positive comments.

Ben Fennell, BBH’s chief executive, told Campaign that the film was initially created for the agency’s end-of-year gathering.

“We have a big company meeting at the end of each year where we review our performance and set the agenda,” said Fennell. “It’s the one time a year that all 450 of us are together and we try to make them inspirational.”

Fennell added that there was also an element of BBH practising what it preached, as the agency is forever telling clients to spend more time and energy communicating with their own staff, having seen what it did to improve standards at British Airways (a client of the agency).

He added: “We wanted a big finish that reconnected to our philosophy and the meaning of difference but in the briefing we felt that if it had a real purpose it would be even more powerful.”

BBH gave Baker, a UK poetry slam champion, a detailed brief on the agency and the power of difference and Fennel said the agency did not have to change a line from his first draft. Black Sheep studios was then tasked with putting images to the words, with Chris Watling taking the lead on the project.

“Creativity is at its core difference,” said Fennell, “And I think this has touched the creative community around the world. We’re only a month in and, measuring the increase of people that have approached us [about jobs] against what is normal for this time of year, we’ve definitely seen an uplift from all disciplines.

“But even though it didn’t start its life as a piece of brand content that is what it’s become. It’s got a short-term purpose to attract talent but its longer purpose is as a piece of brand communication for BBH.

“It’s a bit like with the Robert Carlyle video for Johnnie Walker [a former BBH client]. That just started out as a piece of film to show the company’s staff at a meeting.”

13061: BHM 2016—NBA.

The NBA appears to be celebrating Black History Month on a team-by-team basis, including individual promotional activities with the Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics. Why, the Sacramento Kings even displayed sensitivity over BHM activities coinciding with the Chinese New Year’s “Year of the Monkey.”

13060: Howdy, Partner Awards.

What if White men partnered with White women and brought in The 3% Conference who then called ADCOLOR® with the goal of making the world’s biggest diverted diversity smokescreen made with unconscious bias. Why, you’d be eligible to win the 4A’s Partner Awards—as well as a White Pencil and Glass Lion. Hurry, the Partner Awards entry deadline is February 12, 2016!

13059: Dismal Digital Diversity.

Campaign published a story titled, “OMD UK forms new senior digital team.” Um, didn’t somebody insist digital would create opportunities for diversity? Of course, digital is dandy for dames—especially White women—presenting another example of diverted diversity. Guess the potential candidates of color have not yet graduated from the incredible IAB initiative.

13058: BHM 2016—Colgate-Palmolive.

Honor your past. Treasure your health. Cherish your stock photography.

13057: Overreaction Of The Week.

Google celebrates Black History Month with an image of monkeys? Damn, it’s yet another blatant example of the company’s cultural cluelessness and exclusivity. Somebody call Jesse Jackson pronto! Rally the protesters and… oh, wait a minute. The illustration is commemorating the Chinese New Year? Okay. Never mind.

13056: Benetton Flubs Diversity.

Advertising Age Creativity reported on the latest Benetton campaign starring computer-generated models whose features were created by utilizing ethnicity data from different cities around the globe. The work allegedly promotes diversity; however, the majority of the selected cities are predominately White, resulting in models that look, well, vanilla. The responsible advertising agency—180 Amsterdam—appears to be not very diverse as well. Benetton should produce a version using the ethnicity data from 180 Amsterdam. Or any other White advertising agency, for that matter. It would result in the most shockingly provocative advertisement Benetton has ever hatched.

Benetton Uses Ethnicity Data to Create Computer-Generated ‘Models’

Brand’s Latest ‘Faces’ Represent Racial Make-Up of Different Cities

By Alexandra Jardine

For decades, Benetton has been known for using models of different skin colors, ethnicities and appearances to promote diversity with its “United Colors” campaigns. But the latest campaign doesn’t use real models; instead, the Italian fashion retailer has used computer-generated faces based on data from different cities around the world.

The campaign, appearing globally in print, out-of-home, in digital media and in-store, was created by 180 Amsterdam. It depicts a series of faces created based on the facial features and racial mix of different cities around the world; London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Milan and New York. The starting point was investigating the ethnic make-up of each capital, using statistical, demographic analysis from a number of population information sources, and incorporating international data as well as city-specific census reports, in order to most accurately reflect the proportion of each city’s specific racial mix. The team then visited each city to collect portraits of people living there.

The final models’ faces were created using an algorithm that aims to ensure that the proportion of each ethnicity is reflected through features such as skin tone, the shape of the eyes and nose, hair type and color, as well as overall face shape. In the end, though, the computer-generated models almost feel pretty mainstream, compared to the more diverse images of beauty from Benetton’s past.

The work is the first by 180 Amsterdam for Benetton—the agency was appointed to handle projects in 2015. Benetton also still handles some advertising in-house.

13055: BHM 2016—Wells Fargo.

How to diversify a workforce: Offer a credit-bearing training course for minority students at a historically Black college—as opposed to, say, hiring qualified minorities right now.

13054: Super Bowl Super Bullshit.

USA TODAY published a story titled, “Super Bowl ads to put diversity on display.” A more appropriate headline might have read, “Super Bowl ads reflect diversity of U.S.—and deflect diversity of U.S. advertising agencies.”

The truth is, there are more lies, deception and subterfuge in this scenario than Deflategate, although few citizens would actually give a shit upon learning the facts. Sure, the commercials might integrate greater non-White casting, but the commercials’ creators are customarily comprised of Caucasians. This point was most recently called out in 2010 by Cyrus Mehri and the NAACP. At that time, Mehri and the NAACP cited a study from the University of Central Florida examining 58 out of 67 total Super Bowl commercials for the year. The study showed 92 percent of the responsible creative directors were White men, 7 percent were White women and a single creative director was Latino; however, the Latino was the winner of Doritos’ annual consumer contest versus an advertising agency employee. The University of Central Florida study for last year’s Super Bowl indicated only 7 percent of the responsible creative directors were people of color. That might sound like a decent increase, but the figures are fuzzy and likely include assorted global citizens and foreigners. After all, Black representation in the industry has declined in modern times.

The USA TODAY story also presented a blurb featuring Omnicom SVP Chief Diversity Officer Tiffany R. Warren:

The advertising industry has worked toward making content creators, as well as others involved in the creative process, a more inclusive group, says Tiffany Warren, founder of ADCOLOR, a group that celebrates people of color working in advertising, media and marketing.

When there are opportunities for diverse minds to provide input in ads, “you’ll see opportunities to increase the relationship you have with the public,” she says.

Funny how USA TODAY didn’t recognize Warren’s official Omnicom role; plus, stating that Madison Avenue “has worked toward making content creators, as well as others involved in the creative process, a more inclusive group” is an unproven pipedream.

The Super Bowl remains the most popular stage to showcase diversity in advertising—and the dearth of diversity in advertising agencies.

Super Bowl ads to put diversity on display

By Charisse Jones, USA TODAY

Super Bowl ads are practically an event unto themselves. And when they unfold on the screen this Sunday, viewers will see a reflection of America’s diversity.

While Hollywood faces a backlash over an all-white slate of acting nominees for this year’s Oscars, several of the TV spots airing during the big game will feature actors, athletes and characters who represent a range of ethnicity, generations, and sexual orientations.

A Pokemon ad will show children from across the globe empowering each other to succeed. African-American comedian Kevin Hart will loan his car to his daughter’s date in a humorous ad for Hyundai’s Genesis.

And among the images of masculinity showcased in an ad for Axe’s grooming products, will be a man dancing in heels.

“Super Bowl advertisers get that as the face of America changes, so must marketing tactics,” Karen Sinisi, director of sales for multicultural marketing data provider Ethnic Technologies, said in an email. “Advertisers know the importance of speaking to the fastest growing segments of our population.”

Though some ad watchers say that Super Bowl advertising has had diverse casting for several years, others believe that a noticeable change occurred in 2015, when images were far less stereotypical and more people of color took center stage.

African Americans had a leading or co-leading role in 19 of 61 commercials aired last year, as compared to just two such roles in 2011, according to a 2015 study of Super Bowl ads by the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. The objectification of women in ads also significantly decreased.

Diversity “has definitely increased,” says Richard Lapchick, the study’s main author.

In years past, there were images that were “sometimes stereotypical,” he says, “and that has definitely improved significantly.”

The advertising industry has worked toward making content creators, as well as others involved in the creative process, a more inclusive group, says Tiffany Warren, founder of ADCOLOR, a group that celebrates people of color working in advertising, media and marketing.

When there are opportunities for diverse minds to provide input in ads, “you’ll see opportunities to increase the relationship you have with the public,” she says.

It was a glaring lack of diversity among actors vying for this year’s Oscars that sparked the latest debate about parity in Hollywood. But beyond accolades, there also remains a need for people of color to have more substantial roles in front of and behind the camera, says Gil Robertson, co-founder and president of the African American Film Critics Association.

“If those characters aren’t meaningful, if those portrayals aren’t three-dimensional, and relevant, you still have a problem,” Robertson says. “People need to be represented in a real and substantive way, and not as caricatures and stereotypes.”

While there is still more to be done, corporate America has had more pressure to be accountable to the public in a way that Hollywood has not, says Aaron Walton, co-founder and partner at Walton Isaacson, a firm that provides general and multicultural marketing services to such clients as Lexus, Macy’s and Wells Fargo.

“Hollywood keeps making excuses as to why they have not stepped up,” Walton said via email. “Corporate America can’t keep making those excuses. They have shareholders. They have consumers giving them feedback on social media. They have consumers buying products that reflect them and not spending money on products that don’t. Hollywood can often be in an insular bubble.”

But not all aspects of diversity are getting their moment in the Super Bowl spotlight. Although SunTrust has a big game ad this year featuring a man in a wheelchair, “major brands are only beginning to recognize the purchasing power of the disability market of $220 billion,” Tari Hartman Squire, CEO of EIN SOF Communications, a strategic marketing and employment consultation firm specializing in disability-inclusive diversity, said in an email.

When it comes to the world of media, “TV shows are farther ahead on disability–inclusive diversity than ads or movies.”

There is also a need for more inclusiveness in the top creative ranks of the advertising industry. According to the University of Central Florida report, of the 42 Super Bowl commercials for which data was available last year, only 7% featured exclusively a person of color as the head creative director. And 81% of the creative directors were men.

Liz Castells-Heard, president of Hispanic marketing agency Castells & Asociados praised a Super Bowl 50 ad for the Mini car brand that features a diverse cast, including tennis player Serena Williams and soccer champion Abby Wambach. Ads for PayPal and SunTrust also showcase multi-ethnic characters or tout messages emphasizing inclusion.

Yet, “there is much room for improvement,” Castells-Heard said in an email. “This includes the lack of representation of Hispanics, Asians, and the LGBT community versus the overwhelming amount of ads featuring white males.”

She adds: “Strides were made, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

13053: BHM 2016—EBONY.

Based on the February 2016 cover of EBONY, Valentine’s Day trumped Black History Month. That is, there’s more content on “Black Love” than Black heritage. Like Essence, there are very few BHM advertisements too. Excluding a couple of salutes to EBONY Power 100 and promotions for historical items available in the EBONY Store, you’ll find six legitimate BHM messages from advertisers. The major brands aren’t showing much love for the historical achievements of Blacks.

13052: Maurice White (1941-2016).

From The New York Times…

Maurice White, Founder and Leader of Earth, Wind & Fire, Dies at 74

By Peter Keepnews

Maurice White, the founder and leader of Earth, Wind & Fire, whose genre-defying music made it one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, has died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 74.

The band’s publicist, Mark Young, said Mr. White died late Wednesday or early Thursday. He did not specify the cause, but Mr. White had announced in 2000 that he had Parkinson’s disease.

Earth, Wind & Fire — whose many hits included “Shining Star,” “September,” “That’s the Way of the World” and a cover of the Beatles’ “Got to Get You Into My Life” — had a sound that was rooted in rhythm and blues but crossed musical boundaries, attracting an audience that was as diverse racially as the music was stylistically.

The horn arrangements were punchy, the bass lines funky and the rhythms infectious, but there was also room for adventurous improvisation, mellow vocal harmonies and pure pop melodicism.

“Although we were basically jazz musicians, we played soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music … which somehow ended up becoming pop,” Mr. White wrote on the group’s website. “We were coming out of a decade of experimentation, mind expansion and cosmic awareness. I wanted our music to convey messages of universal love and harmony without force-feeding listeners’ spiritual content.”

Earth, Wind & Fire, which was larger than the average rock or funk band, became renowned not just for its music but also for its elaborate stage shows, marked by pyrotechnics, choreography, lighting effects and sometimes even magic tricks. Mr. White stopped touring with the band in the 1990s.

Mr. White, who began his career as a jazz drummer, played various percussion instruments with Earth, Wind & Fire as well as the African thumb piano, or kalimba, which became an essential element of the group’s sound. He shared lead vocals with Philip Bailey, wrote or co-wrote some of the group’s biggest hits, and produced many of its records.

As a producer, Mr. White also worked with Barbra Streisand and other artists.

Maurice White was born on Dec. 19, 1941, in Memphis and raised by his grandmother. He sang in a church choir and was inspired to become a drummer by watching local marching bands.

“I saw the guys in the band playing drums — they had on shiny suits and were getting all the attention from the girls,” he told The Commercial Appeal of Memphis in 2007. “So I decided: That’s what I want to do. From that point on I just became infatuated with music.”

After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, where he was in the drum corps, Mr. White moved to Chicago, where he studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and played drums in local nightclubs. By the mid-1960s he had become a fixture in the studios of Chess, the city’s leading record company, recording with Etta James, Fontella Bass and others.

In 1966 he replaced Red Holt in the pianist Ramsey Lewis’s trio, which, with records like “The ‘In’ Crowd,” had become one of the few jazz groups to crack the upper levels of the pop charts in the 1960s.

“Ramsey helped shape my musical vision beyond just the music,” Mr. White said. “I learned about performance and staging.”

Mr. White left the Lewis trio in 1969 to form a group with two friends, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead. That group, the Salty Peppers, had only moderate success. After moving to Los Angeles, Mr. White renamed it Earth, Wind & Fire (after the three elements in his astrological sign), revamped the personnel and signed with Warner Bros. Records.

The band’s records for Warner Bros. attracted some attention, but Earth, Wind & Fire did not break through to worldwide success until Mr. White shuffled the personnel yet again and signed with Columbia. The group first reached the pop Top 40 in 1974 with “Mighty Mighty” and had its first and only No. 1 pop hit, “Shining Star,” a year later.

All told, Earth, Wind & Fire had 16 Top 40 singles, won six Grammys and sold an estimated 90 million albums. Mr. White also won an individual Grammy for his arrangement of “Got to Get You Into My Life” in 1979.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Mr. White was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.

His survivors include his brothers Verdine and Fred, both of whom were members of Earth, Wind and Fire for many years. Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.

Mr. White was proud of his accomplishments as a musician. But he always saw his mission as more than just entertaining people.

“It’s important to put the emphasis on the positive aspect,” he told The Chicago Tribune in 1985. “I have learned that music helps a lot of people survive, and they want songs that can give them something — I guess you could call it hope.”

Liam Stack and Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.

13051: BHM 2016—Coca-Cola.

Coke continues its Pay It Forward scholarship promotion—although it seems odd to require product purchase to gain eligibility. Coke Adds Restrictions®.

13050: Ghetto Blasting.

AgencySpy gossiped that multiple White advertising agencies across the country held meetings to “specifically address” the Campbell Ewald racist incident which resulted in firings and the potential loss of a major client. Presumably, the shops discussed the imperative to prevent similar scenarios from taking place. Really? By golly, let’s be sure to avoid openly displaying bigoted behavior. Heaven knows it’s so easy to make a slip—especially during Black History Month. Come on, people, we worked through Martin Luther King, Jr. Day without messing up. We can be civil—even if we lack a basic understanding of Civil Rights.

13049: BHM 2016—USPS.

For BHM, the United States Postal Service mailed it in with commemorative stamps.

13048: Admen At Work.

AgencySpy posted the Blind Item that follows:

Being an executive at a global digital agency is a demanding job that requires a lot of travel…and one such top marketer chooses to manage his work/life balance by spending time in the company of his favorite young female employees. Seems that every time this thought leader and newsletter writer has a business trip coming up, he asks his assistant to arrange for one of the agency’s early-20s lady staffers to accompany him to whatever hotel his expense account can afford. We hear that this executive doesn’t just like his female companions young—he also believes that variety is the spice of life, and he tries to take a different lucky lady on each trip. It’s OK, though, guys…as far as we can tell, he’s not married!

Can’t believe Kat Gordon didn’t complain that only 3 percent of the White women in advertising agencies are mistresses—or Cindy Gallop isn’t leveraging the story to hype her Make Love Not Porn production. It’s nice to see digital agencies challenging traditional advertising agencies—and PR firms—for leadership in the area of blatantly inappropriate behavior. And if the mystery man is indeed financing his escapades via an expense account, the bad boy behavior is likely illegal too.

13047: BHM 2016—Guinness.

Okay, this is technically not a Black History Month advert, but February is running low on legitimate creative candidates. Campaign spotlighted a Guinness commercial from Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO featuring “Intolerant Champion” John Hammond, credited with launching the careers of Billie Holiday, Count Basie and Aretha Franklin. Sorry, but this sort of shit comes off as painfully patronizing when originating from a White advertising agency like Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. It’s simply, well, intolerable.

13046: The Bullshit Zaid Said.

Campaign published a pitiful perspective on the dearth of diversity in adland, pooped out by former McCann London CEO Zaid Al-Zaidy. The essay will induce plenty of ZZZZZ’s. Why do agency leaders suddenly advocate for diversity after they are no longer in a position of power to affect change? Al-Zaidy complements his contrived and clichéd convictions with five guidelines for success. The final proclamation is the most outrageous: “When in advertising, do as the Americans do”—which included, “We have much to learn from the United States on diversity.” Al-Zaidy can’t possibly be recommending mimicking U.S. advertising agencies. Unless he’s suggesting U.K. shops proceed to adopt all the smokescreens and schemes employed by White advertising agencies to perpetuate exclusivity. Look for an ADCOLOR® satellite to launch in London soon.

Zaid Al-Zaidy: The diversity prize is a great one but are you ready for it?

By Zaid Al-Zaidy

The lack of diversity in our industry is a little like global warming, says the former chief executive of McCann London.

The lack of Diversity in our Industry is a little like global warming. Some deny it’s happening, some say that we’re not responsible, some of us of don’t really care and those of us that do, find it bloody hard to do anything about it.

It’s a complex issue but we can’t ignore it. Thanks to the IPA’s diversity survey we now know what we instinctively felt: from a diversity point of view, our industry is in poor condition.

At 87 per cent white, our industry roughly reflects the UK’s general population but it’s wildly out-of-sync with London (like it or not, the country’s creative hub) with its white-Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) split of 60:40, and with Generation Y, which is 25 per cent BAME.

It’s strange for an industry whose currency is being in tune with consumers and culture and being down with the kids.

Alarmingly, the IPA report shows many of London’s most famous agencies have almost zero ethnic diversity at a senior level. What’s worse, I’ve heard that some senior industry figures believe advertising is less diverse than it was in the mid-80s.

Agency leaders will be feeling uncomfortable with the IPA’s plans to record and publish diversity data every year, like another gargantuan task has been added to their to-do list. But I would encourage them to be excited about the future, because diversity breeds opportunity and makes total business sense.

I’m convinced that when Generation Y is in power and we’ve all worked out what technology, data and programmatic means for marketing, we’ll realise again that ideas are still vital and powerful vehicles for brand distinctiveness and business growth. Diversity in our agencies will help fight brand commoditisation, avoid groupthink and be the source of those surprising and different ideas.

A diverse workforce is a pre-requisite for the creation of relevant and effective global ideas and campaigns. We’ve passed the arrogant 70s era of wholesale cultural imperialism and in today’s borderless world; ideas have to be global and local at the same time. London agencies in particular, as often the most important global hubs for client creativity, must have diversity at their core. Judging by a few recent RFIs that I’ve been privy to, clients are beginning to expect it.

There’s more money to be made in diversity. At the recent #IPA44Club debate on diversity, Debarshi Pandit from OMG Ethnic stated, “When I tell my clients that [when you take into account all the religious festivities there are] in the UK, it’s Christmas all year round, their eyes light up. Last year, the UK Ramadan market was worth an incremental £100 million in retail sales.”

Furthermore, as programmatic takes off, it will enable a hyper-targeted fast-content world and will need teams of people who can understand the nuances of differing ethnic audiences and cultural calendars in the UK. Incremental fees we can bill clients for; every penny counts.

Personally, I place great value on my own ethnicity that has given me important work and life skills. It has helped me learn how to engage with a wide range of people and, as a strategist, it has helped me navigate and appreciate the different colours of international markets.

No doubt the concept of diversity is wonderful and we can sing its praises all day long, but the practise of diversity is complex and hard, with many barriers that need overcoming. To succeed we must:

1) Ignore the cynics, the procrastinators, the charmers and change resistors

Some of those resistant to change will think that we don’t have a problem, but there’s a lot of unconscious bias out there. This is different to racism, which I really don’t think is rife in London. But if agencies such as Grey are removing names from the top of CVs, it would suggest some acknowledgement that bias does exist. And I think it’s ok, it’s human nature; perhaps a re-read of Camus’, L’Etranger is called for. If we accept it, we can do something about it.

We will also hear about the meritocracy vs. quota debate. But this is a non-debate: it has been proven that the former will leave us waiting 200 years for gender equality.

So, the argument for diversity is not going away. Syrian refugees or not, our national BAME index is and will remain on the up and the gulf between where we are and where we need to be is only going to leave agencies more and more exposed.

2) Encourage our leaders to take responsibility for the nurturing and championing of the long-term health of our industry

All good agency leaders want to build the right culture for their agency, one that can deliver sustainable growth. But day-to-day pre-occupations are focused on short-term financial goals, satisfying immediate client needs and surviving in an oversupplied market.

Diversity can’t be on the chief executive to-do list, it has to be on the do-or-die list if we’re to see any true change.

3) Prove the commercial and creative case for diversity

Has anyone really built the fool-proof commercial case for diversity, one powerful enough to convince the accountants? Most are familiar with McKinsey’s analysis, showing ethnically diverse businesses perform 35 per cent better than non-diverse businesses. But I fear that these arguments are post-rationalised and border on hypothetical – the case for diversity needs to be a power-punch calling for immediate action.

4) Inspire and enable people with different ethnic background to join our industry

So let’s say we agree that diversity is a good idea, is there even the talent out there from a BAME background who actually want to join our industry?

The IPA’s new-found chartered status is a coup and will help young people feel good about a career in advertising. Also, the IPA’s new commitment to help the industry recruit 25 per cent of new joiners from BAME backgrounds by 2020, is a great funnel feeder.

But we know that advertising is no longer a talent magnet for young adults. We need to pay undergraduates higher starting salaries. The average graduate starting salary in our industry is £19,000, compared with the national average of £30,000… and £42,000 at Aldi.

Advertising is a non-starter for students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds, ladened with university debt. Little wonder it’s predominantly privileged kids who can afford a career in our industry.

Then, what do we need to do to retain diverse talent? What is the ethnic minority equivalent of a flexible working culture for mums? What is the alternative to getting pissed in the pub when it comes to getting to know your colleagues and schmoozing your boss?

5) When in advertising, do as the Americans do

We have much to learn from the United States on diversity. It took legislative intervention there to shift fair ethnic representation in corporations and it has shown that change requires a mandate from the highest organisational level. As far back as 2005, already 20 per cent of Fortune 500 companies had an executive committee-level chief diversity officer and today the role is widespread and there’s even a US publication called Diversity Officer Magazine.

If you’ve had the stomach to read this article, you may be inspired by the need to act but daunted by the true scale of the task. Such is life. But it is doable. The question is, do you really want it and are you ready for this?

13045: KMBA FYI.

In case you missed it, Craig Brimm took Kiss My Black Ads to Instagram.

13044: BHM 2016—Google.

Google celebrates Black History Month by saluting Frederick Douglass. According to Wikipedia, “[Douglass] stood as a living counter-example to slaveholders’ arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens.” Today, Google seems to believe Blacks lack the intellectual capacity to function as employees at the company.

13043: White Agency Of The Year.

Droga5 was named Creativity 2016 Agency of the Year—and the agency portrait above looks like a deliberate effort was made to push people of color into the picture. However, the leadership photo below shows Droga5’s true colors.

13042: BHM 2016—AT&T.

Somebody tell Milana Vayntrub and the geniuses at AT&T that there are 29 days in February 2016.

13041: Comment By Adonis Hoffman.

A comment left for a previous post featuring the Campaign Editor’s Letter merits its own post, as the commentator is Adonis Hoffman. MultiCultClassics has spotlighted Hoffman in the past, after mistakenly believing a book he wrote was the kind of stereotypical diversity propaganda often peddled by organizations like the 4As; however, the book turned out to be quite thoughtful, insightful and brilliant. Anyway, here’s Hoffman’s latest comment:

With all due respect to my former colleagues in the advertising industry, this is the same old, same old, and although it is lamentable, it is not surprising.

After leaving Congress and the FCC, I served as senior vice president and legal counsel at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (the 4As) from 2000 to 2010. At the time, I was one of the few Black executives or attorneys in the industry. When the holding companies and several ad agencies were investigated by the New York Human Rights Civil Rights Commission (2004) and later sued for discrimination, I helped to develop the industry’s effort to systematically address the diversity issue, testifying on behalf of the industry in NYC and in Congress. Heck, we even wrote a book—roadmap really—to help agency execs “do diversity right”. While the initiative was not nearly sufficient to do away with decades of exclusion, it was a start with solid programs, timetables and recommendations. Like so many other well-meaning efforts, I suspect it just died on the vine.

You are correct to point out that there are more diversity officers, diversity events, diversity awards, diversity dinners, diversity discussions, diversity divas, diversity experts, and diversity seminars than anyone can digest. And yet there is no more diversity. Hmmm.

Maybe the answer lies in the simple fact that agency executives are not racist. They just are more comfortable with the illusion of inclusion rather than inclusion itself. That is why we can fill the room with diversity internships, but stumble to find one or two “qualified” account directors or whatever the top jobs are called these days. It’s just easier to feel better about giving a disadvantaged, but deserving, young Latino or African American student a break than to push out a mediocre, middle-aged white guy to give his slot to a hungry, equally (or more) talented minority professional.

The rules of convention die hard, so not much will change in the advertising industry despite all the chatter, outrage, shoulder shrugging, and mealy-mouth platitudes from industry and association leaders about the need to do better. The handwriting is on the wall. If African Americans want parity, they will have to create a parallel universe where their work is smarter, better, and cannot be denied. Then they will get half as much. Good luck with that.

The more things change … the more they stay the same.

13040: BHM 2016—Essence.

Essence magazine celebrates “Black Girl Magic” with covers spotlighting Johnetta Elzie, Teyonah Parris and Yara Shahidi. The covers also proclaim, “Black History Matters.” But from an advertising perspective, the proclamation is highly debatable. After all, the February issue of Essence contains a mere seven Black History Month advertisements. In fact, the BHM advertisements are outnumbered by advertisements featuring White women—which reflects the diverted diversity that’s happening in the industry right now.

As in past years, MultiCultClassics will strive to present at least one BHM advertisement per day during February—but nothing is guaranteed, given the current lackluster interest from advertisers.